Fathers and Fatherhood: Take Her in Your Arms

Andy M Stewart and Manus Lunny: Take Her in Your Arms

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Songwriters as a group seem to have uneasy relationships with their fathers. To start with, there simply are far more songs about mothers. But, beyond that, do you want to give your father a mix for Father’s Day that includes a classic about how he never had enough time for his son, (Cat’s in the Cradle)? Or how he wasn’t there at all, (Papa Was a Rolling Stone)? You see the difficulty.

Even Take Her in Your Arms is not a thank you for a father’s good advice. Rather it is a comic portrait of a lovesick young man who should have asked his father’s advice, but never did.

When you hear about Celtic folk music, you usually hear about how wonderful Irish music is. And it is. But the Scots more than hold their own. Andy M Stewart and Manus Lunny were in the “Scottish Supergroup” Silly Wizard. Since then, they have continued to produce fine work, both as solo artists and as a duo.

Drinkin’ Songs: The Humours of Whiskey

Andy Stewart and Manus Lunny: The Humours of Whiskey

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Andy Stewart and Manus Lunny have together and apart been involved in making some of the best folk music Scotland has to offer. Stewart first gained attention as a member of Silly Wizard. Lunny is still an active member of Capercaillie. And together, they have made some magic. The Humours of Whiskey is but a small taste.

Here Stewart sings about the cure for whatever ails you. And you thought drinking makes you sick!

The term for the whiskey of the title that is used in the song is “poteen”. Actually an Irish term, poteen refers to types of whiskey made in small batches. The term poteen has negative connotations, implying the Irish equivalent of moonshine.