‘RETURN TO CAMDEN’ BY TERENCE O’FLAHERTY

Beautiful song from London based Irish singer/songwriter Terence O’Flaherty name checking memories of a bygone era in the north of London. This original recorded version is due to be released on Terence’s upcoming album Backtracks with the Claire Egan, Eoin O’Neill and John Kelly accompanying.

Terence is a traditional Irish singer and songwriter from Ennistimon, County Clare on the west coast of Ireland. He comes from a traditional music background learning his earliest songs from his family as well as local musicians and travelling storytellers and singers. Playing guitar and bouzouki in the early 1970’s, he emigrated to London and joined the thriving Irish music scene in the capital as part of the popular band Crusheen. He has spent many years involved in the traditional music scene in London playing with all of London’s leading musicians and touring across Britain, Europe, and America playing with everyone from the Chieftains, Planxty, The Pogues,The Fureys and De Danann. He has collaborated with musicians from a variety of other genres and from across the world playing at many major festivals including Cambridge Folk Festival. Terence has released three albums (Crosscurrents, Ghosts, Trace) with a fourth on it’s way soon titled Backtracks which will feature ‘Return To Camden’.

When I first arrived in Old London Town

Along Camden High Road I did walk down

Fell into the back of John Murphy’s van

Full of youth and vigour and white bread and ham

By ten that first morning I thought I’d expire

Stuck down a hole with Connemara Seán

Who for an extra ten bob a week

Set out a pace that would kill Hercules

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Then the ganger man came and says ‘lads take a break’

Old Seánín jumped out with a ballerina’s grace

I felt I was climbing the Post Office Tower

My poor legs and arms like wilting flowers

He wolfed down his sandwich and before I did know

Old Seánín was back down in John Murphy’s hole

Diggin away like an Olympian

Twas with great reluctance that I rejoined him

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I crawled out of the hole at the end of the day

All of my senses in terminal decay

Crawled into the back of John Murphy’s van

Too tired for talk or for white bread and ham

To the favourite in Holloway Seánín did go

To hear Bobby Casey, Con Curtin, John Bowe

Roger Sherlock, Brian Rooney or Finbar O’Dwyer

Danny Meehan, Raymond Roland or Brendan Mulkere

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And as I was sleeping the sleep of the dead

Old Seánín was lilting to reels and to jigs

Firing back pints and singing Sean Nós

Where he got his energy God alone knows

And early next morning fresh as a rose

He’d be back down one of John Murphy’s holes

Lobbing up muck in his trousers and vest

Such was the life that the Irish possessed

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And at the weekends we would all go

To The Forum, The Gresham, The Galtymore

The Harp and the Shamrock, the Garryowen

The Bamba, Hibernian or Buffalo

Waltzin and jiving and singing along

To Joe Dolan, Larry Cunningham or Big Tom

Or horsin’ out sets till too tired to stand

To the Tulla or Kilfenora Céilí Bands

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When many years later I met poor Seánín

His energy spent and his back bent and lean

He smiled and he said ‘Ah sure times they were lean’

When we worked for the man from Caherciveen

For although times were tough, sure the craic it was good

In Camden, in Kilburn and Cricklewood

And we could escape for the nights they were long

Far away from the cruel, brutal Elephant John

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But to work on the building sites now you and me

We’d almost need to have a degree

For with health and safety and the CSCS

You need method statements and assessments of risks

There’s not too much craic now in John Murphy’s vans

Albanians Poles and Lithuanians

Have taken the place of the likes of Séanin

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The craic once was ninety but now it is lean

So here’s to the music we did enjoy

In the pubs and the clubs with a tear in our eye

And fair play to the players and the singers of songs

Who lifted our hearts when our hearts needed them

Tom O’Connell, Martin Byrnes, Andy Boyle, Lucy Farr,

Seán O’Shea, Julia Clifford and Tommy Maguire

Michael Hynes, Tom McCarthy, Jimmy Power and Reg Hall

Raise up your glasses now here’s to them all

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