(woman) Prairie Musicians is made possible by The Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota and by the members of Prairie Public.

(man) 3, 2, 1.

[fiddle & guitar play in bright Celtic rhythm] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ Put the saddle on the mare ♪ ♪ For the west winds blow ♪ ♪ There's winter in the air ♪ ♪ And autumn all below ♪ ♪ For the red leaves are flying ♪ ♪ And the red bracken dying ♪ ♪ And the red fox lying ♪ ♪ Where the osiers grow ♪ ♪ ♪ Put the bridle on the mare ♪ ♪ ♪ For my blood runs chill ♪ ♪ And my heart it is there ♪ ♪ On the heather-tufted hill ♪ ♪ With the gray skies o'er us ♪ ♪ And the long-drawn chorus ♪ ♪ And a running pack before us ♪ ♪ From the find to the thrill ♪ Whoo!

[fiddle solo] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ Then lead round the mare ♪ ♪ For it's time that we began ♪ ♪ And away with thought and care ♪ ♪ Save to live and be a man ♪ ♪ While the keen air is blowing ♪ ♪ And the huntsman halloing ♪ ♪ And the black mare going ♪ ♪ Where the black mare can ♪ ♪ ♪ Put the bridle on the mare ♪ ♪ For my blood runs chill ♪ ♪ And my heart it is there ♪ ♪ On the heather-tufted hill ♪ ♪ Oh there's the gray skies over us ♪ ♪ And the long-drawn chorus ♪ ♪ And the running pack before us ♪ ♪ From the find to the thrill ♪ ♪ From the find to the thrill ♪ Hi, my name is Jim Haney, I'm in the band called Poitin.

Along with myself is Bonnie Haney singing and playing the bodhrán, Alex Rydell on the fiddle, Jason Thorstad on the bass, Lance Tessman on the drums, and Mike Kelly on the keyboards.

Poitin is an Irish word for homemade illegal whisky or moonshine.

In fact, the tradition for Poitin in Ireland is comparable to the role that moonshine plays in the Appalachian area of America.

We've been playing together for 22 years, and we started out playing traditional Irish jigs and reels.

After we played for about 10 years or so, a lady came up to us, and she said she was from the Turtle Mountain Reservation, and she wanted to know how we learned to play her music.

I said, well, we're playing Irish traditional music, she said no, you're playing bush music, you're playing our music.

Can you play the "Big Jig?"

I didn't know what she was talking about at that point in time, so we did our due diligence and found out what she was talking about, and the "Big Jig" was the "Red River Jig" which is the anthem of the Métis people of the Red River Valley who had two rebellions against the Crown in the 1800s.

So we learned how to play that over a long period of time and learned a lot about the culture, about the Canadian fiddle tradition in addition to the Irish.

It's kind of a synthesis of all different styles from the west of Ireland and from Brittany and from Scotland and England and the local people from right here in the Red River Valley.

We've been playing this music now for about, close to 15 years, something like that, and we have developed it, and it's like home to us to play this kind of music now.

[fiddle intro; playing in bright rhythm] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [instruments only; no vocals] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ (Bonnie) Whoo-hoo!

Whup, whup, whup, whup!

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [instruments only; no vocals, fiddler plays lead] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ Whup, whoo!

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [instruments only; no vocals, fiddler plays lead] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [instruments only; no vocals, fiddler plays lead] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ "Carrickfergus" is my favorite song.

It's an old Irish song, and they think it came from around 1870 in Chicago, Illinois.

It's about a man who is nostalgic for his wife, his late wife back in Ireland and how he'd love to be with her back across the ocean and how it's not possible for him to go there.

So he just spends his life going from town to town singing.

And it's a wonderful song.

