THE MINSTREL BOY

At the SB5 Parade I was located in front of the bagpipers who were firefighters from many parts of Ohio. We had a lengthy wait before the start of the Parade and as the bagpipers were tuning up, they practiced by playing "The Minstrel Boy". It's one of my favorite Irish folk songs. Of course, I started singing along, at the top of my lungs:

"The minstrel boy to the war is gone,
In the ranks of death you will find him,
His father's sword he hath girded on
And his wild harp slung behind him."

I skipped to my favorite part:

"No chains shall sully thee,
Thou soul of love and bravery,
Thy songs were made for the pure and free
They shall never sound in slavery!"

The piper next to me said, "Most people don't know the lyrics." I said, "Most Irish people do!"

His kilt was beautiful and I asked him about the tartan as I had never seen the style. He said it was the Western Isles tartan. His son was a drummer and wore the same Western Isles tartan.

At home, I told my brother about the pipers and as I started singing, he said, "Oh, that's the song from "Black Hawk Down" and "Saving Private Ryan".

We all have different frames of reference.