Jim Sharkey
Irish Folk & Americana
Singer-Songwriter, Portland, Maine
Jim Sharkey, Folk Musician
A Lovely Day, Release date - December 21st, 2019.
Produced by Colin Farrell & Jim Sharkey
The fourteen original songs on “A Lovely Day” are diverse but all are rooted in the Irish traditional heritage Jim grew up with in Ireland. “The Old Piano” is the story of an Irish immigrant music teacher who finds herself fleeing the Oklahoma Dust Bowl in 1935. She ends up in California and continues to teach children familiar songs and songs from her past such as “Skibbereen” and “The Homes of Donegal”. “Mother Jones” recounts the story of Cork-born Mary Harris who grew into the labor leader known as Mother Jones. “The Beautiful Game” is a more contemporary song about the Women’s World Cup of 2019. It features Derek Hickey on button accordion who provides a French cafe feel to the song. The musicians on the album are top class with Colin Farrell producing and playing fiddle and whistles. His brother Shane provides banjo and mandolin; Alan Murray is brilliant as ever on bouzouki and guitar; Nuala Kennedy sings subtle and beautiful harmony on three songs; Will MacMorran plays accordion on five or six tracks, Cillian Vallely plays pipes on two tracks and Anna Colliton plays bodhran on two songs. Local North Carolina musicians Luke Boudreault, trumpet; Destiny Stone, piano; and Kelly Siske-Dunworth, vocals; round out the talent featured on this, Jim Sharkey’s fourth, album.
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Mixed and Mastered by Dave Fason at Windfall Studios, Floyd, Virginia.
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Nuala Kennedy recorded by mé féin at Elm Park Studios, Ennis, County Clare, Ireland.
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Colin Farrell, Shane Farrell, Alan Murray, Anna Colliton, Derek Hickey recorded by Colin Farrell in various places.
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Cillian Vallely recorded by Cillian in New York City.
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Jim Sharkey, Destiny Stone, and Kelly Siske-Dunworth recorded by Jim in Salisbury, North Carolina,(Kelly was recorded in Mooresville, North Carolina).
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Luke Boudreault recorded at Presbyterian Church of the Covenant, Greensboro, North Carolina.
The Old Piano
written by Jim Sharkey
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That old piano, sir, I'm bound to fix her
to hear the songs the way my grandma did
Dust it off, wipe it down
Tune it up and we'll hear the sounds
Chorus:
Of Galway Bay; and The Homes of Donegal;
Skibbereen; and The Derry Air;
Shenandoah; This Land is Your Land;
Songs that helped our country grow
They left Boise City, Oklahoma,
in a beat up Ford, in the spring of thirty-five
And took the dusty road to California
Doing all they could to stay alive
And she told him
“Mister, I said, all our belongings”
I'm not leaving the Wentworth behind,
It might weigh a ton, as much as a mountain,
but we've moved mountains before, you and I”
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'Cause she gives light, as good as any kerosene lantern
To warm the soul she'll put fire inside
I've seen her chase the wolf from our doorway
I've seen her put the light back in your eyes
and back in mine
Chorus:
Of Galway Bay; and The Homes of Donegal;
Skibbereen; and The Derry Air;
Shenandoah; This Land is Your Land;
Songs that helped our country grow
​
She taught children in the San Joaquin Valley
how to play their chords and practice their scales
She earned extra money but everybody knew
her great reward was to hear them playing
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Chorus:
Of Galway Bay; and The Homes of Donegal;
Skibbereen; and The Derry Air;
Shenandoah; This Land is Your Land;
Songs that helped our country grow
​
That old piano, sir, I'm bound to fix
So take it off the auction list
It's not for sale, not for any reason
We'll bring her home, and hear her sing
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Chorus:
Of Galway Bay; The Homes of Donegal;
Skibbereen; and The Derry Air;
Shenandoah; This Land is Your Land;
Songs that helped our country grow
Songs from grandma's heart and soul
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A Lovely Day (for Mary and Hugh)
written by Jim Sharkey
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I'm happy when I see her smile
I'm happy when she stays a while
I'm happy when I see her face
and oh, so happy when we embrace
Chorus:
today will be a lovely day
I expect it will stay that way
All is well when I'm with Mary
Today will be a lovely day
