Irish Farmer Behind Famous Pop Songs | Foil Arms and Hog

Hello there

My name is Micheál Ó'Conaill from Ballinahaunigh

Some of you might know me

But I imagine a lot of you never heard of me

but you may have heard of my songs

Because I have written for some of the biggest pop stars in the world

Years and years of writing for these folks

and I thought now within this period of isolation that I could share

some of them songs which you hear, my original versions

So the first one I wanted to kick off with

is a song that I wrote

When I was in a very dark place, I thought I was going to lose the farm

Look, it wasn't profitable for the third harvest in a row and I didn't know what to do.

So I wrote this song

I'm going under and this time I fear there's no one to save me

This crop rotations really got a way of driving me crazy.

I need somebody to

Harvest

Somebody to sow

somebody to plow

Somebody to hoe.

It's easy to say

but it's never the same

Please God keep these EU

subsidies from going away

And the day creeps into nightfall

I lie awake waiting for the cockrill to call

So I hope you enjoyed that one

I sold it to a fella there a few years ago

Leonard Capaldi,

and apparently according to my son he's done very well out of it

Which I'm I'm happy to say, I like that one.

Wrote this one in the summer of 82

This next song. We were working hard in the fields.

Tilling the soil

And I had a friend Massey who needed a bit of a Gee-Up so used to say to him

Rake that thing

Mossey Mossey rake that thing

We'll get the harvest done at the break of dawn

Fill the kettle Seán, turn it on

We'll have a cuppa tea when the work is done

Fill the kettle, turn it on

And it used to work

I don't know who I sold it to in the end

But they managed to make more out of it more of a song, if you like.

I only had a few lines.

Oh this other one I wanted to share with you

What's it? Now, yes it was late September 1994 it was

We had the mother of all harvests

and I couldn't handle it all by myself

So I had to bring in some help

but I tell you the lads we brought into the farm

were next to useless

So I wrote this song

slow slow

hands

No, sweat dripping off they're barely working.

No, no chance.

I'm leaving here with half a harvest.

I, I know yeah, I already know there ain't no hurry and

birthing lambs and those

slow hands

you know, I gave that song to a friend of mine.

Bobby Horan

Who gave it to his son

who apparently again did very well out of it

And fair play to him I gave him 40 quid for his is confirmation there

He was a nice lad

but I didn't see a penny of that - come back my way in Ballinahaunigh now

But sure listen

we'll leave off

Well it wasn't the first time that Bobby Horan asked me for a tune

his young lad was doing some show

A factor of something, factor 50, I think it was called

He was singing on it with a bunch of other lads.

They asked me for a song so I gave them one

this is one that I wrote

A serious issue that was happening at the time 15 years ago.

We had three break-ins on the farm

The lads they cut the gate

They broke in and they stole 45 Jersey cows from me

and they kept coming back the bastards

So I wrote this song

Everybody wanna steal my cattle

Everybody wanna rustle my herd away

couple billion in the whole of Ireland

Find another cow

Because she belongs to me

Bastards

This next one. I wasn't sure now eh...

What I was doing on the farm at the time

I was a dairy farmer and I wasn't sure whether I'd go into crops as well

but I was lying on me back on the fallow fields

And I thought feck it i will.

I want to make

bales of hay

Tell me why

Ain't nothing for the cows to eat

Tell me why

Doing nothing for the price of meat

Tell me why...

Wrapped in nothing but a black plastic sheet

I'm making bales of hay

I'm going to finish with one now

It makes me a little emotional singing this one now

1974 and we were in the dance hall and

And didn't I look across, we were doing the Walls of Limerick

And there was this girl and I'll never forget her

I'll never forget her.

They say oh my God I like the way you shine

Take your hand my dear and place it in mine

You know you shtopped me dead while I was passing by

And now I beg to see you céilí one more time.

They say

Dance for me, dance for me, dance for me oh oh oh

I've never seen anybody do those things you do before

Go on out of that.

They say, jig for me jig for me jig for me oh oh oh

And when you're done I'll make you do it all again

Change your partners. Anyway...

Sure it was a bit of craic.

Go on there Michael.

I haven't seen her since

But I tell ya if she remembers me tell her I still have a glint in my eye and a place in my heart for her.

Listen I hope you enjoyed my stream here

And I'll catch you again on the flip side as they say.

Good man. Good man. Take care. All right.

Right

Am I off?

Doomdah!