That's an old Irish tune that snuck it's way to Down Under in New Zealand. I learned it from a bunch of young Kiwi believers back when we were all a much happier Family in The Way.... Fun song. There are a whole bunch of other verses which tell the story of a maid who'd "wed an old man", but later "jumped into the arms of a handsome young man". And at the end are the words:
"I grabbed his ding durum,
he found my fullurum,
So maids when you're young,
never wed an old man!
Kinda cute. I wonder what it is about the Irish that makes them so fun to be around? Their accent? Their neat ballads and ditties? No doubt alot of you folks know that "No nay never" song that gets sung in almost every Irish pub in the world?
"And it's no, nay, never,
(clap clap clap clap!)
no nay never no more!
Will I play the wild rover,
No never, no more!"
Lots of fun to sing that one with a bunch of people at an Irish pub. Maybe it's because they are just a bunch of fun loving folks, a rowdy lot...
But on a sadder note, St. Paddy's Day is my big brother Miles Ryan's birthday, but he passed away just a couple of years back, so today is now also a melancholy day as well... :( But, he'd want me to be happy, so... :) Happy birthday big bro!
I think I might go out for somegreen beerand not wear anygreen just in case someone wants to pinch me.
weeee ... pinch pinch
this wine is red ... it was always just a little harder to drink that green beer ... but after the first few it didn't matter much :) I'm trying to find some good irish music to download ... this is when I miss that cable connection ... I guess I could listen to Enya ...
that place doesn't look 27 years old ... man, you have quite a history there ... are you playing Irish tunes tonight? well, you are prolly already there now, aren't you laddie? LOL
that place doesn't look 27 years old ... man, you have quite a history there ... are you playing Irish tunes tonight? well, you are prolly already there now, aren't you laddie? LOL
Bill -- where to even begin???!!! :)
Sir Ben's is actually a 1931 Pure Oil gas staion, that has been renovated into a tavern/sandwich shop. The two windows with the red awnings you see (on the right), were originally the garage doors, leading into the service bay, the pumps were out front (by where the front door now is, and the window with the red awning (on the left), was the office/ waiting area. The building is at least 75 years old, and was turned into a *sandwich shop* in 1978, the year I ended up here in Duluth as a WOW.
The grass you see (in the first pic), is above the I-35 freeway tunnel right in front of Sir Ben's -- and that tunnel threatened the establishment's existence, back in 1981. A guy by the name of Jack Arnold, bought the dilapidated (now no longer *in service*) gas station, back in 1977 (thereabouts). He had ulterior motives, since he was on some sort of planning commission, and knew the freeway was slated to go through there, and also knew that the gas station was slated for destruction.
Short of the long of it is -- he bought it, turned it into a sandwich shop, then hoped to sell for a profit, once the freeway came through. What he did not plan on, was the local greenies, and their hearty disapproval of the freeway, and the many years of legal battles that ensued.
By the time the legal battles were ended, he had a viable business up and running, and had changed his mind about selling for a profit (realizing he had the goose that laid the golden egg), and was willing to get them one at a time, rather than all at once.
Enter me and my friends. :)
I stopped in there for a cup of coffee, taking a break from looking for work when I first moved up here, and his wife (Betty), dropped by my table (Yea -- I was reading the Word!), to thank me for stopping in. She found out I picked, and invited me to invite my friends to come down and do *jam* sessions there.
I had no friends here (at that point -- who picked), but it didn't take me long to find a cadre of bluegrasser's up here, and I repeated her invitation to to me (to them), when they were wondering where we could all get together publically, and pick.
Well -- we started picking there in August of 1978, on Wednesday nights -- and it became so hugely popular here in town, that public tide against the demolition of Sir Ben's swelled to the point, that the state finally relented, and allowed it to stand. It took some work to get to that point, but suffice it to say -- it was accomplished, and that is where we all still pick today.
Yup -- we were playing Irish, Old-tyme, you name it tonight, and it was a true treat.
One of the 8 fiddlers we had there tonight, was a young lady who is now a college student, and first showed up there when she first was learning fiddle, many years ago. Her mother (in attendance then), was in attendance tonight playing penny-whistle, along with the 4 guitarists we had, the two bass players we had, the 3 boudhran players, and the 2 mando pickers, and one cello player!
