Ah, God!

Indeed .

It's that time again. Almost missed bumping it up for the day!

It's getting close to that time again.

Eight years on, I realize the title to this thread is inaccurate! In all the quest for accuracy, we managed to OMIT THE ANTHEM that set off the great race!

Confirmed collector of Irish music that I am, I had found records with two different songs claiming to be the "Irish National Anthem." "A Soldier's Song" seemed to have the better claim (which I have double-checked) and I only ever found one version of it--a crappy quality recording which sounded as if some dude was belting it through the P. A. system at a football game. Here it is, as true natives assert, the way it should be played: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wygzJtJwPnk

And imagine! If you weren't quick off the mark, having to stand for a whole MINUTE AND A HALF!

By the way, "The Lovely Isle of Innisfree" turned up on the PBS special When Irish Eyes are Smiling. The program, hosted by Patty Duke, explained that the song is a whimsical bit of nonsense, as "Inish" is Irish for "Island," one sings, "The Lovely Isle of Island Free."

Oh, dear, it's that time of year.

Rather than start another thread, I'll tack this onto this one, but the story "Tangerine" has a young man singing the Johnny Mercer song in 1939. It actually wasn't published till 1941, and introduced in a movie in 1942. The story specifically takes place just before the war, so changing the date wouldn't help.