Songs about (Northern) Ireland by Non-(Northern) Irish Artists: Worst to Best
Arising from a conversation with @cparti-mkiki on the famed Les Lacs du Connemara, I decided to make a poll in which participants may vote on the worst song about (Northern) Ireland by a non-Irish artist.
The vote contains solely songs that touch upon historical and political issues from Irish-born soldiers in the American Civil War to the Troubles to Ed Sheeran's grandparents' cross-confessional marriage.
A few caveats:
i do not mean to imply that only Irish people can have an opinion on (Northern) Irish history and politics, or can't make art relating to it; yet naturally, their voices should be heard first, taken seriously, and treated with greater weight and above all, respect.
Especially for artists with no first-hand connection to a political cause and/or historical event they write about, the slope between a genuine protest song and the commercial exploitation of current events or a political sentiment is a very slippery one. It is wit this backdrop in mind that I made this poll.
None of the revenue created by any of these songs (to my knowledge at least; except perhaps in a way, Les Lacs du Connemara) directly profitted Irish people or organisations, and sometimes, rather odd and unfortnuately-phrased takes shine through in dodgy lyrics that betray an evident lack of understanding of the situation at hand.
Please note that the mere inclusion of a song on this list does not necessarily mean I think it is absolutely horrible; this is just a selection from a wider pool of possible contestants, narrowed down to fit into a Tumblr poll.
The rules:
Tumblr polls are limitted to 10 options, so I picked 9 songs fitting into the outlined cateogry that I could think of and added the tenth option of leaving your own addition in the tags.
Please vote on the song you think is the worst of the lot. The best, conversely, will be the one with the least votes.
In the poll, the songs are listed chronologically in order of their release from 1977 to 2017.
If you're unfamiliar with a song or just curious, I'll include links to them on YouTube and a lyrics page under the cut below the poll.
For the moment, I'll hold back on my opinions on (some of) the songs featured in the poll so as to not influence the results, but feel free to add your own opinions, points of critique and discussions or, if arising, corrections!
The Poll:
Belfast (I, English version) – Marcia Barrett/Boney M. (1977)
Lyrics
Belfast (II, German version) – Gilla (1977)
Lyrics
Les Lacs du Connemara – Michel Sardou (1981)
Lyrics
The House of Orange – Stan Rogers (1984)
Lyrics
It's a Hard Life Wherever You Go – Nanci Griffith (1989)
Lyrics
La Ballade Nord Irlandaise – Pierre Manuel Séchan aka Renaud (1991)
Lyrics
Ireland – Garth Brooks (1995)
Lyrics
Belfast to Boston – James Taylor (2002)
Lyrics
Nancy Mulligan – Ed Sheeran (2017)
Lyrics
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Dude I listened to that song and I love it. I really appreciate songs written from the perspective of or about a whole country just... #the state of this world am I right?? (Also Hetalia fan here but shhh)
I understood almost everything but just to be sure that I didn't miss anything from the message, can you post the translation please?
PS you also inspired me to post something
ok so first thing (which honestly is like... normal to be confused if you're not a native speaker) is that the song is not from the perspective of a whole country because it's not La France (the country) but Le France (a ship named after the country).
Basically it was the biggest ship ever build for the 12 years it was in activity. It was the pride of the french fleet (not war fleet, I think it was for passenger transit or something), the apple of their eyes etc. It was a whole symbol.
Giscard d'Estaing, french president, had among his campagin promises that he would keep Le France in good state and in activity. As soon as he became president (well maybe not as soon but you get it) he fucking sold it to a saudian business man who sold it to a norwegian armator (who renamed it the Norway) and then she (the ship) ended up being sold to some ironmonger or whatever (years later, like deacdes later, which was further proof that the France could have kept sailing for decades!)
So, big scandal, big outrage.
The Right Wing goes berserk because they're selling a national symbol, the Left Wing goes berserk because I'm pretty sure there was also something like The France being sold meant a fuckton of jobs disappearing. It probably goes without saying but at the time, to piss off the right and left wings at the same time, for the same reason was kind of a feat.
So anyway here's the text, (the translation), and [explanations of context or explanations of translation].
Quand je pense à la vieille anglaise
Qu'on appelait le "Queen Mary",
Echouée si loin de ses falaises
Sur un quai de Californie,
(When I think of the old english lady
Who they called the "Queen Mary" [also a big ship from that time, but english]
Crashed [or shipwrecked, the idea is that it's still above water but not sailing anymore] so far from her cliffs,
In the docks of California...)
Quand je pense à la vieille anglaise,
J'envie les épaves englouties,
Longs courriers qui cherchaient un rêve
Et n'ont pas revu leur pays.
(When I think of the old english lady,
I envy the sunken wreckages,
Long-distance ships that chased after[or looked after] a dream,
And never saw their countries again)
Ne m'appelez plus jamais "France".
La France elle m'a laissé tomber.
Ne m'appelez plus jamais "France".
C'est ma dernière volonté.
(Don't ever call me France again
France [the country this time] has let me down.
Don't ever call me France again,
It's my last wish [dernière volonté -> idiom corresponding to dying wish too])
J'étais un bateau gigantesque
Capable de croiser mille ans.
J'étais un géant, j'étais presque
Presqu'aussi fort que l'océan.
(I was a gigantic ship,
Able to sail a thousand years,
I was a giant, I was almost,
Almost as strong as the Ocean)
J'étais un bateau gigantesque.
J'emportais des milliers d'amants.
J'étais la France. Qu'est-ce qu'il en reste ?
Un corps-mort pour des cormorans.
(I was a gigantic ship,
I was sending thousands of lovers.
I was France [the country], what's left of it?
A dead body for cormorants [cormorants and dead body sound almost exactly the same in french: cor(ps are mute) mor(ts are mute) and cormor(ants)])
Ne m'appelez plus jamais "France ".
La France elle m'a laissé tomber.
Ne m'appelez plus jamais "France".
C'est ma dernière volonté.
(Don't ever call me France again,
France [the country this time] has let me down.
Don't ever call me France again,
It's my last wish)
Quand je pense à la vieille anglaise
Qu'on appelait le "Queen Mary",
Je ne voudrais pas finir comme elle
Sur un quai de Californie.
(When I think of the old english lady,
Who they called the "Queen Mary",
I wouldn't want to end like her,
On a dock in California)
Que le plus grand navire de guerre
Ait le courage de me couler,
Le cul tourné à Saint-Nazaire,
Pays breton où je suis né.
(May the biggest warship ever
Have the bravery to sink me,
My back [literally my ass but let's keep it correct] turned on Saint-Nazaire,
Breton country where I was born! [Saint-Nazaire, biggest naval pier of France at the time, about to close, costing those jobs I was talking about earlier, in Bretagne (one of the western areas of France) is the place where the France (ship) was build]
Ne m'appelez plus jamais "France".
La France elle m'a laissé tomber.
Ne m'appelez plus jamais "France".
C'est ma dernière volonté.
(Don't ever call me France again,
France has let me down.
Don't ever call me France again,
It's my last wish)
.
Anyway I don't know what else to say but don't hesitate to ask more questions.
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