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All day long my family's calling
friends write on my Facebook wall
and say Happy birthday, here's to you
We hope you have a good one Hugh
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Chorus:
It will be a lovely day
I expect it will stay that way
All is well when I'm with Mary
Today will be a lovely day
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It seems like only yesterday
Some memories never fade
I placed a ring upon her finger
It was Springtime, in New England
Chorus:
Today will be a lovely day
I expect it will stay that way
All is well when I'm with Mary
Today will be a lovely day
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Bridge:
Round and round the dance floor we glide
My hand by her side
Round and round and round we go
Her hand on my shoulder
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Last night at the Gaelic Club I saw
our kids, and the young ones, all grown up
but I felt content and I felt proud
to be the elder in the family now
Chorus:
It sure was a lovely day
all my life has been this way
All is well when I'm with you Mary
Today was a lovely day, (Mary)
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Jim Sharkey, 01 March 2018
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JUST TRY IT
written by Jim Sharkey
When you're feeling down
When you're feeling blue
When all you've got
is an uninspired option
staring back at you
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CHORUS:
Can't you just try it
Can't you just try it
You never know
it just might hold the answer
and if it does
the whole world will be thankful
and we can sleep soundly at night
Can't you just try it
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When your high heel splits
When the shoe won't fit
When your granny says
“Try a pair of mine on”
Don't be quick to dismiss her
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CHORUS:
Can't you just try it
Can't you just try it
You never know
It just might hold the answer
and if it does
the whole world will be thankful
and we can sleep soundly at night
Can't you just try it
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When the fish won't bite
When your lamp won't light
When the breaker trips
and your ice cream drips
When you're up all night
and your hair's a fright
Don't overlook, disregard or slight
Just give it a try
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When your tire's flat
and Triple AAA says your membership has lapsed
you recall, your old man sayin'
something about a jack, … I think it's somewhere in the back
CHORUS:
Can't you just try it
Can't you just try it
You never know
It just might hold the answer
and if it does
the whole world will be thankful
and we can sleep soundly at night
Can't you just try it
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When you're feeling down
When you're feeling blue
When the only choice
is an uninspired option
What have you got to lose
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Chorus – REPEAST LAST LINES 3 TIMES
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Lyrics
MY HOME IN ROSCOMMON
I started in the morning the air was crisp and clean
on the top of Bockagh Hill over-looking Ballaghadereen
I walked amongst the heather and thought of younger days
The fairs on Market Street the football games we played
CHORUS:
O the hay is baled, the turf is home
I'm taking a few days to myself to get to know
My home in Roscommon where the Beaker Folk of old,
settled round Aughurine 4,000 years ago
Then out to Aughalista with my bamboo fishing rod
I cast my line and cork-float, there was people on the bog
They were footing turf and clamping
and blowing in the breeze
They straightened up to look around
and they bent their backs with ease
CHORUS:
O the hay is baled, the turf is home
I'm taking a few days to myself to get to know
My home in Roscommon
where the Beaker Folk of old,
settled round Aughurine 4,000 years ago
Two big trout I landed but I put them back again
and a woman in Edmondstown
said she would have eaten them
she took me to The Four Altars
and told me long ago
the people walked on plank roads
to get where they were going
CHORUS:
O the hay is baled, the turf is home
I'm taking a few days to myself to get to know
My home in Roscommon where the Beaker Folk of old,
settled round Aughurine 4,000 years ago
And up on Fairymount around an Iron-Age fort
I fell asleep upon a ditch and I dreamt that I was sort
of a chieftain in charge
of a half a dozen men
we raided every fairy fort
from Buckhill to Elphin
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CHORUS:
O the hay is baled, the turf is home
I'm taking a few days to myself to get to know
