When First Unto This Country (A Stranger I Came) - A Thanksgiving Retrospective

"When First Unto This Country, A Stranger I came,

I courted a fair maid, and Nancy was her name,

I courted her for love, her love I didn't obtain,

Can you think of any reason why I should complain"

What are we thankful for? Did we buy anything nice for Black Friday? Why is Kristian putting Christmas porridge on the doorstep at night? For the what!? The Cow-Shed Elf!? Oh right....

Join us for our delayed Thanksgiving Special (well, twas as good a thing to talk about as any when it comes to today's lovely song!)

Today we discuss the phenomenon of not just songs, but entire cultures and holidays crossing the sea in times gone by before changing, adapting, evolving, and returning to their ancestral homes as completely different beasts. The correlation between people, places, histories, and songs has never been stronger!

Our song today is a very old one, first heard by us on a phenomenal Planxty Compilation album called 'Between The Jigs and Reels' and sung by the man himself, Mr Donal Lunny! Come join our chats and as always, don't be afraid to get involved on our socials!

Notable Versions:

Planxty 1973 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wS1iorel04

Crooked Still - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwhisMsFQ2Q

Jerry Garcia and David Grisman - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCUHHFrI3xM