McNamara's Band

Monday night I was studying furiously Chapter 6, "More Crazy Ideas for Piano Group Class" from my new Bible, 101 Ideas for Piano Group Class (and crazy suits me fine).  "Pick your favorite folk song."  Hummmm . . . Farmer in the Dell . . . Itsy Bitsy Spider . . . . Old McDonald . . .  I guess I'd have to actually have feelings of "like" before I could have a favorite from that list.  Not that I dislike any of those ditties, per se, but "favorite" . . . not even. 

Then from the far back recesses of long ago memory came a song I hadn't thought of for years.  McNamara's Band.  I had no idea about the origins of the song, but I was certainly taught it by my Folks . . . so for me, hey, my "favorite" folk song.  It took a while to come up with all the words to the first verse . . . even longer for the chorus.  Back in the sixties . . .yes, the nineteen sixties . . . without air-conditioning, radio, DVDs, MP3s or, heaven forbid, DSs, my parents packed up their brood of ten darling (I'm sure) children and off we went across the plains -- not in a covered wagon, but a station wagon, and to entertain us, they taught us all sorts of silly songs which we sang at the tops of our lungs and McNamara's Band was one of Dad's favorites.  Ah, yes, then there was that last verse . . . something about "the only Swede in McNamara's Band . . . "   How in the world was I going to remember all those lines?

Then the thought, "Google it." 

Oh, the revelations!  Top Ten hit for Bing Crosby in 1945!  Written about the real life McNamara Brothers, John, Patrick, Michael, and Thomas!  . . . but still, my folks taught us the song . . . my FOLKS . . so, by Golly, McNamara's Band was the Folk Song of the Day today.


Ah, Dad, just for you, we'll learn this song.  We'll sing it at the tops of our lungs.  We'll bang the drums.  We'll clang the cymbals.  But we have no horns, no bagpipes, no bassoons.  But we'll learn more about those instruments . . . and very soon.

And Mom, just for you, we talked about AB patterns:  the verse, the chorus; the rhyming patterns at the ends of each line (which ends up being actually and ABCA pattern!  whoa!)

And how about some corned beef and cabbage on St Paddy's Day?  Yum!