The Fiddler of Dooney

I am indebted to my old friend Conrock, who reports that my regular blog reminded him of this poem by Yeats. It's a great one. Thanks, Brian.


The Fiddler of Dooney

By William Butler Yeats



When I play on my fiddle in Dooney,

Folk dance like a wave of the sea;

My cousin is priest in Kilvarnet,

My brother in Moharabuiee.



I passed my brother and cousin:

They read in their books of prayer;

I read in my book of songs

I bought at the Sligo fair.



When we come at the end of time,

To Peter sitting in state,

He will smile on the three old spirits,

But call me first through the gate;



For the good are always the merry,

Save by an evil chance,

And the merry love the fiddle

And the merry love to dance:



And when the folk there spy me,

They will all come up to me,

With ‘Here is the fiddler of Dooney!’

And dance like a wave of the sea.

All the Kings Men

This is a GREAT movie! I am so glad I watched it. I wish so much that I could teach a class about how to read books or watch films in ways that we can see the profound connections with our own real lives.

Too many people watch movies about other historical periods, or science fiction, or unusual people or circumstances, and they can't see beneath the surface differences between what is on the screen and what they themselves are really living and really care about.

We get all caught up in our own time or gender or race or nation or problems or regrets or concerns - so much so that we can't see the truly powerful truths that are being portrayed to us, merely using another person's drama as the surface vehicle.

Watch this movie! And think about how thoroughly it applies to YOU. Not just in its comments about conventional politics, but in the people and manipulations of each of our real daily lives.