David Kincaid - Fire Away, and Take It Aisy.

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Now available! New Single now on Spotify, YouTube Music, Apple Music, iTunes and most streaming and download services (click the link to connect: https://linktr.ee/HFTunes?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAacjkalmBdLfAPNjsfq4XN_6d6zQIY2K8BASV6iWycHCb7YQrFJZ3dOGr5wNPw_aem_VEU71hpsTZ_nukFgmtfXxQ).

David Kincaid - Vocals, Guitar, Banjo & Percussion
Liz Knowles - Fiddle
Jerry O’Sullivan - Uilleann Pipes & Whistle

Don't miss Liz Knowles's amazing Irish trad trio "Open the Door for Three" https://www.openthedoorforthree.com/ Or Jerry O'Sullivan's world class Irish traditional music: https://sites.google.com/view/jerryosullivan/home

Special thanks to Michael Kraus for so much of the period imagery in this video.

This will be the sixth song arranged and recorded from the amazing 1864 collection entitled “Joe English’s Irish and Comic Songster” (Dick & Fitzgerald, Publishers, New York). Not much is known about this Irish-immigrant music hall performer, popular enough to have had his own “songster,” or collection of song lyrics, published during the period. While his other songs make clear his staunch support of the Union war effort, extolling his fellow Irishmen to enlist in the cause, this one approaches it from a different perspective: that of an Irish immigrant facing the galling prejudice and anti-immigrant sentiments of the era. “No Irish Need Apply” was a very real, constant insult and severe economic disadvantage endured by the Irish people at this time, along with being publicly depicted as half-human simians or even blatantly as apes or gorillas in political cartoons.

The first thing our “Paddy,” this song’s protagonist, encounters upon his arrival is antagonism and bigotry, being told “will you ever go home, sir?…” He seems to deal with it by thumbing his nose at the whole system, going on a spree through the city as a vagabond ne’er-do-well, getting into a fair amount of mischief along the way. In the third verse, Paddy enters an “eating house,” has a hearty meal, and when presented with the token that served as the check in those days, gives it back saying “keep the change!” - the old dine and dash. He’s then offered a ride in a Hackney Coach, and after being driven through the city, is confronted for the fare. Of course Paddy hasn’t the means to cover it, the driver bawls out for police and is knocked down and kicked for his trouble.

While Paddy’s antics may, or may or not be viewed as outright criminal, he’s certainly a nuisance until he runs into a soldier and fellow Irishmen Barney Doyle, who entices him to enlist and take the bounty. He succumbs to the temptation and joyfully anticipates the glorious soldier’s life fighting with General Grant - “the boy that is victorious..”

Joe English, in his inimitable comic manner, reminds us of what our Irish immigrant ancestors faced upon their arrival. Vicious anti-immigrant organizations such as “The Know-Nothings” and “Native Americans” made life a nightmare for many. In our current times of rising, virulent anti-immigrant sentiment, may we all take heed and learn from this history.

Produced, arranged and engineered by David Kincaid at Logan Sound Studio, and McCormick Sound, Staten Island, NY, 2024 - 2025.

Copyright ℗ & © 2025 by David Kincaid, Haunted Field Music