I wish I was Irish...

...On St. Patrick's Day...In Mexico.

They dyed the tequila green. Actually, I don’t know if they did, I am ordering my drinks “sin alcohol” at this all-inclusive resort south of Playa Del Carmen, on the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. Whether or not they have dyed the tequila green, they have pulled out all the stops. There was a parade with leprechaun costumes. There is a “pot of gold” piñata being swatted at by teenagers. People are getting four leaf clover temporary beach tattoos and there is Irish music playing and I fully expect there to be corned beef barbacoa at the buffet. Everyone wishes they were Irish on Saint Patrick’s Day even the Mexicans.

Years ago, I was feeling inspired on Saint Patrick’s Day and decided I would write a song about it. It used to be that if you wrote a song it took months or even years of planning to record it and release it into the world. These days it can be almost instant. On this day, before it was common practice to push something out quickly, I decided to write a song, take it to Sonic Factory studios, and invite some musician friends, including my now wife

Emma Walsmith

to be on the recording. Later that day we headed to our neighborhood Irish bar called Cooney’s and made a music video. We pushed it out immediately, hoping it would instantly become a pot of gold record. Here is the video.

I Wish I Was Irish, On Saint Patrick’s Day.

I wish I was Irish, On Saint Patrick’s Day.

I wish you were Irish too, so you could drink with me

I wish we were Irish, we would all dress in green.

We’d be the happiest Leprechauns, the world has ever seen.

I wish I was Irish, on Saint Patrick’s Day

I wish you were Irish too, so you could drink with me

I wish we were Irish, we would take the day off work.

We’d spend the whole day in a pub and act like it was church.

I wish I was Irish, on Saint Patrick’s Day

I wish you were Irish too, so you could drink with me

I wish we were Irish, we’d go to the parade

I’d fill you full of green beer, in hopes that i’d get laid.

I wish I was Irish, on Saint Patrick’s Day

I wish you were Irish too, so you could drink with me

I wish, I wish, I wish, that I could have my way,

Cause everybody is Irish too, On Saint Patrick’s Day.

That’s it. It’s a simple (not so) Irish diddy. After releasing this song we we started working on our kids record. This slightly off color song had been a hit with the kids so we switched the lyrics around and made a rated “G” version. It’s pretty easy to make an Irish drinking song kid friendly. You just change all drinking references to dancing references. This version is on The Nadas children’s record called “Bright Eyed and Bushy Tailed”. The song title changed to “On St. Patrick’s Day”. Here is the song and the lyrics.

On St. Patrick’s Day

I wish I was Irish, on Saint Patrick’s Day.

I wish you were Irish too, so you could dance with me.

I wish we were Irish, we would all dress in green.

We’d be the happiest Leprechauns, the world has ever seen.

I wish I was Irish, on Saint Patrick’s Day.

I wish you were Irish too, so you could dance with me.

I wish we were Irish, we would take the day off school,

We’d spend the whole day in a park, or a swimming pool.

I wish I was Irish, on Saint Patrick’s Day.

I wish you were Irish too, so you could dance with me.

I wish we were Irish we would go to the parade,

we’d fill our bags full of so much candy, enough for the whole 3rd grade.

I wish I was Irish, on Saint Patrick’s Day.

I wish you were Irish too, so you could dance with me.

I wish, I wish, I wish, that I could have my way,

and everybody is Irish too, On Saint Patrick’s Day.

(The recording features Mike Butterworth on penny whistle.)

---

I am a proud and grateful member of the

Iowa Writers Collaborative Roundup

A few of my fellow collaborators:

Vicki Minor: Relatively Minor, Winterset

Wini Moranville: Wini’s Food Stories, Des Moines

Jeff Morrison: Between Two Rivers, Cedar Rapids

Kyle Munson: Kyle Munson’s Main Street, Des Moines

Jane Nguyen: The Asian Iowan, West Des Moines

John Naughton: My Life in Color, Des Moines

Chuck Offenburger: Iowa Boy Chuck Offenburger, Jefferson and Des Moines

Barry Piatt: Piatt on Politics Behind the Curtain, Washington, D.C.

Dave Price: Dave Price’s Perspective, Des Moines

Steve Semken: Ice Cube Press, LLC, North Liberty

And many more….