Piaras Ó Lorcáin is definitely one of the upcoming new voices in Irish Folk. I posted about him some time ago (look here).
{t:Those Were The Days}
{st:Berry Kerr}
{soh}Piaras Ó Lorcáin{eoh}
{soc}
Oh, I [G]Wish I Was Singing With [D]Mickie And Margies Girls
[G]Down In Wood[D]lawn
Where The [G]Songs From Home
Turned [D]Way Up Loud
And The [Bm]Football And Hurling [A]On
Those We're The [G]Days
And The [D]Nights
The [G]Laughter And The [D]Fights
The [G]Phone Call Home When [D]Feeling Alone
[Bm]Somehow Made It Seem [A]Right
Those We're The [G]Days
And The [D]Nights
{eoc}
[A]
I Was Making The [G]Money Doing [D]Well
But I [G]Lost It And I [D]Fell
Oh I [G]Backed The Wrong Horse
And [D]Out Of My Cost
And [Bm]Serving My Penance In [A]Hell
{soc}
Those We're The [G]Days
And The [D]Nights
The [G]Laughter And The [D] Fights
The [G]Phone Call Home When [D]Feeling Alone
[Bm]Somehow Made It Seem [A]Right
Those We're The [G]Days pause
And The [D]Nights
{eoc}
{soc}
I [G]Wish I Was Singing With [D]Mickie And Margies Girls
[G]Down In Wood[D]lawn
Where The [G]Songs From Home
Turned [D]Way Up Loud
And The [Bm]Football And Hurling [A]On
Those We're The [G]Days
And The [D]Nights
The [G]Laughter And The [D] Fights
The [G]Phone Call Home When [D]Feeling Alone
[Bm]Somehow Made It Seem [A]Right
Those We're The [G]Days pause
And The [D]Nights
{eoc}
[G]Come All You Bar Stool [D]Heroes
Oh, [G]Sing out Your Favourite [D]Songs
Some [G]Whiskey For The [D]Courage
Ah, We'll [Bm]Sing And Right The [A]Wrongs
Oh, We [G]Are The Music [D]Makers
We [G]Are The Dreamers Of [D]Dreams
Oh, [G]Chasing The Ad[D]venture
And What[Bm]ever It May [A]Bring
{soc}
I [G]Wish I Was Singing With [D]Mickie And Margies Girls
[G]Down In Wood[D]lawn
Where The [G]Songs From Home
Turned [D]Way Up Loud
And The [Bm]Football And Hurling [A]On
Those We're The [G]Days
And The [D]Nights
The [G]Laughter And The [D] Fights
The [G]Phone Call Home When [D]Feeling Alone
[Bm]Somehow Made It Seem [A]Right
Those We're The [G]Days pause
And The [D]Nights
{eoc}
“Those Were the Days” — Barry Kerr
Barry Kerr’s “Those Were the Days” is a reflective song, written and recorded on tour in the USA, often in hotel rooms or at gig venues. The song tells the story of an Irishman who is “down on his luck,” thinking back with nostalgia to happier times — particularly longing to be back in New York, enjoying the liveliness (“the craic”) of Bronx bars.
In doing so, Kerr explores themes of homesickness, regret, and the pull of places and memories that once felt alive. The setting — being on the road, in between performances — adds a dimension of longing and transience: the contrast between the current difficult circumstances and the vibrant life once had.
Interpretation & deeper reading
Putting together what is stated plus what can reasonably be inferred, here is a more in-depth reading:
Longing and nostalgia
The central emotional core of the song is nostalgia — longing for better times, for places and moments that felt full of life. The narrator is “down on his luck,” so the past is not just memory but a contrast to present hardship.Exile, displacement, and homesickness
The setting includes being on tour in the U.S., away from home. The protagonist is Irish, longing to be back in New York (in the Bronx) where he once felt close to the pulse of social life, “having the craic” (i.e. enjoying good conversation, music, dance, community). The distance and dislocation amplify the emotional weight of memory.Communal restoration / music as solace
In the opening lines, the idea of “barstool heroes” gathering, singing their favorite songs, and issuing “some whiskey for the courage” suggests that community and music are the means by which the narrator (and those around him) cope with regret or loss. It is as though in singing together, they seek to “right the wrongs” — heal or reinterpret the past, or find strength in shared memory.Regret, missed opportunities, and reflection
The contrast between past and present suggests that certain choices, chances, or relationships may have been lost or mismanaged. The tone is not triumphant; it is tinged with sadness, but also with a kind of hopeful reckoning — through remembering, through gathering, one might reclaim something or find solace.Temporal tension
Because the song was literally composed on the road, in transient spaces (hotel rooms, venues), that sense of impermanence seeps into the song. The present is unstable; the past, though unreachable, feels more stable by comparison. This heightens the emotional urgency of the nostalgia.
