One Song, Two Souls
One Song, Two Souls Meditating on an old song and the difference between the Irish and English expressions of it Morgoth I was recently on a road trip and, as is my custom, decided to take refuge in easy-listening playlists of songs primarily from the 70s and 80s. Nestled between Al Stewart’s Year of The Cat and The Alan Parson’s Project, I heard a song called Matchstalk Men And Matchstalk Cats And Dogs for the first time in decades. Hearing a pleasant but forgotten song again is a small pleasure in life, that moment of “Oh, I remember this one!” and the cracking open of associated memories. Yet this version of Matchstalk Cats and Dogs felt a little different, slightly unfamiliar and off. It was too folksy, cheerful, and, frankly, too Irish. But perhaps I was mistaken; maybe it had always been this way. I immediately carried out the inevitable Google search and discovered that this version was, in fact, a cover by The Fureys. The Fureys version featur...