Songs of Freedom: The James Connolly Songbook - Paperback

by James Connolly (Author), Mat Callahan (Editor), Theo Dorgan (Preface by)

From the rollicking welcome of "A Festive Song" to the defiant battle cry of "Watchword of Labor," Songs of Freedom accomplishes the difficult task of making contemporary music out of old revolutionary songs. Far from the archival preservation of embalmed corpses, the inspired performance of a rocking band turns the timeless lyrics of James Connolly into timely manifestos for today's young rebels. As Connolly himself repeatedly urged, nothing can replace the power of music to raise the fighting spirit of the oppressed.

Giving expression to Connolly's internationalism, musical influences ranging from traditional Irish airs to American rhythm and blues are combined here in refreshing creativity. As for the songs themselves, nine have lyrics by Connolly, three were written about Connolly, and one, "The Red Flag," was chosen by Connolly to be in the original Songs of Freedom songbook of 1907, subsequently becoming a classic song of Labor. The instrumentation is acoustic: guitars, uilleann pipes, whistles, fiddle, accordion, and Irish harp, as well as drums and bass.

1. A Festive Song
2. Be Moderate
3. Human Freedom
4. Connolly Was There
5. A Rebel Song
6. Saoirse a Rúin
7. When Labor Calls
8. O Slaves of Toil
9. Shake Out Your Banners
10. The Irish Rebel
11. The Red Flag
12. Watchword of Labor
13. Where Is James Connolly?

Author Biography

Matt Callahan (Author): Mat Callahan is a musician and author originally from San Francisco, where he founded Komotion International. Callahan is the author of three books, Sex, Death and the Angry Young Man, Testimony, and The Trouble With Music. He presently resides in Bern, Switzerland. http: //www.matcallahan.com James Connelly (Editor): James Connolly (1868-1916) was an Irish republican and socialist leader. He was executed by a British firing squad because of his leadership role in the Easter Rising of 1916. Connolly was the author of many books and articles, becoming one of the leading revolutionary theorists of his time. At the head of the Irish Citizen Army, Connolly's vision and determination proved decisive in launching the rising which proclaimed the Irish Republic from the steps of Dublin's General Post Office. This set in motion the sequence of events that would unleash the Irish War of Independence (1919-1921), leading ultimately to establishment of the Irish Republic. James Connolly Heron (Foreword by): James Connolly Heron is a great grandson of James Connolly and author of The Words of James Connolly published by Mercier Press. Theo Dorgan (Preface): Theo Dorgan is a world-renowned poet, prose writer, editor and translator, originally from Cork, Ireland. He is the recipient of numerous awards including the O'Shaughnessy Award for Irish Poetry.http: //www.theodorgan.com/