My home in Roscommon where the Beaker Folk of old,
settled round Aughurine 4,000 years ago
and now the sun is setting on the long ago demenses
I'll stop a while in Spells, a session is underway
Niall is pulling pints of beer
and stout behind the bar
Joe is on the fiddle,
Phil is on guitar
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CHORUS:
O the hay is baled, the turf is home
I'm taking a few days to myself to get to know
My home in Roscommon where the Beaker Folk of old,
settled round Aughurine 4,000 years ago
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MOTHER JONES
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Framed inside an old photograph,
an elder woman dressed in black,
lace collar, and snow white hair,
a 19th century Mama Bear
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CHORUS:
Miners called her Mother Jones,
because their burdens were her own
she spoke up for the working poor,
when they worked the mines & the factory floors
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Politicians and newspapers,
the Pinkertons and the mine owners
said she was a radical,
the “most dangerous woman in America”
So they locked her up, and threatened her,
they wrote ill of her character
they tried to put her “in her place”
as she wiped the gild off The Gilded Age
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CHORUS:
Miners called her Mother Jones
because their burdens were her own
she spoke up for the working poor,
when they worked the mines & the factory floors
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She marched with the little mill children
from Philadelphia to Oyster Bay
Where they tried to see the President,
but he told them “go away”
In the hills of West Virginia,
in the brutal feudal system
she braved the bullets and brutality
of the thugs, the thieves and her government
CHORUS:
Miners called her Mother Jones,
because their burdens were her own
she spoke up for the working poor,
when they worked the mines & the factory floors
She gave them hell, and railed against
the blood and tear-stained opulence
and when she died, she left a bright beacon,
and the fire's burning ever yet
So when you see a firebrand,
a brave and radical woman or man
Please remember Mary Jones
by another name more widely known because
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CHORUS:
Miners called her Mother Jones,
because their burdens were her own
she spoke up for the working poor,
when they worked the mines & the factory floors
… the cold, dark mines, and the factory floors
THE STATE IT HAS ME IN
For thirty years he never
dared to linger in the past
“What good does it do”? he'd say if someone asked
So, don't you know, it frightened him
and left him feeling weird
to type in “Mary Joyce” on his new computer gear
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CHORUS:
Oh, I wish you'd never bought that computer thing
I was happy here on me own
til you brought the damn thing in
It's alright for some things; a card game, now and then
But I'd just as soon be left alone with the state it has me in
Ten or fifteen Mary Joyce's popped up on the screen
and he clicked on every one from Lisacul to Knocknareagh
He clicked on one from Birmingham, & one from Aberdeen
& Eureka! Then he clicked on Mary Joyce in New Orleans
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CHORUS:
Oh, I wish you'd never bought that computer thing
I was happy here on me own
til you brought the damn thing in
It's alright for some things; a card game, now and then
But I'd just as soon be left alone with the state it has me in
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He heard her voice, like a bell, as in days of yore
In a video that maybe was a year old - not much more
She sang "I'll Always Love You"
at a do on Conti Street
Down south in New Orleans,
and she never looked so sweet
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It brought him back to the days
he thought would never end
But he was young and she was too
And you know what happened then
The summer passed and left his poor heart
hanging on the trees
to fall down in November
among the withered leaves
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CHORUS:
Oh, I wish you'd never bought that computer thing
I was happy here on me own
til you brought the damn thing in
It's alright for some things; a card game, now and then
But I'd just as soon be left alone with the state it has me in
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He tried to get to sleep that night
but thoughts ran through his head
Should he try to contact her? Or find out her address?
She might like to hear from him?
Or would she be appalled?
