
(Pssst... for more musical musings, check out Soccer Mom in Denial. You'll be glad you did!)
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It was called the Harp and Thistle. A piece of Ireland -- smack dab in the middle of the hustle and bustle and neon of a beach community. In what was basically a double wide trailer on a corner lot at the quiet end of a busy street.

The ale (Killians for me -- I know it's not from the UK, but I love it anyway) was cold, the shepherd’s pie hearty, the company engaging, the tunes rollicking. There was live music on the weekends, always of the Irish variety. Singing along was just a given, if not a prerequisite. If you didn’t know the words to a song, it was no matter. Swaying along, mug in hand sailing through the air in rhythmic motion worked just as well.

The Harp & Thistle is but a memory now, as the passing of one of the owners brought an end to the mirth and merriment. There was an attempt to recreate it in a bar in one of the beach hotels (a Howard Johnson’s, of all places) but that didn’t stick.
So today, on that most Irish of days, I celebrate my little slice of the Emerald Isle as a fond flashback. With this song, with which I sang along boisterously many a Saturday night...
Before you go, I raise my beverage (AM: water or iced tea; PM: agave margarita. What. I don't like whiskey. And my margarita is light green thanks to the lime juice) in a toast to you!

Loyal, willing and able.
Now let’s get to drinking!
All glasses off the table!
Here's to women's kisses,
and to whiskey, amber clear;
Not as sweet as a woman's kiss,
but a darn sight more sincere!
(Hey! I beg to differ on this one... come ‘ere and let me show you my sincerity...)
4 comments:
Yes, yes, yes! Love, love, LOVE the Pogues! Fantastic song for St. Patty's!
I'm with Lilacspecs - Pogues are the greatest!!
this is great! I miss my local. I moved, it got overrun by yuppies. I have only my fond memories.
Another Pogues fan here!
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