The neat thing about Sir Ben's is -- even though it is a tavern, kids are allowed there, if accompianied by their folks. There are countless kids who have come and gone (through the years), to sit and learn a style of music offered by us, and not many others (up here). Ours has always been a *kid friendly* jam*, welcoming everyone from rank beginner, to experienced adult.
(Quick story -- you might find it amusing ----) I went for a loan, to buy a new car. Haven't been in debt for around 20 years. The loan officer said -- *Hey!! You're Dave Miller. The fiddler from Sir Ben's!!". My consternation must have showed, because she followed up with -- *You were one of the one's that let me sit in with my viola there in Sir Ben's when I was in grade school!!" :blink:
Like I say -- we've been at it for a while, and yes -- I'm feeling pretty old, recounting all this.
Rhino -- that building has more stories to tell, than you could ever imagine, even if most of them do start about 27 years ago.
Ps -- a friend of mine (from southern Indiana -- who lives up here), showed up with his bagpipes. He played a few tunes, and true to form, there were kids there -- all right in front of him, drinking in the music, while most of us adults were covering our ears, cause it was so loud.
Yup -- we were playing Irish, Old-tyme, you name it tonight, and it was a true treat.
One of the 8 fiddlers we had there tonight, was a young lady who is now a college student, and first showed up there when she first was learning fiddle, many years ago. Her mother (in attendance then), was in attendance tonight playing penny-whistle, along with the 4 guitarists we had, the two bass players we had, the 3 boudhran players, and the 2 mando pickers, and one cello player!
That's really neat, Dave!! How cool! It's like your very own real live "Cheers"!
Not many people have a place like that, much less the longevity and wealth of comeraderie. I really enjoyed reading about Sir Ben's. Thanks for sharing that with us!
And Geo used to frequent the place...makes the history even more colorful!
Ha! That's only part of the story. ;)
Back in *the days* (when there was a prolific amount of wow's up here), they all showed up there on Wednesday nights, to witness. From what I remember, most twigs met on Tuesday and Thursday nights, with a branch get-together Sunday mornings (least-ways our twig operated that way). On any given Wednesday night, purt near half the crowd was made up of wow's, and bible was the discussion going on all around, while we all swatted out our Bluegrass music.
Hey -- the wow's knew a good thing when they saw it --
it was a helluva lot more fun to witness there, rather than at the mall!
One wow family co-ordinater got ticked off at me,
cause our jams were more popular than his twig was.
Hee- hee- hee! (No surprise there --- eh??) ;)
We all pick around a big round table, so we can see and hear what the others are playing, and he called our jam session a big *circle jerk*. He got reprimanded pretty heavily by the branch leader for criticizing a good opportunity for all the others to witness, so he shut up after a while. :)
That was all before Geo was here in town.
George -- didn't you come here as a wow-vet?? I seem to think so, but am not sure.
That was a whole 'nother crew of way-folks that graced the halls of Sir Ben's on Wednesday nights.
The wow-vets also hung out at Sir Ben's, and reguarly talked bible with the patrons. One patron in particular (he still comes down there today), was Roger Cragun, who wrote a book called: THE ULTIMATE HERESY, THE DOCTRINE OF BIBLICAL INERRANCY. I remember him, and several of the wow-vets getting into it about the inerrancy of the Word, and the deity of Christ pretty hot and heavy. :)
Roger still shows up these days, and he and I do the same *dialouge*, from years past (neither of us have changed, in that respect). Although I do have to say, that both he and I have learned to agree to disagree with each other.
The more things change, the more they remain the same. :)
"Dmiller was the finest fiddler to every play Sir Bens."
No way!!!
, was by far the best to ever grace the halls there.
PS --- click the pics. I met Shad when he was just a 15 year old *wanna-be* fiddler from Dairyland, Wisconsin. He is now one of the all-time favorite *fiddlers in demand* down in Nashville, Tennessee, and a regular with all sorts of bands on the Grand Old Opry. His younger brother Jesse, is one of tthe hottest mandolin pickers today -- also on the Grand Old Opry stage. Their other (younger) brother Mat, is a left handed fiddler, and making a name for himself playing on the riverboats going up and down the Mississippi River.
It humbles me to realize that I knew all of these fine gents, when they were just begining what would be illustrious careers, and that Sir Ben's was a small part of that. :) Dairyland is about 50 miles from here, and their dad, Jarred, made sure they got to a good jam session, so his kids could pick with others.
Their are many fine fiddlers in this world. IMO -- Shad is right up there with the best of them.
