Search - David Kincaid :: Irish-American's Song

Nothing short of magnificent.

Alan Edward Creager | Henrico, VA, USA | 06/15/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"David Kincaid is the king of Irish-American music, at least in dealing with Civil War-era songs. His work here is absolutely magnificent, though credit is due to the instrument players and others who made this CD possible.



"The Irish-American's Song" has 6 Confederate and 6 Union military songs, all by and popular with Irish-Americans who fought in the Civil War. "Kelly's Irish Brigade", "Private Maguire", and "The Irish Sixty-Ninth" are all particular favorites of mine. But the top of them all simply must be "The President's Ball", a 4 or 5-minute song about a Union Irishman's invitation to a presidential ball in Washington City, where he sees Lincoln, his wife, and many important military and political figures of the Union. As the song goes on, he witnesses a highly-decorated but uninvited soldier's failed attempt to get into the ball, and the British ambassador's crafty theft of one Mrs. Cunningham's shawl as he is just about to leave. Then there is a fight between a Senator- couldn't catch the name- who drinks to Jefferson Davis, and Stanton, who does or says something else that causes the two to fight. The police rush in as "the ladies did squall", and much to my and the singer's amusement, the Great Emancipator is removed from the scene on a stretcher, very drunk.



An excellent set of Union and Confederate Irish songs, some of them funny, others dramatic, but all in some way courageous and full of the fighting spirit which the Irish have become famous for. To anyone interested in hearing the Civil War songs of one of America's most important immigrant groups, I highly recommend this CD."