Meet songster Paddy O' Ginn!
Doc: Where are you from Paddy?
Paddy: Dublin, Ireland
Doc: What inspires your songs?
Paddy: It comes with the life in Ireland. Winters can be harsh.
Doc: I see. Is that what is it about Ireland that makes for great songwriters?
Paddy: Maybe so, they say it is in our blood.
Doc: Is it true you met your wife here and married her the next day?
Paddy: Yes,indeed, Sharon stole my heart, heavenly lady she is, I even wrote a song about her.
Doc: Let's hear it!
My Fair Sharon
I met a bonny lass down in New Orleans
Her big eyes told me twas apart at the seems
I said fair maiden what do you need?
She said I shant tarry, I must be freed.
Lassie please tell me your doom
We shant have time for any gloom
She cried to me Oh sir no pain
I am a French Quarter barmaid--some have no name!
Pray tell dear woman what is your demise?
The Guinness is warm and so are your sighs
She quivered and shook as she poured yet another
Then told me she was an unwed mother.
Well darlin I smiled with a passion for carin
I don't mind that notion and won't be overbearin
But if you will trust my heart with your soul
We can all live together and never grow old.
The maid poured a pint and it was her last
She captured my heart and all came to pass
We married and love neathe New Orleans skies
Paintin it green with Irish eyes!
Doc: Paddy that is beautiful and spirited, thank you for the interview.
Catch Paddy O' Ginn on Royal Street in the French Quarter.
Did you know?.... Most Irish immigrants who arrived at the port of New Orleans stayed in the city, primarily because they could not afford passage farther inland. Crowding into the city's riverfront neighborhoods, they strained its limited housing, employment, and education. Forced to compete with slaves and free blacks at the bottom of the economy, many New Orleans Irish took low-paying, often dangerous manual jobs, such as digging canals and ditches, building roads, levees, and railroads, and laboring on the docks and in the warehouses. The mortality rate was especially high among canal diggers, who were highly susceptible to yellow fever, malaria, and cholera.
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