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| Only those who really believe have seen these little elves... |
I'll move back on topic now, with today's story of the time I met a leprechaun. Really, I did! Ever since my children were little we've celebrated St. Patrick's Day with leprechaun soup (cheese soup with lots of vegetables...amazing how changing the name made them want to eat it!) and Irish soda bread, followed by the Disney movie Darby O'Gill and the Little People. Equal parts blarney, fun, silliness and a scary banshee thrown in for a moment or two of terror, it features a young Sean Connery long before he became the suave and sexy James Bond. And of course we all loved the wily king of the leprechauns, and my children would hunt through our South Dakota backyard to see if they could find a leprechaun or two of their very own. (alas, South Dakota backyards are a wee bit too cold for any self respecting leprechaun!)
I did, however, find one in my own 'backyard' when I was still working with the chamber orchestra I used to manage. We were celebrating our fiftieth anniversary and had the luck of the Irish with us as we were able to invite world renowned Sir James Galway, the man with the golden flute, to join us on stage for a very special concert. If you have ever met a leprechaun, you know they are small, with a twinkle in their eye, a love for a good tale and lively, lilting music (the dancing kind in particular!) and an uncanny ability to disappear right before your very eyes. This, my friends, describes Sir James to a 't'. With his eyes full of mischief, he loved to disappear...I lost him at the bookstore where he was signing his new book, because he wandered off through the stacks and I had to stand on a chair to spot him. Yes, I did! I lost him in Walgreen's because he wandered off to look at postcards, even though he promised he would stay right beside me while I helped his wife with a purchase. I did manage to get him safely on stage, though, where he delighted and charmed the audience.
During one of several encores, as I stood backstage peeping through the curtains, he played Danny Boy, the beautiful song so associated with Ireland. My mother loved listening to Irish tenor Joe Feeney on the Lawrence Welk Show sing Danny Boy and of course I thought of her as I listened to Sir James play this haunting melody. It was a night to remember always...my very own leprechaun! If you would like to listen to this lovely Irish ballad played by Sir James, here you go... Danny Boy.
IRISH BLESSING
Near misty stream in Ireland
in the hollow of a tree
Live mystical, magical leprechauns
who are clever as can be
With their pointed ears,
and turned up toes and little coats of green
The leprechauns busily make their shoes
and try hard not to be seen.
Only those who really believe
have seen these little elves
And if we are all believers
We can surely see for ourselves.
in the hollow of a tree
Live mystical, magical leprechauns
who are clever as can be
With their pointed ears,
and turned up toes and little coats of green
The leprechauns busily make their shoes
and try hard not to be seen.
Only those who really believe
have seen these little elves
And if we are all believers
We can surely see for ourselves.
And here's a special 'encore'...one of my very favorite Irish melodies, Brian Boru's March, James Galway
Top of the mornin' to ye!
Came to your blog from Claudia's, and somehow began following you as my DOG, Abby! (She has her own blog). Sorry about that. Can't tell you how many times in my life that my sister and I watched Darby O'Gill and the Little People. We saw very few movies at the theater as little girls, and that was one my parents approved. We watched it many times at home.
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