"Dmiller was of the finest fiddlers to ever bow the Ben"
Now you have got to except that one. I've never heard you play and we've never met face to face...but I know in my soul that this man who has fiddled over 27 years, who "wows" Natalie's tunes, who has strings in his soul, who hates to miss the Merlfest of Indiana (I forget what its called...sorry :( ), and who has a heart of love for folks (seen in your posts and chats...obviously and between the lines) is absolutely at the top of the finest fiddlers to ever grace Sir Bens.
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dmiller
Happy St. Pat's Day to you too. :)
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I Love Bagpipes
Thank ee dmiller!
The pic didn't come through on my puter....I know....I need to get a Mac. It's a cult...the Mac Cult.
I appreciate you and think of you whenever I hear Natalie. Know you are prayerfully and thankfully thought of.
:) CW
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Belle
As I Roved Out
And who are you, me pretty fair maid
And who are you, me honey?
And who are you, me pretty fair maid
And who are you, me honey?
She answered me quite modestly:
I am me mother's darling.
cho: With me too-ry-ay
Fol-de-diddle-day
Di-re fol-de-diddle
Dai-rie oh.
And will you come to me mother's house,
When the sun is shining clearly ( repeat )
I'll open the door and I'll let you in
And divil 'o one would hear us.
So I went to her house in the middle of the night
When the moon was shining clearly ( repeat )
Shc opened the door and she let me in
And divil the one did hear us.
She took me horse by the bridle and the bit
And she led him to the stable ( repeat )
Saying "There's plenty of oats for a soldier's horse,
To eat it if he's able."
Then she took me by the lily-white hand
And she led me to the table ( repeat )
Saying: There's plenty of wine for a soldier boy,
To drink it if you're able.
Then I got up and made the bed
And I made it nice and aisy ( repeat )
Then I got up and laid her down
Saying: Lassie, are you able?
And there we lay till the break of day
And divil a one did hear us ( repeat )
Then I arose and put on me clothes
Saying: Lassie, I must leave you.
And when will you return again
And when will we get married ( repeat )
When broken shells make Christmas bells
We might well get married.
Happy St. Patrick's Day to ye!!
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rhino
After noon on St Patty's Day ... guess it's time to finish that bottle of wine ... makes me feel fine
Luck of the Irish to ya' all ...
Erin go bragh ....
Kiss Me ... I'm Irish
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Belle
I think I might go out for some green beer and not wear any green just in case someone wants to pinch me.
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J0nny Ling0
"An old man came courtin' me
Hey ding durumai,
An old man came courtin',
an me bein young!
An old man came courtin' an
said maid will ye marry me,
but maids when yer young,
never wed an old man!
WHY?
Cause he's got no ding durum
fly-itter-I-yurumai,
He's got no ding durum
fly-itter-I-yay!
He's lost his ding durum,
can't please my "fullurum",
so maids when yer young never
wed an old man!"
That's an old Irish tune that snuck it's way to Down Under in New Zealand. I learned it from a bunch of young Kiwi believers back when we were all a much happier Family in The Way.... Fun song. There are a whole bunch of other verses which tell the story of a maid who'd "wed an old man", but later "jumped into the arms of a handsome young man". And at the end are the words:
"I grabbed his ding durum,
he found my fullurum,
So maids when you're young,
never wed an old man!
Kinda cute. I wonder what it is about the Irish that makes them so fun to be around? Their accent? Their neat ballads and ditties? No doubt alot of you folks know that "No nay never" song that gets sung in almost every Irish pub in the world?
"And it's no, nay, never,
(clap clap clap clap!)
no nay never no more!
Will I play the wild rover,
No never, no more!"
Lots of fun to sing that one with a bunch of people at an Irish pub. Maybe it's because they are just a bunch of fun loving folks, a rowdy lot...
But on a sadder note, St. Paddy's Day is my big brother Miles Ryan's birthday, but he passed away just a couple of years back, so today is now also a melancholy day as well... :( But, he'd want me to be happy, so... :) Happy birthday big bro!
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rhino
weeee ... pinch pinch
this wine is red ... it was always just a little harder to drink that green beer ... but after the first few it didn't matter much :) I'm trying to find some good irish music to download ... this is when I miss that cable connection ... I guess I could listen to Enya ...
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dmiller
We'll be playing music here tonight, full force. :)
(I better get the fiddle in tune -- there'll be about 30 others picking there tonight).
