DUBLIN, IRELAND (Top40 Charts) Krunchie Killeen has released "Bertie of the Golden Hand," a song, or, rather, a recitation to music, contrasting the prosperous years of the Celtic Tiger, under the leadership of Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Bertie Ahern, with the subsequent years of Economic Depression (from 2008) and Covid 19 Lockdown.
The song is based on
James Clarence Mangan's nineteenth century classic poem "A Vision of Connaught in the Thirteenth Century," where the poet visualises himself visiting the province of Connaught (in the west of Ireland) under the reign of Cahal Mor Of The Wine-Red Hand, when prosperity reigned, and then returning in subsequent years of desolation.
The words of Krunchie' poem are:
I walked entranced
Through a land of morn.
The sun, with wondrous excess of light,
Shone down and smiled
On seas of corn
And happy homes to the left and right.
Even in the clime
Of resplendent Spain,
Beams no such sun upon such a land;
But it was the time;
Those were the days
Of Bertie of the Golden Hand.
The taxes were low,
The wages high;
And businesses boomed as by a spell.
Office blocks rose up
That pierced the sky,
And happy were the homes where people dwelt,
All existing disputes
Were there resolved
And peace took hold across the land;
For it was the time;
Those were the days
Of Bertie of the Golden Hand
Now I seek the Dáil,
But, behold, a change
From light to dark, from joy to woe.
The TDs, all,
Look aghast and strange;
The government sits in dumbest show.
Has some great plague
Wrought this dread amaze,
As homeless folk now stalk the land?
Gone is the time;
Gone are the days
Of Bertie of the Golden Hand.
("TD" in the third stanza stands for "Teachta Dála" an Irish term meaning "Member of Parliament.")
Krunchie's rendering of the song is found on Spotify at:
https://open.spotify.com/album/3rylEmsuOj5at29gC4Pbip?si=XDWmvk0sSQOFL3K42T_6Lw
Other recent releases by Krunchie are:
"Wandering Angus," a poem by W B Yeats (music and voice by Krunchie Killeen):
https://open.spotify.com/album/3rylEmsuOj5at29gC4Pbip?si=XDWmvk0sSQOFL3K42T_6Lw
"Storm Nellie," after the recent Irish storm "Ellen," which if often called "Nellie" in Ireland, his version of a traditional Irish song of the name: https://open.spotify.com/track/6CBGodjrJsLO14fNkfnIRa
Krunchie's most popular release on Spotify to date ,is "Bowran Rock," his arrangement and execution of a Sottische Country Dance:
https://open.spotify.com/track/6MzbAXpUMhD8hpcUIR2Miz
A selection of photos of Krunchie can be viewed and downloaded from:
https://p-ocillin.tkhcloudstorage.com/item/c3e7ed8999a2452a8cce961491f421cf
On his "Krunchie Concert" blog page, Krunchie provides easy access to his musical releases: https://krunchieconcert.blogspot.com/2020/09/krunchie-killeen-concert.html
A selection of Krunchie's album art is found on Pinterest at: https://www.pinterest.ie/krunchiek/album-art/
Krunchie Killeen is a retired Civil
Servant who lives in Glasnevin, Dublin, Ireland.
His biography can be viewed on: https://krunchiekilleen.blogspot.com/2020/02/krunchie-killeen.html
