well, we are moved.....to Louisiana

Tradman · Post by **Tradman** » Sat Jul 03, 2004 8:03 am

Gary,

Glad to hear that Im not the only one in Ga that plays Irish music, outside of Atlanta. Im from Waycross, but now live in St. Augustine. If I ever move back up to Waycross, I may have to pay you to come down from Macon to get together and play some tunes, teach the local folks that country, grunge rock, and bluegrass is not the only kind of music in the world (although I do like some good bluegrass!) AND, I will take a good plate of grits with cheese on top any day of the year!

Good to hear that there are more and more people in the South who play the good music. I play with John Maze and the crew in Gainesville, and that tionol this past year was just lovely. Make it this coming year if at all possible. Rumor is that K. Crawford will be teaching our flute class this year. I will ask him next week when I meet him in Ennis.

Eric

Paul · Post by **Paul** » Sat Jul 03, 2004 8:27 am

Louisiana... I had this big crazy Cajun guy working for me several years ago. He had some great stories about "back home". I used to love hearing them. He came from a place called Houma, LaFouche Parrish. His granny still only spoke French. Anyway one day he and a bunch of his pals were riding around in his van when they came up on a big old gator in the road. Of course, as in all stories like this, they were all drunk and stoned. So this guy decides to ride the gator. He told me that if you straddle one and walk up from behind it can't see you. That's what he did. And he made a noose out of his belt and slipped it around the gator's neck, cinched it up and just sat down on its back. He said the gator started growling and walking around while he held onto the belt like a bridle. Everybody was laughing and carrying on and he was just riding around on its back. Anyway, along comes a cop. Of course the cop didn't know how to go about getting him off the gator without a disaster. They called animal control and everything. He told me that as he started to sober up while waiting for them to come he realised what a bad spot he was in and got really scared. In the end they got him off the gator all safe and sound. They took the gator off into the swamp. The guy ended up going to jail but they let him go because the head cop was his cousin.

Anyway, Islandpiper, a big welcome to the south! Best of luck to ye.

-Paul

Lorenzo · Post by **Lorenzo** » Sat Jul 03, 2004 8:27 am

Patrick D'Arcy wrote:Only if that cracker happens to be your sister!

Huh? I thought djm was his sister.

Linguists now believe the original root to be the Gaelic craic, still used in Ireland (anglicized in spelling to crack) for "entertaining conversation." The English meaning of cracker as a braggart appears by Elizabethan times, as, for example, in Shakespeare's King John (1595): "What cracker is this ... that deafes our ears / With this abundance of superfluous breath?" -The New Georgia Encyclopedia

Paul · Post by **Paul** » Sat Jul 03, 2004 8:39 am

The crackers were our minor league baseball team until 1965

ATLANTA CRACKERS

Most new Atlantans don't even know about it. There's a Home Depot and a huge parking lot there now courtesy of the Pave The Earth society.

Patrick D'Arcy · Post by **Patrick D'Arcy** » Sat Jul 03, 2004 10:24 am

Lorenzo wrote:
Patrick D'Arcy wrote:Only if that cracker happens to be your sister!
Huh? I thought djm was his sister.

Linguists now believe the original root to be the Gaelic craic, still used in Ireland (anglicized in spelling to crack) for "entertaining conversation."

Then there's the slang term for "white person" - Kracker! This would be the term I was specifically referring to in my earlier post of interminable interest

Patrick.

sturob · Post by **sturob** » Sat Jul 03, 2004 11:05 am

Lorenzo wrote:Linguists now believe the original root to be the Gaelic craic, still used in Ireland (anglicized in spelling to crack) for "entertaining conversation." The English meaning of cracker as a braggart appears by Elizabethan times, as, for example, in Shakespeare's King John (1595): "What cracker is this ... that deafes our ears / With this abundance of superfluous breath?" -The New Georgia Encyclopedia

Actually, Lorenzo, that's not correct. "Craic" is an English loan-word borrowed into Irish, according to most linguists. As in "crack a joke." It's just like the awful Irish word "seisiun" or "seisiún," which is just the Gaelic-ified version of the English (née French) word "session." Just like the quasi-Scots-Gaelic word "crag" or "crac," which is the same word. In Scots Gaelic, there's also a word "cracas," meaning "conversation," that also derives from the English "crack."

The earliest comprehensive Irish dictionary is from about 1927, and it doesn't contain the word "craic." In fact, the word does not appear in any Irish-language literature until the mid-20th century. It has much earlier use in England and Scotland (cf. Spenser, Burns). . . and in areas of the Low Countries with the same meaning (witty conversation / banter / jokes), so it does seem hard to refute that the word is Germanic in origin and not a Celtic word.

I think it's ironic that so Irish a concept would be described by an English loanword, but it could be that something so Irish didn't need a descriptive term in Gaelic. Eh, whatever.

Stuart

Hans-Joerg · Post by **Hans-Joerg** » Mon Jul 05, 2004 3:50 am

> Down there, isn't that called the "Dixieland Harp"?

I´m glad to read that Phil obviously distinguishes the Dixieland Harp (or Bedpan

from the Five String. It used to be my main instument before I got infected by the UP-virus. BTW, UPs accompanied by a Fine String (clawhammer style) really sounds great.
Best
Hans

fancypiper · Post by **fancypiper** » Mon Jul 05, 2004 6:53 am

Hans-Joerg wrote:> Down there, isn't that called the "Dixieland Harp"?

I´m glad to read that Phil obviously distinguishes the Dixieland Harp (or Bedpan from the Five String. It used to be my main instument before I got infected by the UP-virus. BTW, UPs accompanied by a Fine String (clawhammer style) really sounds great.
Best
Hans

How in the world do you do jigs clawhammer style?

Joseph E. Smith · Post by **Joseph E. Smith** » Mon Jul 05, 2004 7:04 am

Very carefully...and have loads of BEN-GAY on hand...

Hans-Joerg · Post by **Hans-Joerg** » Mon Jul 05, 2004 7:36 am

Well, it is possible, but in fact I´m not sure how to call it. It derives from 4/4 but in the 3/4 the first thumbing is left out and I played two "strums" after each other. Of course, this only works if the jigs aren´t played too fast.

Lorenzo · Post by **Lorenzo** » Mon Jul 05, 2004 2:48 pm

sturob wrote:"Craic" is an English loan-word borrowed into Irish

Actually, that's right...partly anyway (huh'em). I read that article too.
But it also says that the Germanic-English speaking people first borrowed
it from the Gaels, tweaked it just a little, then gave it back to them long
before it was ever published. The trem can mean lots of things.

benwalker · Post by **benwalker** » Mon Jul 05, 2004 3:02 pm

Very carefully...and have loads of BEN-GAY on hand...

You sayin' I'm gay like?

Joseph E. Smith · Post by **Joseph E. Smith** » Mon Jul 05, 2004 6:22 pm

uh...ummm...wha..?...uh...I didn't...uh...I mean...uh....

djm · Post by **djm** » Mon Jul 05, 2004 7:31 pm

You sayin' I'm gay like?

No, no, he's just saying he wants to keep you on hand ... OOPS! ... uh, no, he means you're handy .... DOH! .... no, no, he wants to keep his hand ... er ... just helping you out here, Joseph .... um ...

djm

Joseph E. Smith · Post by **Joseph E. Smith** » Mon Jul 05, 2004 9:11 pm

Tanks a millyon mate...er...easy as she goes...I mean handle with...aawww sh*t!!

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