The Soundtrack To My Life with Barry Doyle

Barry Doyle, aka Farmer Dan, takes a trip down memory lane and recalls the songs that have inspired him over the years

The first song I remember:

I grew up listening to all the Irish acts, but the person I was most fond of in particular was John Greer. He was based in Northern Ireland and he recorded tracks by Noel Jones and all the old style singers.

The first song I recorded: I recorded a two track EP when I was in second year of secondary school. I must have been only 13 or 14 years of age at the time. The songs were Another Bridge to Burn and Back On My Mind Again.

The song that makes me cry:

A very close family friend of mine passed away recently and her favourite song was You Seldom Come to See Me Anymore. Her family came to see me play last week and I dedicated that song to Babs. I broke down in the middle of it because it was ironic that she couldn’t come to see me anymore.

The song that reminds me of my parents:

I wrote a song called Mum and Dad before.

The song I hate:

I don’t like any of the modern stuff. I just can’t get into it and I don’t get it.

That comes down to my taste and everybody is different.

The song I love to play:

There’s one song that has been very good to me over the years and I enjoy performing it. It is called Wine Into Water.

It’s about an alcoholic turning to God. I’m not overly religious at all, but it’s still a great country ballad. Long Gone Are The Days

and Finding My Way Back Home are great songs too. I recorded a song with Margo called Come Back to Ireland.I

enjoy all of them.

The song that puts me in a good mood:

Wiggle Wiggle. It’s a dancey song and it’s fun. It always has people throwing shapes on the dance floor. I love a happy song.

My funeral song:

Farewell Party by Gene Watson. I have sung it at a number of funerals over the years.

I don’t like any of the modern stuff. I just can’t get into it, I don’t get it

The song I love to hear in the car: Driving My Life Away. That will do it.

My most popular songs:

A lot of the Farmer Dan songs have meant a lot to me over the years and they were very popular. I wrote Farming Ain’t The Way It Used To Be and My John Deere Tractor and they were great. I recorded some Richie Kavanagh songs as well.

My favourite Farmer Dan song:

The most popular one was Me Granny Was a Plucker. As a singer, I loved The Farmer’s Daughter. There’s a good story behind it and it is a very happy song.