Riddled with anxiety he never slept at all
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CHORUS:
Oh, I wish you'd never bought that computer thing
I was happy here on me own
til you brought the damn thing in
It's alright for some things; a card game, now and then
But I'd just as soon be left alone with the state it has me in
FATHER OF THE BRIDE
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On the day before her wedding
the father of the bride
took down a box of photographs
that might help to jog his mind
so he could write the speech he had to write;
that custom has required
but a man of few words all his life
was the father of the bride
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Chorus:
Like a ship without a captain
when the waves come rushing in
mem'ries heaped down on him
he didn't know where to begin
So much is so important
which ones should he include?
when every precious moment
is too precious to exclude
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At three years old, she wore black tights
and her favorite, Disney dress
with a slip-on left shoe on the right foot
and the right one on her left
We got a doll and she named it “Woggly”
the day her sister was born
she wanted to be like her mother
with a newborn of her own
Chorus:
Like a ship without a captain
when the waves come rushing in
mem'ries heaped down on him
he didn't know where to begin
So much is so important
which ones should he include?
when every precious moment
is too precious to exclude
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He laid down his weary head
as day turned into night
sleep gave way and dreams held sway
in the oceans of his mind
a tapping on the windowpane;
brought a late night visitor
“my name is William Butler Yeats”
he said, “I hear you're stuck for words”
Chorus:
I'm like a ship without a captain
when the waves come rushing in
mem'ries heap down on me
I don't know where to begin
So much is so important
which ones would you include?
when every precious moment
is too precious to exclude
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all through the night, they'd write and write
they'd drain the ink well dry
by 6 o'clock the work was done
and he timed it under nine
the photographs, with care, were put back
his mind now in repose
he knew exactly what to say
later on, when he rose, on her wedding day
THE CHAMPION
Goodnight, darlin', my grand-daughter dear
I'll tell you the story you like to hear
about your father, when he was a child
You know it well, it always makes you smile
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How he would run through the fields
when we'd send him to the shop
and hear thousands cheering
as he burst out of the blocks
then home he'd arrive,
saying “I ran it under five, I think
I might be a champion someday”
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Goodnight, darlin', my grand-daughter dear
I'll tell you the story you like to hear
about your father, when he was a child
You know it well, it always makes you smile
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A meadow in June occurred to him to be
a perfect place to play against imaginary teams
For hours he'd dribble 'round
the stacks and bales of hay and say
“I'm going to be a champion someday”
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Goodnight, darlin', my grand-daughter dear
I have a story that you'd like to hear
about your father, when he was a child
You know it well, I've told you many times
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He wrote a letter to the President one day
he told her his name
and gave her his age
The President wrote back
and said “young man, I'd say,
you're going to be a champion someday.”
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Goodnight, darlin', my grand-daughter dear
I have a story you'd like to hear
about your father, when he was a child
You know it well, it always makes you smile
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In a few short years he left home for work
and flew across the ocean like a bird
when he returned
with his wife and baby girl
They said,
“we've brought you home a champion today”
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Goodnight, darlin', my grand-daughter dear
I've told you the stories, you wanted to hear
about your father, when he was a child
I'll tell you no more, 'cause it's time,
we said goodnight
THE BEAUTIFUL GAME
(The 2019 Women's World Cup)
Twenty-four teams
togged out for the World Cup in France
They came from all over,
they'd worked hard when given the chance
down through the years, and for little pay
with plenty of laughter, hardship and pain,
they bonded together,
to play in the beautiful game
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They wore yellow and green, orange,
red, white and blue
and played for their countries, their friends,
and their loved ones too
some played on the back line,
some played on the wing
the goal was the same, just get the ball in
cross to the forward she'll pounce
to score once again
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My grandmother told me
if ever I was to roam
Upon returning make sure
to bring presents home
There's chocolates in Paris,
there's cheeses and wine
Eiffel Tower replicas,
famous street signs
And footballing mem'ries
to own for rest of your life
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Alas, now it's over,
and one team, has come out on top
and more and more teams
will start training for their next shot
When four years roll round
they'll be here once again
it's a long way from now
but the World Cup for men
will help pass the time,
'til our ladies return once again.
