Irishman In America

Release: 01-30-2009

When the then 25-year-old Johnny Logan stepped on stage at the Grand Prix d’Eurovision in Den Haag, the spectators hadn’t yet realized, that they would be experiencing a future superstar. With the mega hit What’s Another Year the sympathetic Irishman sang himself directly into the hearts of a million-public and turned into the swarm of a whole generation, over night. In 1987 he managed what no artist had ever managed before him: he won the desired trophy anew in Brussels, with the song Hold Me Now, which turned him into a legend. The power ballade – composed by Logan himself – reached 2nd place in the UK Single Charts and was sold, worldwide, over six million times. In 1992 Johnny Logan won the Grand Prix for the third time, as the composer of the song Why me, sung by Linda Martin.

But Johnny Logan is far more than a Eurovisions-Icon. The exceptional singer and composer has shown world format with numerous other songs and albums of Evergreen quality and considerably influenced the pop scenery. More than 500 million spectators viewed his Grand Prix victories worldwide – an impressive basis for Johnny Logans further musical career. But still only a basis from which Johnny Logan consequently and, unimpressed by the broad media presence (eleven performances at Top Of The Pops and more than 40 performances on television a year), developed his art and established himself as a singer.

Johnny Logan was born in 1954 as Sean Patrick Michael Sherrard in the Australian Melbourne. His father Patrick O’Hagan was an irish star tenor, who was allowed to perform in the White House three times on the line of his career: for John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard Nixon. When Johnny Logan was three years old, the family moved to Ireland.

At the age of only twelve, Johnny accompanied his father on tours to Australia and New Zealand. To pass time when they were on tour, father and son sang together in the changing rooms of the large concert halls. This time had a forming influence on Logan and strengthened his wish to become a musician as well. At the age of 13 he learned to play the guitar and wrote his first songs. The rest is history of music. Johnny Logan did not only perform for Pope Johannes Paul II, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip, but also appeared with the top of the international music industry such as Montserrat Caballé, Helen Shapiro or the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Ever since, the number of his projects reflects his diversity, which covers every colour and style of music – from Irish Folk over hits to songs and soundtracks for TV-series and movie films -.

Johnny Logan always stayed true to his music and to himself. 28 years after his first won Grand Prix, Platinum honours and sold out concert tours prove, that quality implements and that hand made music has no sell by date.

On his new CD Irishman In America, Johnny Logan returns to his musical roots. Twelve great songs between Irish Folk, american classics and grand pop melodies impressively demonstrate the process of an exceptionally talented musician – an album that can be placed in the long line of Johnny Logans great success without a problem.

Tracklist:

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Alabama – The Doors

Well, show me the way
To the next whisky bar
Oh, don’t ask why
Oh, don’t ask why

Show me the way
To the next whisky bar
Oh, don’t ask why
Oh, don’t ask why

For if we don’t find
The next whisky bar
I tell you we must die
I tell you we must die
I tell you, I tell you
I tell you we must die

Oh, moon of Alabama
We now must say goodbye
We’ve lost our good old mama
And must have whisky, oh, you know why

Oh, moon of Alabama
We now must say goodbye
We’ve lost our good old mama
And must have whisky, oh, you know why

Well, show me the way
To the next little girl
Oh, don’t ask why
Oh, don’t ask why

Show me the way
To the next little girl
Oh, don’t ask why
Oh, don’t ask why

For if we don’t find
The next little girl
I tell you we must die
I tell you we must die
I tell you, I tell you
I tell you we must die

Oh, moon of Alabama
We now must say goodbye
We’ve lost our good old mama
And must have whisky, oh, you know why

Belle of Belfast - I’ll Tell Me Ma – Van Morrison feat. The Chieftans

I’ll tell me Ma when I go home,
The boy’s won’t leave the girls alone.
They’ll pull my hair, they stole my comb,
Well that’s alright till I go home.

[Chorus:]
She is handsome. She is pretty.
She is the bell of Belfast City.
She is courtin’ one, two, three.
Please won’t you tell me, who is she?

