Toora, loora, loora muthafuckahs.

Which kinda sums up my upbringing, if I think about it. Irish kid moves to ‘70’s Ghetto.

In Ireland, Patrick’s Day was traditionally more of a religious deal than a major blow out‘certainly there are no green rivers of beer and all that nonsense in my memory bank. I don’t really go on about Irish Culture all that much but St. Patrick was a heck of a guy and it’s worth noting who he was and what’s really all about.

Patrick was not Irish and he did nothing about the snakes because, as far as I know, Ireland never had snakes.

But Naomh Pádraigh was known for tolerance. He outlawed slavery in Ireland a thousand years before anywhere else in Europe. He also demanded equal rights for women and in fact many women were leaders of the Church in Ireland until the 10th century. These are achievements that should be better known. My guess is that the reason they are not has a lot to do with what Western culture really values. (I mean seriously—why, for example, should Joan Of Arc or St. Louis be better known? It seems like wars and crusades simply make better press.)

Despite all the carrying on that occurs each March 17th, Patrick was more about peace and restraint.

Anyhoo… Go nuts today. Drink until you throw up in seventeen shades of green. Kiss a hundred people with enough tongue to find missing dental work. And sing Danny Boy until someone starts crying (for one reason or another.) I’ll probably not be there to be yer designated driver. But I’ll be thinking of ya.

Oh… since this is supposed to be about ‘music’, here’s a tune I recall from way back when which is more in the tone I think about for St. Pat’s. Lá fhéile Pádraig sona dhuibhse.