The Pulse of an Irishman - Beethoven (12 Irish Songs, No. 4)

Sung by James Bierney.
The wonderful accompaniment was provided by Uli Schauerte whose CZcams channel can be found here / ulischauerte and website is www.uli-schauerte.de
George Thomson (1757-1851), a Scotsman, collected and published Scottish, Welsh and Irish folk melodies, and engaged well-known composers of the time such as Pleyel, Kozeluch, Haydn and Beethoven, to compose piano accompaniments for these airs, with optional violin and cello parts. Beethoven wrote far more of these than any other type of composition, having composed an astounding 179 folk song arrangements spanning a period of eleven years from 1809 to 1820 - the largest amount of songs being Irish. He was paid one pound for each song!
For many songs Beethoven was not sent the intended text, which often was not yet written, as Thomson commissioned contemporary poets to supply suitable lyrics.
These lyrics are by Sir Alexander Boswell (1775 - 1822)
The pulse of an Irishman ever beats quicker,
When war is the story or love is the theme;
And place him where bullets fly thicker and thicker,
You'll find him all cowardice scorning.
And tho' a ball should maim poor Darby,
Light at the heart he rallies on:
"Fortune is cruel, but Norah, my jewel,
Is kind, and with smiling, all sorrow beguiling,
Shall bid from our cabin all care to be gone,
And how they will jig it, and tug at the spigot,
On Patrick's day in the morning."
O blest by the land in the wide western waters,
Sweet Erin, lov'd Erin, the pride of my song;
Still brave be the sons, and still fair be the daughters
Thy meads and thy mountains adorning!
And tho' the eastern sun seems tardy,
And the pure light of knowledge slow,
Night and delusion, and darkling confusion
Like mists from the river shall vanish for ever,
And true Irish hearts with warm loyalty glow;
And proud exaltation burst forth from the nation
On Patrick's day in the morning.

[@luketurner649]

Happy St Patrick's day to you and Beethoven!

[@EmeryJBaines]

Thank you!

[@StudentCouncilCalendar-qw2yd]

Wow! Great video. Didn't know beethoven wrote Irish songs.

[@EmeryJBaines]

Thank you, I'm glad that you enjoyed it!