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Tony_Muldoon

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Songs, poems and Golf.
« on: January 28, 2007, 03:53:45 PM »
Is your Golf obsession so strong that you see references everywhere?  
Lloyd Cole told us recently that the song NYC Sunshine on his new album has a thought about escaping to the Garden City and he was thinking about the golf course when he wrote it.
 
Come on, take my hand, it may be cold outside
But we’ve got New York City sunshine
Walking with the junkies and the millionaires
In the New York City.
New York City sunshine
Maybe I’m going to get paid today
Maybe I’m going to get made today
Maybe I’m going to go back to Garden City
I know one of these days I’m going to leave this town
One of these days I’m going to pack her up and put
her in drive
And head into the great whereafter.

I think a golf fan would have made the connection even if he knew nothing of the Author’s fascination with Golf. I've seen other posts which link words and specific golf courses, e.g. Ogden Nash and Betjeman/St Enodoc,  but what other writing makes your mind leap to a certain course even when that wasn't the authors direct subject?

On a current thread, Mark Bourgeois urges us to read Under Ben Bulben by Yeats.  Once you’ve played Rosses Point, Co. Sligo you will know that table top mountain overhanging the course is Ben Bulben. Yeats wasn’t thinking of Golf but it’s now impossible to separate the two in my mind.

Under bare Ben Bulben's head
In Drumcliff churchyard Yeats is laid.
An ancestor was rector there
Long years ago, a church stands near,
By the road an ancient cross.
No marble, no conventional phrase;
On limestone quarried near the spot
By his command these words are cut:
Cast a cold eye
On life, on death.
Horseman, pass by!


I’ve yet to play Royal County Down but it think of doing so every time I hear this song.

Oh, Mary, this London's a wonderful sight
With people here working by day and by night
They don't sow potatoes, nor barley nor wheat
But there' gangs of them digging for gold in the streets
At least when I asked them that's what I was told
So I just took a hand at this diggin' for gold
But for all that I found there I might as well be
Where the Mountains of Mourne sweep down to the sea.

I believe that when writin' a wish you expressed
As to how the fine ladies in London were dressed
Well, if you believe me, when asked to a ball
Faith, they don't wear no top to their dresses at all.
Oh, I've seen them myself and you could not in truth
Say if they were bound for a ball or a bath
Don't be startin' them fashions now, Mary Macree,
Where the mountains of Mourne sweep down to the sea.

I've seen England's king from the top of a bus
And I've never known him, but he means to know us.
And tho' by the Saxon we once were oppressed,
Still I cheered, God forgive me, I cheered with the rest.
And now that he's visited Erin's green shore
We'll be much better friends than we've been heretofore
When we've got all we want, we're as quiet as can be
Where the mountains of Mourne sweep down to the sea.

You remember young Peter O'Loughlin, of course
Well, now he is here at the head of the force
I met him today, I was crossing the Strand
And he stopped the whole street with a wave of his hand
And there we stood talkin' of days that are gone
While the whole population of London looked on
But for all these great powers he's wishful like me
To be back where the dark Mourne sweeps down to the sea.

There's beautiful girls here, oh, never you mind
With beautiful shapes nature never designed
And lovely complexions all roses and cream
But O'Loughlin remarked with regard to the same
That if at those roses you venture to sip
The colours might all come away on your lip
So I'll wait for the wild rose that's waitin' for me
Where the Mountains of Mourne sweep down to the sea

This Irishman stranded in London recommends a fine version by Don McLean -even if he does take liberties with the melody.



The songwriter Jimmy Kennedy was born and raised in Strand Road, Portstewart. That’s the road you drive along to the course and he said the memory of the view along the strand (beach) towards the Barmouth (estuary) was the inspiration for the lyrics to this classic.

Red sails in the sunset, way out on the sea,
Oh, carry my loved one, home safely to me.
She sailed at the dawning, all day I've been blue;
Red sails in the sunset, I'm trusting in you.

(If you know anything about Jimmy Kennedy, after another excellent recent thread, you might conclude he also knew Pat Mucci Snr. ;))

So are there any written or sung words that take your imagination straight to a golf course?
« Last Edit: January 28, 2007, 03:54:25 PM by Tony Muldoon »
Let's make GCA grate again!

Mark Bourgeois

Re:Songs, poems and Golf.
« Reply #1 on: January 28, 2007, 04:48:56 PM »
I think Noel Freeman in his write up "Triskaidekaphobia" paraphrases TS Eliot ("This is how the match ends...")

When winning a tournament (maybe a major) Nicklaus later said "Georgy Girl" played in his head.

