So……myself and Aldo having had an unforgettable few days in Ireland, visiting and enjoying watering holes in Cork, Cobh, Galway, Westport, Newport and Kilmeena, find ourselves in Ballyhaunis where we are to catch the bus to Knock Airport for the Monday evening flight back to Edinburgh. We have a couple of hours to kill so we head to a very quiet pub down a side street….there’s only the barmaid and one other customer inside. The horse racing is on the television, but there’s also some audio courtesy of some sort of local radio station.
A very upbeat tune comes on. I listen in and think to myself…….’ sure that that would be a great one for the long dormant series on the blog of songs making great stories.’ Thankfully I have the Shazam app on the phone to tell me the name of the song and the group involved.
Here’s an edit from wiki……
The 2 Johnnies are an Irish comedy duo, consisting of Jonathon “Johnny Smacks” McMahon and John “Johnny B” O’Brien, from County Tipperary. They are known for their The 2 Johnnies podcast, YouTube channel, live shows and music.
Their podcast tops the Irish charts with listenership of over 500,000 listeners per week. They have performed live shows in the 3 Arena, the UK, US and Australia. The 2 Johnnies have approximately 500,000 followers on Instagram with comparable numbers on TikTok and Facebook.
Me? Never heard of them before sitting in the Ballyhaunis pub and listening to what turned out to be the opening track of Small Town Heroes, their debut album which went to #1 in Ireland on its release in May 2024.
mp3: The 2 Johnnies – The Gaa, The Ska, The ‘Ra
I met her above in college in Dublin
She was studying arts or history or something
I said ‘D’you wanna go for something to eat’
We’d a flake of pints on Camden Street
She was pure sound, gorgeous & curvy
She knew how to wear that fresher’s jersey
She sang The Rattlin Bog on the counter of the pub
And I knew right then, I’d fell in love
She said ‘I’ll tell you something ’bout me, don’t judge my family’
Sure, everyone’s people’s half mad
yours couldn’t be that bad
She likes the GAA, the ska, I think her Da’s in the ‘Ra
Cos he’s a big scary fucker from South Armagh
Ah boys, the scenes, the girl of my dreams
But I’m terrified of her family
2 out of 3 ain’t bad, the Gaa, the Ska & the ‘Ra
I met her father of a Friday evening, he was out in the garden washing diesel
In the shed there was a 12-foot Irish flag and about 12-thousand cartons of fags
‘So what are your intentions with my daughter? Ya better be taking her up that altar’
That night when I took off her bra, I couldn’t get the horn for thinking ‘bout her Da
She likes the GAA, the ska, I think her Da’s in the ‘Ra
Cos he’s a big scary fucker from South Armagh
Ah boys, the scenes, the girl of my dreams
But I’m terrified of her family
2 out of 3 ain’t bad, the Gaa, the Ska & the ‘Ra
She said ‘don’t mess with me boy, I’m from up the north,
I’ve heard all the lines, I’ve seen your sort’
Well, I can compromise if you can,
Wait till I tell her, we’re vegetarian!
Well, we got married in a church in Ardee
There was a few dodgy heads at the ceremony
Now I help her father chopping sticks,
We just don’t talk about politics
She likes the GAA, the ska, I think her Da’s in the ‘Ra
Cos he’s a big scary fucker from South Armagh
Ah boys, the scenes, the girl of my dreams
But I’m terrified of her family
2 out of 3 ain’t bad, the Gaa, the Ska & the ‘Ra
I think it’s fair to say that the American pop-punk of the late 90s/early 00’s so beloved by teens made its way across the Atlantic……
THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN 