Stuck in my head
October 20th 2005
I felt the most ecstatic joy a few minutes ago, and I just have to explain it. Forgive my verbosity.
I have had a song stuck in my head for as long as I can remember. I’m not kidding. I had a melody and a lyric and a general feeling all bunched up in this little memory and I had no idea where it came from or when or who sang it.
I remembered this: “School books, in fancy colors, la-la la la la laaa la la-la…” and the melody that went along with it. I even wrote down the notes several times so I wouldn’t forget, and I thought it might have been Alison Krauss, hence, not only have I listened to every song Alison Krauss has ever sung (ever), I have also e-mailed and sent letters to her several times over the last six or seven years with the written notes and what lyrics I can remember, just to see if she knew the song. I never heard back, of course.
I knew it was my father’s album, one of the old bluegrass ones, with the twangy guitar and that great folk sound to it (completely different from country) but my dad was no help. Just kept saying “yeah, I know that song. It’s somewhere in the pile of CDs.” I’ve gone through that pile and listened to every promising track, but never had any luck.
Today, I found it.
Thank you Real Rhapsody. For some reason, their (horrible) reccomendation system (on the 5th page) led me to Maura O’Connell, and maybe the name was familiar, I don’t know, but I clicked it. Then (again, I don’t know why) I went to her first album (“Just in Time,” 1989), and for no reason whatsoever, I clicked play.
I knew as soon as I heard her voice, but it didn’t hit me until I heard the lyrics I remembered. Oh my GOD it was amazing. It was like finding a million dollars under your pillow, and running into a good friend you haven’t seen since first grade, and walking through the house you grew up in, and the smell of sunlight on dust hanging in the air – all at once.
Here is the song that evaded me for so long…
The Scholar
Maura O’Connell
The train from Sligo moves too slow as it brings her from the school below
She wants to be home faster than the train from Sligo ever can and
Wonders where the passing time goes creeping by the window my, oh my
It’s getting longer than it ever has before.
Eyes wide as silver dollars, I can’t think why, but she’s a scholar
Hold on; it seems so long to learn what’s right from what is wrong.
Oh, school books and fancy collars; I might not care to be a scholar
Hold on, her daddy tells her, learn to sing your song.
The train to Sligo moves too fast when holidays are gone at last
And winter nights are here again, please promise me you’ll write me then.
It’s two long weeks till I get home, I can’t help feeling all alone.
If someone doesn’t write me soon I’ll simply fade away.
Eyes wide as silver dollars, I can’t think why, but she’s a scholar
Hold on; it seems so long to learn what’s right from what is wrong.
Oh, school books and fancy collars; I might not care to be a scholar
Hold on, her daddy tells her, learn to sing your song.
So I didn’t have all of the lyrics right—it’s actually “School books, and fancy collars” but hey, for a song that’s been stuck there for over a decade, that’s pretty good. And it’s a darn good song too, and how appropriate.
Ah! I love it! What a rush.
One nit to pick, I’m afraid: It’s “Eyes as WIDE as silver dollars”.
BTW, thanks for mentioning the Maura O’Connel version. I just bought it from the iTMS.
-jcr
Better late than never: a lovely comment on a (fairly typical, I think) song of mine, written about my daughter, when I moved up to Dublin from Sligo in 1976 and left her in boarding school, the Ursulines of famous musical and historical note, where I hoped she would learn to play the harp, like Mary O’Hara and Maire Braonain (Clannad), who had both learned there. Maura O’Connell learned it from fellow Clareman Gerry O’Beirne, who was with me in the band Midnight Well at the time. Other songs of mine that she covered include Saw You Running, Send This Whisper, and some others that I can’t recall. See http://www.broadjam.com/artists/artistindex.asp?artistID=3628 for other songs.
Wow, thank you Thom, what an honor! To have that bit of background makes this song even more special to me, despite it being one of the most special songs I know.
I related to it best thinking of going to college, where I would go up and down the California coast by car or plane – and sometimes by train. Berkeley was my Sligo, and home seemed so far away. The speed of the train was something else though – it always took twelve hours no matter how fast I wanted it to go.
I’ll listen to your other music my friend, thank you for stopping by and connecting. I appreciate it more than you can possibly know
12 hours? You must have been coming from San Diego? Riverside? El Centro?
Mary Black has done some of my songs as well, including one called The Fog in Monterey. Speaking of the California coast, anyway. I’m originally from Sta. Catalina; grew up in Beirut, Lebanon, went to UCLA (65-71) then lived in Ireland (71-79) and worked in the San Fernando Valley (80-87) and the Travis AFB area (88-89) before moving to Russia (89-95) and then finally back to Ireland in 95, where I have been ever since.
Mary Black’s Carolina Rua was finished on board an Air Force transport during the INF treaty inspections in 1989, but it was about a girl in Monterey…
It was actually only Santa Barbara, but this is Amtrak remember—it’s a 7 hour drive but a 10 hour train trip, with delays it can be up to 14 hours. Excruciating to say the least.
That’s quite a story! I’ll be happy to visit half those places or half the number of them—or simply to visit Ireland. I’ve always wanted to, and I imagine I will before too long. California is beautiful though and I’m very happy to live here. Just wish the trains were better…
Thanks again for your comments, have a great day!
Actually, this is a little weird. My email is [address removed]. I meant to tell you about a Midnight Well you-tube video of me, Janie Cribbs, and Gerry O’Beirne playing The Scholar, from 1978. Nothing like as satisfying and enjoyable as Maura’s version (very slow, almost lugubrious)but curiously … authentic? I’ll try to find the URL; for some reason it isn’t on my history thingy.
Found it! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vQSRGHJxcg
Very good! Thanks!