Albert Mooney say’s he loves her.
All the boy’s are fighting for her.
They knock at the door and ring at the bell
Sayin’ “Oh my true love, are you well”?
Out she comes as white as snow,
Rings on her fingers and bells on her toes.
Oul Jenny Murray say’s she’ll die
If you don’t get the fella
With the roving eye.

Let the wind and the rain and hail blow high
And the snow come tumbling from the sky,
She’s as nice as apple pie.
She’ll get her own lad by and by.
When she gets a lad of her own,
She won’t tell her Ma when she gets home.
Let them all come as they will
For it’s Albert Mooney she loves still.

[Repeat 1st Verse and Chorus]

Bridges Of My Heart

oh my darling son
what have you done
you traded your possesions
for a foreign distant son
and the love you left behind you
on the field’s where you once grew
beat’s the heart that will always bind you
to the one that was allways true

the bridges that your building
will i never understand
the bridges that must take you
to your mansions made of sand
and the ocean’s now between us
hold the two of us apart
and the dreams that you followed
across the bridges of my heart:

oh my darling son
where have you gone
you promised your tomorrow’s
to where they don’t belong
and the dreams that were forever
are now the dreams you left behind
in the heart’s of all who love you
in another place and time

the bridges that your building
will i never understand
the bridges that must take you
to your mansions made of sand
and the ocean’s now between us
hold the two of us apart
and the dreams that you followed
across the bridges of my heart:

solo
the bridges that your building
will i never understand
the bridges that must take you
to your mansions made of sand
and the ocean’s now between us
hold the two of us apart
and the dreams that you followed
across the bridges of my heart

across the bridges of my heart

Music & Lyrics by Sean Sherrard

Dancing With My Father

dancing with my father
stepped into your wold the other day
through a photgraph. time is fading grey
closed my eyes; saw the silver in your hair.
looked into my heart, found your waiting there,
so many time’s i’ve been alone and unsure
you were always’s at my door.

i go dancing with my father through the streets of yesterday.
to the music or tomorrow and the words i heard him say
through the halls of laughter.
to the love behind his smile
then i dance with him a moment and i listen for a while
and did i tell you that i miss you more each day
and how you never realy went away
as i go dancing with my fahter through the streets of yesterday
to the songsthat as a man i learned to play

every memory is a page within my heart
that hold’s a promise, we’ll never be apart.
through the year’s i have learned to understand the love ‘ we
share can even mend a broken man
you even showed me, how to say goodbye,
dry the tears you knew i’d cry

i go dancing with my father through the streets of yesterday.
to the music or tomorrow and the words i heard him say
through the halls of laughter.
to the love behind his smile
then i dance with him a moment and i listen for a while
and did i tell you that i miss you more each day
and how you never realy went away
as i go dancing with my fahter through the streets of yesterday
to the songsthat as a man i learned to play

now i know that everything must change
nothing ever stays the same
time goes bye but the song it will remain
the dance will stay the same

i go dancing with my father through the streets of yesterday.
to the music or tomorrow and the words i heard him say
through the halls of laughter.
to the love behind his smile

i go dancing with my father through the streets of yesterday.
to the music or tomorrow and the words i heard him say
through the halls of laughter.
to the love behind his smile

i go dancing with my father through the streets of yesterday.
to the music or tomorrow and the words i heard him say
through the halls of laughter.
to the love behind his smile

music & lyrics by sean sherrard & andreas linse

Paddy on the Railway – The Pogues

In eighteen hundred and forty-one
The corduroy breeches I put on
Me corduroy breeches I put on
To work upon the railway, the railway
Im weary of the railway
Poor paddy works on the railway

In eighteen hundred and forty-two
From hartlepool I moved to crewe
Found myself a job to do
A working on the railway

I was wearing corduroy breeches
Digging ditches, pulling switches
Dodging pitches, as I was
Working on the railway

In eighteen hundred and forty-three
I broke the shovel across me knee
I went to work for the company
On the leeds to selby railway

I was wearing corduroy breeches
Digging ditches, pulling switches
Dodging pitches, as I was
Working on the railway

In eighteen hundred and forty-four
I landed on the liverpool shore
My belly was empty me hands were raw
With working on the railway, the railway
Im sick to my guts of the railway
Poor paddy works on the railway

