Ever listen to Del Amitri? I happen to like some of their stuff. What almost knocked me over was listening to a live track and discovering that Justin Currie, their singer, is a Scot. Trust me, he's quite a bit more intelligible singing (and even moreso sober). His song Sleep Instead of Teardrops is one of the most haunting songs I have ever heard.
Bono, who the earth revolves around, is Irish, as is Van Morrison. Randy Bachman is Canadian. Rod Stewart, Peter Frampton, Elton John, and Joe Cocker are British. There are tribute bands in Japan who cannot speak a word of English, yet learn their words phonetically.
Furthermore, country legend Mel Tillis has a horrible stutter. Reba McIntyre has a southern accent so thick you could trip over it. You wouldn't know any of this from hearing them sing.
Taking all this into account, why is Irish folk music so full of accent?
Listened to "Sleep Instead of Teardrops". Not my usual fare, but enjoyable nonetheless.
ReplyDeleteI too have always marveled at how different so many singers sound when singing versus talking?
Not only that, rarely do any of them look remotely like you imagine.
Why is Irish folk music so full of accent?
Perhaps all that whiskey makes them revert to their most primal state, negating any subliminal creative tendencies that might inspire them to sing in proper english?