"'With a Fenian fiddle in one ear and an Orange drum in the other', singer Tommy Sands was reared in the foothills of the Mourne Mountains. His family was immersed in folk music - his father played the fiddle, his mother the accordion. Their kitchen was a place where Protestant and Catholic farmers alike would gather to sing at the end of the day's harvesting. During the 1960s and '70s, he was the chief songwriter with The Sands Family, who played wherever they were welcome, from local wakes and weddings to New York's Carnegie Hall. His songs have been recorded by Joan Baez, Dolores Keane, Dick Gaughan and The Dubliners." "The Songman is the story of Sands' journey. He tells of his family's traditional way of life, recalling his mother tying summer sheaves while his father worked the scythe. Here are the turbulent days of the civil rights movement; The Bothy Band brawling in Brittany; encounters with Alan Stivell, Mary O'Hara and Pete Seeger; the 'boyish devilment and humour' of Ian Paisley on his radio show Country Ceili; and a 'defining moment' during the Good Friday Agreement talks, when he organized a moving impromptu performance with children and Lambeg drummers."--BOOK JACKET.