 Pat Mucci special -- this Yeats poem should get us all out of the office and onto the course:

The Choice
The intellect of man is forced to choose
perfection of the life, or of the work,
And if it take the second must refuse
A heavenly mansion, raging in the dark.
When all that story's finished, what's the news?
In luck or out the toil has left its mark:
That old perplexity an empty purse,
Or the day's vanity, the night's remorse.

Mark

Alfie

Re:Songs, poems and Golf.
« Reply #2 on: January 29, 2007, 03:50:14 PM »
Tony,
Hey ! You're getting deep my friend  :)

Wonder if Bob (Mac)Dylan has been influenced along the rock'n'roll road ?

Not sure if it's already been done in the behemoth of golfing literature - but I reckon there's scope for a book dedicated to this theme of poetry etc... there's mountains of the stuff !

Would you believe that I was inspired by the 1848 poem - "Hail ! Gutta Percha !"  :D
(Surprise, surprise ?) ;)

As far as song (& film) is concerned ; I love that old black and white job with the great Fred Astaire hitting em "Straight Down The Middle". Apparently, he really did play those shots while dancing / singing. Would love to see it again ?

Then there's Alice Cooper...School's out for Summer....golf ?

My obsession comes from seeing courses in fields around my surrounding countryside. I may be wrong, but I think Pat Ruddy suffers from the same affliction  :)

BTW. Happy Burns night to you too ! Pity Burns didn't play golf. Now HE would have written some interesting lines.


Alfie.

Rick Shefchik

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Re:Songs, poems and Golf.
« Reply #3 on: January 29, 2007, 04:07:26 PM »
Whenever I hear the Eagles' "One of These Nights" I immediately think of a round I played with an old friend back in the summer of 1975, near twilight. I haven't seen him much since then, but we were both fans of the Eagles, and the song was a big hit at the time. I don't know if we heard it in the car radio on the way home or what, but the song will forever remind me of a particularly enjoyable day on the golf course.
"Golf is 20 percent mechanics and technique. The other 80 percent is philosophy, humor, tragedy, romance, melodrama, companionship, camaraderie, cussedness and conversation." - Grantland Rice

Rob_Babcock

Re:Songs, poems and Golf.
« Reply #4 on: January 29, 2007, 04:23:03 PM »
After a golf trip to Ireland, one of my buddies who is a singer/songwriter wrote a song titled Golf -- It's What Guinness is Fore!. He actually included it as a bonus track on one of his CDs. You can listen to to the song at:

http://www.golfadventureguides.com/wp/?p=16

Here are the lyrics:

Golf -- It’s What Guinness Is Fore!
With clubs in our bags and balls in our hands
We began our adventure in old Ireland
We were three buddies footloose and free
With dreams of great golf on the links by the sea

The courses were gorgeous like a young Irish lass
But looks can deceive like tall, rough, green grass
With our first round it was made all too clear
Why all the locals drank so much beer

Chorus
Golf — it’s what Guinness is fore
Please won’t you pour us one more
We’ve lost all our balls
Now we’re stuck with our scores
Golf — it’s what Guinness is fore!

We’d start off each mornin’ sayin’ this is the day
That the old Irish course would submit to our play
But by the round’s end we’d leave in defeat
And off to the pub we would retreat

Chorus

From Dublin to Baltray, Lahinch and Tralee
To Sligo and Doonbeg and places between
We hooked and we sliced and we shanked quite a few
For this game is illusive but one thing is true

Chorus

Lyrics and music by Scott Johnson
© 2000 - 2006 Googol Press. All rights reserved. This song is from the CD Dreams In The Making.

Steve Burrows

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re:Songs, poems and Golf.
« Reply #5 on: January 29, 2007, 05:12:15 PM »
This is taken way out of context, but...

In Plato's Phaedo, Cebes wants Socrates to prove a point to the scared child who lives within all of us, saying

"...try to persuade him not to fear death like a bogey".
...to admit my mistakes most frankly, or to say simply what I believe to be necessary for the defense of what I have written, without introducing the explanation of any new matter so as to avoid engaging myself in endless discussion from one topic to another.     
               -Rene Descartes

RJ_Daley

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Re:Songs, poems and Golf.
« Reply #6 on: January 29, 2007, 05:28:38 PM »
ding ding ding, we have a winner!!!!

Rob, I'd like to nominate your friend's song as the official GCA.com anthem to be sung by the rowdy group assembled for the after round pub and grub at each official GCA.com golf gathering.  This would have been great at the Dixie Cup last November, but the Buda Cup and Kings Putter are coming next year to inaugurate the song.  

Do we have to pay royalties if we sing it whilst drunk and disorderly if no actual muscians or singers are used in the making?  Sorry Lloyd you can't sing along...  ;) ;D

sounds like a question for Jay Flemma to get us a ruling on... ;D 8)
No actual golf rounds were ruined or delayed, nor golf rules broken, in the taking of any photographs that may be displayed by the above forum user.

