I love New York. I know city life isn’t for everyone but I’m convinced that living here keeps me thinking positive. One big reason: the absolutely amazing variety of people in the city. They—or I should say, we—come from all corners of the Earth, and we all seem to belong here somehow.
Today, for instance, I’ve met people from Bangladesh, Malta, Korea, Guyana, Moldova, Jamaica, Sweden, Nigeria, Guatemala and since it’s St. Patrick’s Day, more than the usual number from Ireland. What a great reminder of how big and yet how small the world is!
To celebrate St. Patrick’s Day and one of the cultures that makes New York City the wonderful and invigorating mix it is, here’s a playlist of some of my favorite songs from Irish musicians.
Happy St. Paddy’s Day! Or as our Irish friends might say, Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig!
U2, “All I Want Is You”
Near the end of U2’s first show in Nashville in 30 years, Bono calls a fan up onstage, gives him his guitar and has the guy lead the band on this song.
Bonus track: “The Wanderer” (a tribute to Johnny Cash, who recorded this with U2)
Van Morrison, “Into the Mystic”
The inimitable singer, songwriter and seeker from Northern Ireland.
Bonus track: “Jackie Wilson Said (I’m in Heaven When You Smile)”
Thin Lizzy, “Dancing in the Moonlight”
Has to be a reference to Van Morrison’s “Moondance,” don’t you think?
The Cranberries, “Dreams”
This band from Limerick calls up such positive memories for me because their debut album (where this song is featured) came out the year I moved to New York.
The Pogues and the Dubliners, “The Irish Rover”
Celtic punk meets Irish folk: Shane MacGowan sharing lead vocals with the late great Ronnie Drew.