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Twenty-four teams togged out
for the World Cup in France
They came from all over,
they'd worked hard when given the chance
down through the years, and for little pay
with plenty of laughter, hardship and pain,
they bonded together,
to play in the beautiful game
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THE HIGHWAYMAN
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On a fine and pleasant morning
Just before the break of day
As I walked along the coast road
To the fair in Massachusetts Bay
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I heard my father's warning
From a time so far away
Beware of the highwayman
On the road to Massachusetts Bay
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He will hide amongst the heather
Like a red fox to the hare
As you walk along the coast road
Just before the break of day
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He will take your hard-earned shillling
Your cattle and your jacket blue
He'll make you thank the good lord
That he left your life with you
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Out of the dewey heather
Just before the break of day
As I walked along the coast road
A fair maid stood in my way
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She said hand me your hard-earned shilling
hand me your jacket blue
hand over your beef cattle
I will keep them safe for you
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For my father stands before us
and the fair in Massachusetts Bay
He will rob you of your treasures
He's a highwayman by trade
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We'll take the road less travelled
and around him we will stray
and your cattle you will sell today
at the fair in Massachusetts Bay
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Oh, we walked and talked together
then she kissed me on the mouth
and her father with his pistols
stood up and gave a shout
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“Hand over your hard-earned shillling
Your cattle and jacket blue
Kneel down and thank the good lord
That I leave your life with you”
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He said, “Stand aside my daughter
You have done your job so well
You may go back to your mother
take his money with you as well”
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Oh Father, said the young maid
Your ways I can't abide
For I've come to love this young man
and I mean to make him mine
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Now we live along the coast road
and around us children play
and this song that I sing to you
I'll sing to them some day
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I'LL TAKE CARE OF YOU
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Winter arrived today,
the fields are all wet with rain
The cold, blustery, painful kind, to sting your face
and make you close your eyes
I pass a little robin's nest, oh! my goodness,
there's life there yet
what's the matter little bird,
did you not get the word
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CHORUS
I'll take care of you, like a true friend would do
I won't abandon you, I'll be true, and I'll take care of you
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Little Robin all alone,
shivering, in your little Irish home
Come inside to warm yourself,
you can bring along your little nest
Sleepy eyes, shallow breathe,
frightened ball of feathers in a nest;
Did they leave you unknowingly,
in their haste to get to Italy?
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CHORUS
I'll take care of you, like a true friend would do and
I won't abandon you, I'll be true, I'll take care of you
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I read that long ago the ancient myths
thought that all the birds turned into fish
They didn't know that you flew away
when the weather got too cold to stay
Have you seen the Serengetti Plain?
I've heard it's nice in Portugal and Spain,
They say the weather there is always fine,
but a little hot in summertime
CHORUS
I'll take care of you, like a true friend would do and
I won't abandon you, I'll be true, and I'll take care of you
BRIDGE
It's so nice to make a connection
It's important not to be alone
and I'm more than happy that I met you
'Cause you turn my house into a home
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Aren't we a right old pair now,
sitting here for over half a year
Winter's gone, springtime's near,
time flew by, goodbyes are here
Won't you come and visit me
when your friends come back from Italy
Tell them now and then you have to go for,
to visit with an old friend you know
CHORUS
I'll take care of you, like a true friend would do and
I won't abandon you, I'll be true, and I'll take care of you
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DELIA & SAINT CHRISTOPHER
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Oh, Delia, where have you gone?
Your brother is worried
he thinks something's wrong
he thinks something's happened
you're in trouble someway
write soon and tell him
that you're doing okay
Oh, Delia,where have ye gone?
Your mother is worried
You've been gone so long
she rereads the letter
you sent last year
and all the letters you first wrote
when you were so full of cheer
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BRIDGE
All around the county
children left their homes
young boys and young girls
barely fifteen years old
Oh, Delia, where have you gone?
