Erin Go Blah

It’s St. Patrick’s Day, so given my heritage I guess I’m obligated to say something about it (my surname, common among the fjords of west-central Norway, obscures a maternal lineage that goes back to County Mayo and includes family names like O’Malley, Moran, and Hogan).

So there — that’s my St. Patrick’s Day essay. Not wearing green. Not planning to sup on corned beef and cabbage. Not planning to sing “Danny Boy” (though it is my theme song the other 364 days of the year) or “Four Green Fields.” I might watch “CSI” tonight, though, if there’s time for it after NCAA hoops.

(By the way: I’d love to take credit as original author of the brilliant phrase ‘Erin Go Blah’: but after posting, I checked on Google and found 215 listings for that exact phrase.)

10 Replies to “Erin Go Blah”

  1. Aye, laddy. I was doing fine until you uttered the words “Danny Boy.” Now, I’ll be talking like a wee lass the rest of the day – much to the chagrin of everyone I come in contact with.
    P.S. Sometimes I inadvertently intermingle my wee lass accent with my Wisconsin Dells accent.

  2. The song “Danny Boy” always suggests a cringe-inducing Guest Soloist. Reflex is to run far and fast. I always thought you were better cast as the Dan in Cool, Clear Water (Burl Ives version) or as the title of Elton John’s ’70s hit. But no shame in admitting you’d prefer being linked to Bob Urich’s ground-breaking (It DID leave a footprint. Then it rained.) Vegas character, even as just a “Student of Sportscoat”.

  3. Marie: All my accents have turned just one — a bad Austrian one — ever since Arnold was elected governor.
    Lydell: As to the first count of the indictment, wasn’t the Dan in “Cool, Clear Water” a horse? OK — that might fit.
    As to the second count, I have to check the Urich oeuvre to figure out what role you’re talking about. I submit, in passing, that Joan Baez did a worthy rendition of the song in question.

  4. I believe we might be confusing Robert Urich, the actor who played Dan Tanna on “Vega$” [sic] with John Davidson, the singer/entertainer/co-host of “That’s Incredible!” (and later the star of an unfortunate “Love Boat” declension) who I believe still plays Vegas – the real fantasy city.
    I’m part Irish and inadvertently wore green yesterday. Sometimes I want to wear orange just to be ornery but I wouldn’t do it. Not on purpose.

  5. Dan Tanna — one of my all-time favorite character names. I don’t think I ever saw the show, but I always got a chuckle just hearing “Dan Tanna.”
    Later, or perhaps before, Urich went on to be hanged by friends during the finest network program ever made …

  6. I spent St. Paddy’s (evening) at Hanley’s, the tavern-restaurant across the street. They had corned beef and cabbage which was sold out by 7:30. They also had a guy playing bagpipes. He was wearing a uniform that included a kilt, sergeant stripes on the blue knit sweater and an old .38 police special and holster. Something tells me this guy’s a cop for his day job. At any rate, he did play “Danny Boy”, Amazing Grace, and a medley of George M. Cohan’s most famous tunes, ending the set with Irving Berlin’s…God Bless America. He then offered a toast to us all and the tavern owner. Later we talked with him. Sean asked if knew the tune “Irish Washer Woman.” He said he couldn’t play it but was impressed that Sean could play it on the violin. After that, he offered to teach Sean bagpipes at a class that he conducts at Breezy Point. I don’t know how any of this relates to “The Old Sod” but that was my evening.
    PS: Bagpipes are an outdoor instrument. Too frickin’ noisy.

  7. “Later, or perhaps before, Urich went on to be hanged by friends during the finest network program ever made …”
    You can’t mean “Spencer for Hire”?

  8. No — “Lonesome Dove.” Maybe that’s a stretch because it was a mini-series. And maybe it’s a stretch because it’s a Larry McMurtry myth of the Old West. If you haven’t seen it, Urich had what amounted to a bit part opposite Robert Duvall and Tommy Lee Jones. I love Duvall, and I don’t think he’s ever done anything better.

  9. “I love Duvall, and I don’t think he’s ever done anything better.”
    For my money, you can’t beat Duvall in “The Apostle,” Farrah Fawcett nonwithstanding. Speaking of “Lonesome Dove,” I finally got around to seeing “The Jack Bull.” Worth a look for all you LD fans. It’s nowhere near the epic scope, but it’ll do when you need a pinch of western justice and you can’t find your copy of “Unforgiven” or “Open Range.”

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