In eighteen hundred and forty-five
When daniel oconnell he was alive
When daniel oconnell he was alive
And working on the railway
I was wearing corduroy breeches
Digging ditches, pulling switches
Dodging pitches, as I was
Working on the railway

In eighteen hundred and forty-six
I changed my trade to carrying bricks
I changed my trade to carrying bricks
To work upon the railway

I was wearing corduroy breeches
Digging ditches, pulling switches
Dodging pitches, as I was
Working on the railway

In eighteen hundred and forty-seven
Poor paddy was thinking of going to heaven
The old bugger was thinking of going to heaven
To work upon the railway, the railway
Im sick to my death of the railway
Poor paddy works on the railway

I was wearing corduroy breeches
Digging ditches, pulling switches
Dodging pitches, as I was
Working on the railway

Piece of my Heart – Janis Joplin

(Come on…)
Didn’t I make you feel like you were the only man, well yeah,
An’ didn’t I give you nearly everything that a woman possibly can ?
Honey, you know I did!
And each time I tell myself that I, well I think I’ve had enough,
But I’m gonna show you, baby, that a woman can be tough.

I want you to come on, come on, come on, come on and take it,
Take another little piece of my heart now, baby, (break a..)
Break another little bit of my heart now, darling, yeah. (have a..)
Hey! Have another little piece of my heart now, baby, yeah.
You know you got it if it makes you feel good,
Oh yes indeed.

You’re out on the streets looking good, and baby,
Deep down in your heart I guess you know that it ain’t right,
Never never never never never never never hear me when I cry at night.
Baby, I cry all the time!
And each time I tell myself that I, well I can’t stand the pain,
But when you hold me in your arms, I’ll sing it once again.

I’ll say come on, come on, come on, come on, yeah take it!
Take another little piece of my heart now, baby. (break a..)
Break another little bit of my heart now, darling, yeah, (come on…)
Have another little piece of my heart now, baby, yeah.
Well, You know you got it, child, if it makes you feel good

Guitar

I need you to come on, come on, come on, come on and take it,
Take another little piece of my heart now, baby. (break a…)
Break another little bit of my heart, darling, yeah. (have a)
Have another little piece of my heart now, baby,
You know you got it (waaaaahhh)
Take a…Take another little piece of my heart now, baby. (break a…)
Break another little bit of my heart, and darling, yeah yeah (have a)
Have another little piece of my heart now, baby,
You know you got it, child, if it makes you feel good

Rocky Road to Dublin – Luke Kelly

In the merry month of May from my home I started
Left the girls of Tuam nearly broken-hearted
Saluted Father dear, kissed my darlin’ Mother
Drank a pint of beer my grief and tears to smother
Then off to reap the corn, and leave where I was born
I cut a stout blackthorn to banish ghost and goblin,
In a bran’new pair of brogues I rattled o’er the bogs
And frightened all the dogs on the rocky road to Dublin,

cho: One, two, three, four, five, hunt the hare and turn her
Down the rocky roaad, and all the ways to Dublin
Whack fol-lol-de-ra.

In Mullingar that night I rested limbs so weary,
Started by daylight next morning light and airy,
Took a drop of the pure, to keep my heart from sinking,
That’s an frishman’s cure, whene’er he’s on for drinking,
To see the lasses smile, laughing all the while,
At my curious style, ‘twould set your heart a-bubbling,
They ax’d if I was hired, the wages I required,
Till I was almost tired of the rocky road to Dublin.

In Dublin next arrived, I thought it such a pity,
To be so soon deprived a view of that fine city,
Then I took a stroll out among the quality,
My bundle it was stole in a neat locality;
Something crossed my mind, then I looked behind,
No bundle could I find upon me stick a-wobblin’,
Enquiring for the rogue, they said my Connaught brogue
Wasn’t much in vogue on the rocky road to Dublin.

From there I got away my spirits never failing,
Landed on the quay as the ship was sailing,
Captain at me roared, said that no room had he,
When I jumped aboard, a cabin found for Paddy
Down among the pigs, I played some funny rigs
Danced some hearty jigs, the water round me bubblin’
When off to Holyhead I wished myself was dead,
Or better far, instead, on the rocky road to Dublin.