Rob_Babcock

Re:Songs, poems and Golf.
« Reply #7 on: January 29, 2007, 05:35:05 PM »
Do we have to pay royalties if we sing it whilst drunk and disorderly if no actual muscians or singers are used in the making?

As long as you're truly drunk and disorderly -- no problem!  :)

Tony_Muldoon

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re:Songs, poems and Golf.
« Reply #8 on: January 29, 2007, 06:05:28 PM »


As far as song (& film) is concerned ; I love that old black and white job with the great Fred Astaire hitting em "Straight Down The Middle". Apparently, he really did play those shots while dancing / singing. Would love to see it again ?

I
should have known we'd be on a similar wavelength on this.  First week of this year I spent Monday and Tuesday lying on the floor trying not to aggravate the back.  So after watching The Godfather parts 1, 2 and 3 straight through I decided on some lighter fare.  Cue 'Carefree' the film in question!


“There was no greater perfectionist in films than Fred Astaire, who rehearsed tirelessly for weeks on end before shooting began on his pictures. He was also an accomplished golfer, finding the sport great relaxation. In Carefree (1938) he did one of the numbers he did fairly often, dancing over tables and furniture, up and down halls, out on the terrace, and winding up on a golf course. Director Mark Sandrich took his crew over to Pasadena for the golf-course portion of the routine, which was shot as a continuous scene. There were a dozen or more golf balls lined up, which Astaire was to hit with a club - all in rhythm. A loudspeaker had been rigged outdoors to play the pre-recorded soundtrack, so he could keep his rhythm exact. He was dancing all the time, and everything had to be done on cue. Astaire hit the golf balls, and when the crew went to retrieve them, they found the dozen balls all lying on the green within eight feet of one another! Fred obviously had done some serious practicing."



Let's make GCA grate again!

Marty Bonnar

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Re:Songs, poems and Golf.
« Reply #9 on: January 29, 2007, 06:26:05 PM »
Tony,
picture of Fred 'golfing':

http://www.lapl.org/virgal/hw_golf/holly_golf_2.html

I personally prefer Olivia DeHavilland and the babe with the shorts wrapped around Dino!!! Hope they make a comeback (the shorts that is, not Martin and Lewis!)

FBD.
The White River runs dark through the heart of the Town,
Washed the people coal-black from the hole in the ground.

Alfie

Re:Songs, poems and Golf.
« Reply #10 on: January 29, 2007, 06:34:20 PM »
Well, well. Couldn't have summed up Fred's golf scene better. I remember there was something about the "background" in that scene - which Fred overcame - par excellance ! Carefree ! Well done Tony.

Aye....The Godfather !

Steve,
"In Plato's Phaedo, Cebes wants Socrates to prove a point to the scared child who lives within all of us, saying

"...try to persuade him not to fear death like a bogey".

Now that's a cracker too !

Alfie.

Marty Bonnar

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re:Songs, poems and Golf.
« Reply #11 on: January 29, 2007, 06:37:12 PM »
Often whilst golfing, I will fixate on Marilyn singing:

"While tearing off a game of golf,
I may make a play for the caddy,
But when I do, I don't follow through,
Cause my heart belongs to Daddy"

Quite off-putting for we 'Men of a certain Vintage".... :o

FBD.
The White River runs dark through the heart of the Town,
Washed the people coal-black from the hole in the ground.

Brian_Ewen

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re:Songs, poems and Golf.
« Reply #12 on: January 29, 2007, 09:18:18 PM »
Martin , thanks for jogging my memory  :P


Tony_Muldoon

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Re:Songs, poems and Golf.
« Reply #13 on: January 30, 2007, 02:34:03 AM »
On Martin's link

"Jack Nicholson flashed a smile during the Los Angeles Police Department's annual Police Celebrity Charity Golf Tournament at Rancho Park. Nicholson was tournament host in 1991, joining a rarified list that included Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Bob Newhart and James Woods."

So that's how you stay on the right side of the law.
Let's make GCA grate again!

Andy Levett

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Re:Songs, poems and Golf.
« Reply #14 on: January 30, 2007, 04:50:33 AM »
I think Noel Freeman in his write up "Triskaidekaphobia" paraphrases TS Eliot ("This is how the match ends...")

Not sure if Eliot was a golfer - this is his too:
And the wind shall say: "Here were decent
godless people
Their only monument the asphalt road
And a thousand lost golf balls."

D_Malley

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Re:Songs, poems and Golf.
« Reply #15 on: January 30, 2007, 09:42:04 AM »
it's easy to grin when your ship has come in, and you know you have the stock market beat.  But a man worth while, is a man who can smile when his shorts are too tight in the seat.  

do the honors pookie

judge schmails

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