Sir Ben's is a small place, but we've been doing music there for nigh on 27 years now.
Tonight, we will actually have to kick out some of the patrons,
so we have room to *wield* the fiddle bows.
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dmiller
Oh -- here is the view from the *front porch* you see in the Sir Ben's pic. :)
(this scene is at the photographer's back, as he took the pic of Sir Ben's.)
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rhino
that place doesn't look 27 years old ... man, you have quite a history there ... are you playing Irish tunes tonight? well, you are prolly already there now, aren't you laddie? LOL
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dmiller
Bill -- where to even begin???!!! :)
Sir Ben's is actually a 1931 Pure Oil gas staion, that has been renovated into a tavern/sandwich shop. The two windows with the red awnings you see (on the right), were originally the garage doors, leading into the service bay, the pumps were out front (by where the front door now is, and the window with the red awning (on the left), was the office/ waiting area. The building is at least 75 years old, and was turned into a *sandwich shop* in 1978, the year I ended up here in Duluth as a WOW.
The grass you see (in the first pic), is above the I-35 freeway tunnel right in front of Sir Ben's -- and that tunnel threatened the establishment's existence, back in 1981. A guy by the name of Jack Arnold, bought the dilapidated (now no longer *in service*) gas station, back in 1977 (thereabouts). He had ulterior motives, since he was on some sort of planning commission, and knew the freeway was slated to go through there, and also knew that the gas station was slated for destruction.
Short of the long of it is -- he bought it, turned it into a sandwich shop, then hoped to sell for a profit, once the freeway came through. What he did not plan on, was the local greenies, and their hearty disapproval of the freeway, and the many years of legal battles that ensued.
By the time the legal battles were ended, he had a viable business up and running, and had changed his mind about selling for a profit (realizing he had the goose that laid the golden egg), and was willing to get them one at a time, rather than all at once.
Enter me and my friends. :)
I stopped in there for a cup of coffee, taking a break from looking for work when I first moved up here, and his wife (Betty), dropped by my table (Yea -- I was reading the Word!), to thank me for stopping in. She found out I picked, and invited me to invite my friends to come down and do *jam* sessions there.
I had no friends here (at that point -- who picked), but it didn't take me long to find a cadre of bluegrasser's up here, and I repeated her invitation to to me (to them), when they were wondering where we could all get together publically, and pick.
Well -- we started picking there in August of 1978, on Wednesday nights -- and it became so hugely popular here in town, that public tide against the demolition of Sir Ben's swelled to the point, that the state finally relented, and allowed it to stand. It took some work to get to that point, but suffice it to say -- it was accomplished, and that is where we all still pick today.
Yup -- we were playing Irish, Old-tyme, you name it tonight, and it was a true treat.
One of the 8 fiddlers we had there tonight, was a young lady who is now a college student, and first showed up there when she first was learning fiddle, many years ago. Her mother (in attendance then), was in attendance tonight playing penny-whistle, along with the 4 guitarists we had, the two bass players we had, the 3 boudhran players, and the 2 mando pickers, and one cello player!
The neat thing about Sir Ben's is -- even though it is a tavern, kids are allowed there, if accompianied by their folks. There are countless kids who have come and gone (through the years), to sit and learn a style of music offered by us, and not many others (up here). Ours has always been a *kid friendly* jam*, welcoming everyone from rank beginner, to experienced adult.
(Quick story -- you might find it amusing ----) I went for a loan, to buy a new car. Haven't been in debt for around 20 years. The loan officer said -- *Hey!! You're Dave Miller. The fiddler from Sir Ben's!!". My consternation must have showed, because she followed up with -- *You were one of the one's that let me sit in with my viola there in Sir Ben's when I was in grade school!!" :blink:
Like I say -- we've been at it for a while, and yes -- I'm feeling pretty old, recounting all this.
Rhino -- that building has more stories to tell, than you could ever imagine, even if most of them do start about 27 years ago.
Where-in-the-hell-did-the-years-go???
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dmiller
Ps -- a friend of mine (from southern Indiana -- who lives up here), showed up with his bagpipes. He played a few tunes, and true to form, there were kids there -- all right in front of him, drinking in the music, while most of us adults were covering our ears, cause it was so loud.
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George Aar
Place looks just the same to me, 'cept there's no road in front anymore.
Have a Guinness and think of pleasant thoughts about me tonight Dave!