The bovs of Liverpool, when we safely landed,
Called myself a fool, I could no longer stand it;
Blood began to boil, temper I was losin’
Poor old Erin’s isle they began abusin’
“Hurrah my soul!” sez I, my shillelagh I let fly,
Some Galway boys were by, saw I was a hobble in,
Then with a loud Hurrah, they joined in the affray,
We quickly cleared the way, for the rocky road to Dublin.

Sorry

maybe im in need of redemption
maybe im a sinner too blind to see;
maybe im a broken man who has a walked a crooked mile
maybe ive been lost inside of me
mabe ive been finding way’s and reason’s
how to leave the past in yesterday
travelling a road of dreams to a heart i left behin
praying for a chance to find my way

may there is a way to say “im sorry”
sorry for the way i made you cry
sorry for the shattered dream’s
and the love i made a lie
sorry for the time’s i said goodbye

may i’ve been drifting on an ocean
searching for some hidden sanctuary
or maybe i’m a lonely man wha has been alone too long
maybe i’ve been just too blind to see

may there is a way to say “im sorry”
sorry for the way i made you cry
sorry for the shattered dream’s
and the love i made a lie
sorry for the time’s i said goodbye

so many word’s are left unspoken (yeahhhhhh)
so mayn times we blame our pride
a river flow’s now thru the tears i made you cry
“and i “ i’ve got no more strength
i’ve got no mor pride

solo

may there is a way to say “im sorry”
sorry for the way i made you cry
sorry for the shattered dream’s
and the love i made a lie
sorry for the time’s i said goodbye

music & lyrics by sean sherrard & andreas linse

The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down – The Band

Virgil Caine is the name, and I served on the Danville train,
‘Til Stoneman’s cavalry came and tore up the tracks again.
In the winter of ’65, We were hungry, just barely alive.
By May the tenth, Richmond had fell, it’s a time I remember, oh so well,

(Chorus)
The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down, and the bells were ringing,
The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down, and the people were singin’. They went
La, La, La, La, La, La, La, La, La, La, La, La, La, La,

Back with my wife in Tennessee, When one day she called to me,
“Virgil, quick, come see, there goes Robert E. Lee!”
Now I don’t mind choppin’ wood, and I don’t care if the money’s no good.
Ya take what ya need and ya leave the rest,
But they should never have taken the very best. (Chorus)

Like my father before me, I will work the land,
Like my brother above me, who took a rebel stand.
He was just eighteen, proud and brave, But a Yankee laid him in his grave,
I swear by the mud below my feet,
You can’t raise a Caine back up when he’s in defeat. (Chorus and fade)

This Land is your Land – Pete Seeger

This land is your land and this land is my land
From California to the New York island
From the redwood forest to the Gulf Stream waters
This land was made for you and me

As I went walking that ribbon of highway
I saw above me that endless skyway
I saw below me that golden valley
This land was made for you and me

I roamed and rambled and I followed my footsteps
To the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts
All around me a voice was sounding
This land was made for you and me

When the sun came shining, then I was strolling
And the wheat fields waving and the dust clouds rolling
A voice was chanting as the fog was lifting
This land was made for you and me

Pete Seeger

Waxies Dargle

Says my aul wan to your aul wan
Will ye come to the waxies dargle?
Says your aul wan to my aul wan,
Sure I havent got a farthing.
Ive just been down to monto town
To see uncle mcardle
But he didnt have half a crown
For to go to the waxies dargle.

What are ye having, will ye have a pint?
Yes, Ill have a pint with you, sir,
And if one of us doesnt order soon
Well be thrown out of the boozer.

Says my aul wan to your aul wan
Will ye come to the galway races?
Says your aul wan to my aul wan,
With the price of my aul lads braces.
I went down to capel street
To the jew man moneylenders
But they wouldnt give me a couple of bob on
My aul lads suspenders.

Chorus

Says my aul wan to your aul wan
We have no beef or mutton
But if we go down to monto town
We might get a drink for nuttin
Heres a piece of good advice
I got from an aul fishmonger:
When food is scarce and you see the hearse
Youll know you have died of hunger.