Dónal Donohoe » Dónal

Get Hooked

Dónal — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 17:30:26 +0000

A video with a tune I wrote called “Get Hooked” and some animation that I made for yarnclasses.com featuring photographs of some of the many woolly wonders to be found there.

Carousel

Dónal — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 19:49:53 +0000

I wrote Carousel some years ago for someone close whose best friend had just committed suicide. It was about five o’clock one Friday afternoon when I got the call telling me the news and when I put the phone down without really thinking about it I started playing the guitar. Within a few moments Carousel just came out and about a week later I played it live at a gig, after that it was just another song that I had written which was stored away in my musical bottom drawer, so to speak.

Years went by until one Sunday afternoon a friend came by quite distraught saying that his young niece had just taken her life in similar circumstances. He was in shock and as the girl was so young I thought that surely it was just an accident, but shortly after he left I saw through the window a hearse driving up the road and I realised that it was no accident and the girl was gone. Filled with a deep shock and sadness that descended on everybody in the area that day I took up my guitar and although it had been some years since I had last played Carousel it somehow seemed like the right thing to do that day. When the time came to record the album Slipstring I decided to include Carousel as the opening number and although it is maybe not a happy song as such it is one of the songs from which I have received the most feedback on that album.

Storytelling

Dónal — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 15:27:40 +0000

Dónal Donohoe – song: The Voyage of Bran

Playing at the Storytelling Session for Families at Chapters Book Store, Dublin last April organized by the Bardic Storyteller Richard Marsh.

Through The Smoke

Dónal — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 16:46:14 +0000

From the album ‘Midnight ’til Noon’ featuring:

Dónal Donohoe – Electric Guitar & Vocal
Jeffrey Daniel Jensen – Drums
Christian Dawids – Bass
Tony Uter – Percussion

Through The Smoke by Donal Donohoe

Ring-ting

Dónal — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 20:10:34 +0000

Ring-ting is a song from my recently released ‘Slipstring’ album and is a tongue in cheek take on today’s prevalent mobile phone culture.

Saturday Night Live

Dónal — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 18:51:29 +0000

It was nice to play in Conary Hall again last Saturday night to a lovely audience many of whom came up to chat with me after the gig, it was encouraging to hear so many say that they had enjoyed the set. JP and Andy played a lovely and entertaining set too and Eoin O’Grady was on sound for the night. Many thanks to Pat Nolan who not only organized the event but who also served up nice cups of ‘Barry’s’ tea for everyone during the the interval.

Carousel

Dónal — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 14:15:28 +0000

‘Round and ’round around we go
And where it ends no one knows
In and out fast and slow
When your turn is up
It’s time to go

‘Round and round the wheels turn fast
When the ride gets rough some don’t last
You’d lost your friend you’d said goodbye
I saw the sorrow in your eyes

I put a flower in your hand
Here at this crossing of our ways
May you have happiness and health
For the rest of your days

A Happy Home

Dónal — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 14:10:01 +0000

Her parents were called Kathleen and Larry
They lived in a house down by the canal
She would fetch fresh milk in a jug each day
As the eldest she helped out in her way
Larry worked delivering bread to earn his pay

She had three brothers and three sisters
When trouble started she made sure it missed her
Then up the stairs to the top
Where he’d turn and standing there alone
Larry would sing ‘our house is a happy home’

With strips of leather and a cobblers last
Larry would mend all his children’s shoes
As she cycled along one day he saw her
Pass by wearing a yellow hat
And that to all intents and purposes was that

She asked him home to meet her kin
With some trepidation he agreed
But as the door closed behind him
Was it fate or just a whim
When Larry said Kathleen lock the quickly while we have him

They married soon after and set forth
Across the canal and headed north
And as they crossed the Tolka river
He said there was nothing he would not give her
And they settled down in a house with a view of the Dublin hills

Lebanon

Dónal — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 14:09:16 +0000

How green this valley so quiet and still
It’s peaceful here but not around those far away hills
Killed when they try fleeing, killed if they stay
Caught in the middle they ask how the world can turn away
Some say it’s alright that children die in Lebanon tonight

Thay wage war by proxy and don’t give their name
People are dying but they let someone else take the blame
Bombs fall like rain, death fills the breeze
A land destroyed and rebuilt is once again brought down on it’s knees
Some say it’s alright that cities burn in Lebanon tonight

How green this valley so quiet and still
It’s peaceful here but not around those far away hills
Dreams come true in this world though not easily
People can live together in peace and friendship and in harmony
So try with all your might Lebanon to make it through this night

Lebanon by the sea
Dreams come true wait and see

No Need To Roam

Dónal — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 14:07:40 +0000

At the High Chaparral he looked at her fondly
As though she were Gráinne and he was Dermot
They rode on his horse toward
The Californian Hills of Ballyfermot
And it’s high ho Silver take us home
To where there’s no need to roam

She was fair and he was handsome
Who was boss was hard to know
He could charm her, she could romance him
He was a baker but she had the dough
Back where the seventy eight goes
There are secrets that only he and her know

You’ve got to find where there’s no need to roam
We’ve little time here, don’t spend it all alone