Meal do Bhrògan – Praise your Shoes

Meal do Bhrògan – Praise your Shoes.

This port à beul is in reel time, but has an irregular meter in the second part. I asked Brìghde about the unusual rhythm and she said, “Well the worst-case scenario is that someone starts trying to clog”. So clog with care on this one!

Here is Margaret Stewart-Harding singing the song: https://www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/track/100930?l=en.

The irregular rhythm comes in the form of some “dropped beats”, and I’ve expressed that by switching to 3/4 time for those measures. There is also a version in straight 4/4 time, sung by Mary Ann Kennedy here: https://www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/track/80108?l=en.

The song is about Neil’s praiseworthy black shoes, and his mother keeping both eyes peeled for them. Lyrics.

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