Today we say hello and goodbye to Black 47. The band got started in 1989 by Larry Kirwan and Chris Byrne. Its name comes from the traditional term for the summer of 1847, the worst year of the Great Irish Famine. They developed a niche, playing a combination of traditional Celtic music infused with Rap and other contemporary rock genres.
B47 is an unblinkingly political band, playing rock ‘n’ roll based on Irish roots, with songs covering topics from the Northern Ireland troubles to US civil rights, Iraq and urban unrest in contemporary New York.
Heart, intellect and a high value on freedom, is what Black 47 is all about. The Wrongologist has been a fan since the early 1990’s. The group will amicably disband on November 8, 2014, exactly 25 years after their first gig in the Bronx.
Right after 9/11, Black 47 appeared regularly at Connolly’s Pub in Manhattan, playing what Kirwan has described as intensely emotional shows in order to provide fans who had lost loved ones an outlet for their grief and loss. Those shows were channeled into their album New York Town.
But let’s go back to an earlier time. Here is “Green Suede Shoes” off their 1996 album of the same name:
Lastly, here is “Downtown Baghdad Blues” from their CD IRAQ. IRAQ came out in 2008 and was popular with troops serving in Iraq and it was written in part, from soldiers’ letters:
Here are the first and last stanzas of Downtown Baghdad Blues’ lyrics:
Got a buddy in Najaf, he’s playing it straight
Prays to the Lord Jesus Christ every night
Got a homey in Samarra goin’ up the wall
Every time he hear an Islamic prayer call
Me, I don’t care much for Jesus or Mohammed
They don’t stop bullets to the best of my knowledge
Later for the both of you, catch you in eternity
Hopefully, towards the end of this century
I didn’t want to come here, I didn’t get to choose,
I got the hup, two, three, four Downtown Baghdad Blues.
Mission accomplished, yeah, up on deck
Got no armor for my Humvee, left facin’ this train wreck
Shia don’t like me, want Islamic Revolution
Sunni say civil war is part of the solution
Maybe someday there’ll be peace in Fallujah
McDonald’s on the boulevard, Cadillac cruisin’
I’m tryin’ hard to keep this whole thing straight
But will someone tell me what am I doin’ here in the first place?