Your father is worried
he's quiet and withdrawn
He lights votive candles
and prays to my name
He's reaching for anything
that'll help ease the pain
Oh, Delia, you've done nothing wrong
take pen to paper
it doesn't have to be long
and there I left her
and as I was goin'
I saw she had written
“I'll be coming home,
Dear Mammy and Daddy
I'll be coming home”
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THE CHRISTMAS COMET
He'll tip / his cap / at strangers
and smile / as children stare
dressed in / a red tuxedo
he appears / out of thin air
CHORUS:
His home / is on / the western breeze
where the heathery / bogs abound
he comes out / every Christmas Eve
like a comet / coming round / to our town
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He'll unfold / a silver trumpet
from a cloth / of velvet green
and when / he blows / “Joy to the World”
not a dry / eye can / be seen
CHORUS:
His home / is on / the western breeze
where the heathery / bogs abound
he comes out / every Christmas Eve
like a comet / coming round / to our town
And they say / all grief / and trouble
in the crowd / that gathers there
rises up upon the music
and dissolves / into / thin air
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CHORUS:
His home / is on / the western breeze
where the heathery / bogs abound
he comes out / every Christmas Eve
like a comet / coming round / to our town
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He'll tell / jokes / that have no punchline
in between // most every tune
yet the way that he tells them
makes you laugh / as if they do
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CHORUS:
His home / is on / the western breeze
where the heathery / bogs abound
he comes out / every Christmas Eve
like a comet / coming round / to our town
Happy Christmas / O'Donoghue
What would we do / without you
Happy Christmas / O'Donoghue
Happy Christmas / and a Happy / New Year / too
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I HAVE TO BE SOMEPLACE
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Out on the ocean there is a wave
That passes Bermuda every other day
With white hair blazing and news to relay
Sayin, “I can't stop now I have to be someplace,
I can't stop now I have to be someplace
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On the coast of Ireland, there is a girl
her hands cup to capture the ocean swirl
and raising it up to her shimmering lips
she whispers softly before releasing it
Saying, “Hey, hey, John, I long to see your face”
“Hey, hey, John, I long to see your face”
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That old wave now with her message in hand
Treks over the ocean, back to NewFoundLand
and down south to Boston, her lover to trace
Saying, “I can't stop now I have to be someplace”
“I can't stop now I have to be someplace”
And I say, Hey, hey, for the ocean wave
Hey, hey, for the ocean wave
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BRIDGE:
At night I overhear them talk of him
the westerly wind and the rain
I hear them say “that wave is so strange,
to take his work so seriously”
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Coming off the water into New Bedford Bay
with lobster traps set, John winds down the day
and over to starboard, there's a welcoming sight
It's that tired old wave carrying a message tonight
Saying, “Hey, hey, John, she longs to see your face”
“Hey, hey, John, she longs to see your face”
BRIDGE:
At night I overhear them talk of him
the westerly wind and the rain
I hear them say “that wave is so strange,
to take his work so seriously”
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Out on the ocean there is a wave
and if you should see him help him on his way
and don't be offended when you hear him say
“I can't stop now I have to be someplace”
“I can't stop now I have to be someplace”
And I say, hey, hey, for the ocean waves
The tireless, hardworking ocean waves
Hey, hey, for the ocean waves
Fair play to the ocean waves
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DELIA & SAINT CHRISTOPHER
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Oh, Delia, where have you gone?
Your brother is worried
he thinks something's wrong
he thinks something's happened
you're in trouble someway
write soon and tell him
that you're doing okay
Oh, Delia,where have ye gone?
Your mother is worried
You've been gone so long
she rereads the letter
you sent last year
and all the letters you first wrote
when you were so full of cheer
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BRIDGE
All around the county
children left their homes
young boys and young girls
barely fifteen years old
Oh, Delia, where have you gone?
Your father is worried
he's quiet and withdrawn
He lights votive candles
and prays to my name
He's reaching for anything
that'll help ease the pain
Oh, Delia, you've done nothing wrong
take pen to paper
it doesn't have to be long
and there I left her
and as I was goin'
I saw she had written
“I'll be coming home,
Dear Mammy and Daddy
I'll be coming home”
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