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dmiller
Geo -- the road (Superior street) is still there.
It''s between the *grassy knoll*, and Sir Ben's. :)
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mstar1
Now that sounds like a wee bit o heaven t'me
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Belle
That's really neat, Dave!! How cool! It's like your very own real live "Cheers"!
Not many people have a place like that, much less the longevity and wealth of comeraderie. I really enjoyed reading about Sir Ben's. Thanks for sharing that with us!
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I Love Bagpipes
Dittos Belle! What an awesome story. Thanks for sharing this corner of your life with us dmiller!
And Geo used to frequent the place...makes the history even more colorful!
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dmiller
Ha! That's only part of the story. ;)
Back in *the days* (when there was a prolific amount of wow's up here), they all showed up there on Wednesday nights, to witness. From what I remember, most twigs met on Tuesday and Thursday nights, with a branch get-together Sunday mornings (least-ways our twig operated that way). On any given Wednesday night, purt near half the crowd was made up of wow's, and bible was the discussion going on all around, while we all swatted out our Bluegrass music.
Hey -- the wow's knew a good thing when they saw it --
it was a helluva lot more fun to witness there, rather than at the mall!
One wow family co-ordinater got ticked off at me,
cause our jams were more popular than his twig was.
Hee- hee- hee! (No surprise there --- eh??) ;)
We all pick around a big round table, so we can see and hear what the others are playing, and he called our jam session a big *circle jerk*. He got reprimanded pretty heavily by the branch leader for criticizing a good opportunity for all the others to witness, so he shut up after a while. :)
That was all before Geo was here in town.
George -- didn't you come here as a wow-vet?? I seem to think so, but am not sure.
That was a whole 'nother crew of way-folks that graced the halls of Sir Ben's on Wednesday nights.
The wow-vets also hung out at Sir Ben's, and reguarly talked bible with the patrons. One patron in particular (he still comes down there today), was Roger Cragun, who wrote a book called: THE ULTIMATE HERESY, THE DOCTRINE OF BIBLICAL INERRANCY. I remember him, and several of the wow-vets getting into it about the inerrancy of the Word, and the deity of Christ pretty hot and heavy. :)
Roger still shows up these days, and he and I do the same *dialouge*, from years past (neither of us have changed, in that respect). Although I do have to say, that both he and I have learned to agree to disagree with each other.
The more things change, the more they remain the same. :)
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I Love Bagpipes
Fun!! Fun!! Fun!!!
Sounds sort of like some of the coffee houses springing up again around here.
Music...the universal language.
What a great story David. Fond memories you have in Sir Bens.
Someone could write a song:
"Curtis Lowe was the finest picker to ever play the blues."
"Dmiller was the finest fiddler to every play Sir Bens."
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dmiller
No way!!!
PS --- click the pics. I met Shad when he was just a 15 year old *wanna-be* fiddler from Dairyland, Wisconsin. He is now one of the all-time favorite *fiddlers in demand* down in Nashville, Tennessee, and a regular with all sorts of bands on the Grand Old Opry. His younger brother Jesse, is one of tthe hottest mandolin pickers today -- also on the Grand Old Opry stage. Their other (younger) brother Mat, is a left handed fiddler, and making a name for himself playing on the riverboats going up and down the Mississippi River.
It humbles me to realize that I knew all of these fine gents, when they were just begining what would be illustrious careers, and that Sir Ben's was a small part of that. :) Dairyland is about 50 miles from here, and their dad, Jarred, made sure they got to a good jam session, so his kids could pick with others.
Their are many fine fiddlers in this world. IMO -- Shad is right up there with the best of them.
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J0nny Ling0
No Guiness for me, but I will have a black and tan!
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markomalley
Now yer talkin:
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coolchef1248 @adelphia.net
dave
what a wonderful story
thank you for shareing!
wish i could be the chef in a place like that!
sorry that is a lite!
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I Love Bagpipes
Okay Dave...
Hows bout:
"Dmiller was of the finest fiddlers to ever bow the Ben"
Now you have got to except that one. I've never heard you play and we've never met face to face...but I know in my soul that this man who has fiddled over 27 years, who "wows" Natalie's tunes, who has strings in his soul, who hates to miss the Merlfest of Indiana (I forget what its called...sorry :( ), and who has a heart of love for folks (seen in your posts and chats...obviously and between the lines) is absolutely at the top of the finest fiddlers to ever grace Sir Bens.
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