These two popular, or folk, songs have a
“mythic" feel, perhaps because they connect what is inside us,
elements of our own psyche, with individual experiences, and the
experience of many others irrespective of time or place. They feel
like myths, the dreams of the human race. The outer reflects the
inner symbolically as in dream imagery and myth. They are also
Romantic, in the best sense of that word, as in looking back from
where we come, being thankful in the present, and made whole for the
future.
The Furey family, who sing them, are
Irish and both songs are usually considered to be Irish, although
“I'll Take You Home Again Kathleen” was actually written by
Thomas Westendorf, 1875, in Plainfield, Illinois, for his wife from
Ogdensburg, New York. I've listened to many others sing these two
songs, but none do them as well as the Fureys, in my opinion. It
seems to have something to do with their sincerity.
If you have some further idea of why
these two magnificent songs have such resonance, please leave a
comment.
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