[melodic piano intro] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ I wish I was ♪ ♪ Down in Carrickfergus ♪ ♪ ♪ Only for nights ♪ ♪ ♪ In Ballygran ♪ ♪ ♪ I would swim over ♪ ♪ ♪ The deepest ocean ♪ ♪ ♪ The deepest ocean ♪ ♪ ♪ To be by your side ♪ ♪ ♪ But the sea is wide ♪ ♪ ♪ And I can't swim over ♪ ♪ ♪ And neither have ♪ ♪ ♪ I wings to fly ♪ ♪ ♪ Oh I wish I could find me ♪ ♪ ♪ A handy boatman ♪ ♪ ♪ To ferry me over ♪ ♪ ♪ To my love and die ♪ ♪ ♪ My childhood days ♪ ♪ ♪ Bring back sad reflections ♪ ♪ ♪ To happy times ♪ ♪ ♪ Spent so long ago ♪ ♪ ♪ My boyhood friends ♪ ♪ ♪ And my own relations ♪ ♪ ♪ Have all passed on ♪ ♪ ♪ Like the melting snow ♪ ♪ ♪ But I'll spend my days ♪ ♪ ♪ In endless roving ♪ ♪ ♪ Soft is the grass ♪ ♪ ♪ And my bed is free ♪ ♪ ♪ To be home now ♪ ♪ ♪ Down in Carrickfergus ♪ ♪ ♪ On that rocky road down ♪ ♪ ♪ To the deep blue sea ♪ ♪ [fiddle solo] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ And in Kilkenny ♪ ♪ ♪ It is reported ♪ ♪ ♪ On marble stones ♪ ♪ ♪ As black as ink ♪ ♪ ♪ In gold and silver ♪ ♪ ♪ I did support her ♪ ♪ ♪ But I'll sing no more ♪ ♪ ♪ 'Til I get a drink ♪ ♪ ♪ I'm drunk today ♪ ♪ ♪ And I'm rarely sober ♪ ♪ ♪ A handsome rover ♪ ♪ ♪ From town to town ♪ ♪ Ah but I am sick now ♪ ♪ ♪ And my days are numbered ♪ ♪ ♪ So come all ye young men ♪ ♪ ♪ And lay me down ♪ ♪ We play at a pretty good clip some of the time, so, how would I say?

It's lilting and it's also very complicated the way we're playing it, and there's what they call crooked timing in there.

We add an extra beat here and there so that the time signature changes throughout the course of a set of tunes.

A set consists of 3 songs, or 3 different tunes, and one leads into the other, and we try to stagger them so that there is a lift in the transition from one tune to another.

So you'll hear us probably stop playing so intensely, let the fiddler take the lead into the next tune we're going to play.

And that's how you can identify with the lift.

That is part of the lilt of Irish and Celtic and Métis Red River music.

[fiddle intro; playing in bright folk dance rhythm] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [instruments only; no vocals, fiddler plays the lead] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [instruments only; no vocals, fiddler plays lead] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [instruments only; no vocals, fiddler plays lead] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ The "Red River Jig" set that we play, we play 2 tunes together.

We play "The Red River Jig" in the first part, and we play a traditional tune called "Big John Mcneils" in the second part.

"The Red River Jig" is the anthem of the Métis people and their rebellion.

And "Big John Mcneils," we put in a set for us to play our own version of it.

[fiddle intro; playing in bright rhythm] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [instruments only; no vocals fiddler plays the lead] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [instruments only; no vocals fiddler plays the lead] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [instruments only; no vocals fiddler plays the lead] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ "Summerfly" is a Cheryl Wheeler song.

We recorded it, gee whiz, probably 10, 15 years ago, something like that.

It is a Gypsy jazz or Klezmer type tune, and it resonates with people.

It's very much an anthem itself, and Bonnie plays it pretty near every time we play it, and it really rocks the place when she does it.

[playing a melodic intro in folk-dance rhythm] ♪ ♪ In another younger day I could dream the time away ♪ ♪ In the universe inside my room ♪ ♪ And the world was really mine from June until September ♪ ♪ And if it really wasn't so well I was lucky not to know ♪ ♪ And I was lucky not to wonder why ♪ ♪ 'Cause the summertime is all that I remember ♪ ♪ Summerfly was buzzing every night ♪ ♪ When I was young ♪ ♪ In the gentle world my childlike senses knew ♪ ♪ When the world was just my cousin ♪ ♪ And the wind was just the tone ♪ ♪ And the world will be my lonely moments too ♪ ♪ And I look at me today and the dreams have gone away ♪ ♪ And I'm never where I thought I would be ♪ ♪ Seeing things I see ♪ ♪ Happening to me ♪ ♪ And I lay awake at night while the darkness turns to light ♪ ♪ Singing all over the world ♪ ♪ They're singin' the song the same message to me ♪ ♪ Crying who's your partner who's your darling ♪ ♪ Who's your baby now ♪ ♪ Who wakes up in the night to pull you in ♪ ♪ Well it just don't matter you'll just make her ♪ ♪ Lonely anyhow ♪ ♪ I don't know why you even try to win ♪ Whoo!

[fiddle solo] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ Summerfly was buzzing every night ♪ ♪ When I was young ♪ ♪ In the gentle world my childlike senses knew ♪ ♪ When the world was just my cousin ♪ ♪ And the wind was just a tone ♪ ♪ And the world will be my lonely moments too ♪ ♪ Crying who's your partner who's your darling ♪ ♪ Who's your baby now ♪ ♪ I don't know where you are or who you're with ♪ ♪ Well it just don't matter you'll just make her ♪ ♪ Lonely anyhow ♪ ♪ I don't know why you even try to win ♪ Whoo!

[fiddle solo] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ (woman) Prairie Musicians is made possible by The Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota and by the members of Prairie Public.