Last spring, guest author Brad Kay wrote a marvelous biography of saw player Sam Moore for our blog. You can read it here. In the post, you can here a recording of “The Last Rose Of Summer” played by Sam Moore. Here’s another beautiful song, “Mother Machree.” In this recording, Moore is playing saw with pianist Frank Banta, a popular ragtime musician who wrote quite a few ragtime pieces and recorded for many years. You can read an in-depth biography of him and his father (another Frank Banta) here. Part of the charm of this recording is the simplicity. The saw and the piano are perfect together. The song “Mother Machree” is an Irish-American song, a song of love for a mother. It was a popular song for quite a few years and was a hit for Irish tenor John McCormack.
There’s a depth in me soul never sounded or known,
There’s a place in my memory, my life that you fill,
No other can take it, no one ever will,
And the brow that’s all furrowed and wrinkled with care.
I kiss the dear fingers so toil-worn for me,
Oh, God bless you and keep you, Mother Machree!
Was made bright by the light of she smile in your eye,
Like a candle that’s set in a window at night,
Your fond love has cheered me, and guided me right
And the brow that’s all furrowed and wrinkled with care.
I kiss the dear fingers so toil-worn for me,
Oh, God bless you and keep you, Mother Machree!
