Maura O’Connell Teaches Me to Be a Better Listener

Maura O’Connell playfully scampered to the stage wearing flowing garments, red shoes and her famous curly hair piled on top of her head. She seemed almost shy at first, but then after the first two or three tunes she seemed very much at home on stage. She danced lightly with little curtseys and flourishing gestures, imbuing her performance with fun. She has a dandy guitarist from New London, Connecticut named John Mock – and a fine bassist-back up singer named Don Johnson. (No, not that one.) Something in her face makes she think she could be the distant cousin of actress, Dianne Wiest.

Maura, originally from County Clare, Ireland, and now a resident of Nashville, cherishes singing as an art form. She has a strong, alto voice with deep resonance, range and strength. Her moniker has been, “just a singer”, declaring that an interpreter of songs doesn’t necessarily have to write them!

Ironically, one of Maura’s strengths is that she is not an Irish singer exclusively. She’s a song hunter in the tradition of Judy Collins, who searches for songs from numerous sources and interprets them in her unique way. She has a gift for showcasing the songwriting talents of others. The dark wine depths of her voice on Declan O’Rourke’s songs, “No Place to Hide” and “Galileo”, gave me the shivers. She hit the low notes with authority. Those low notes held me captive and fascinated. I wanted to lie down on them -- they made me think of a soft bed. I realized that as a singer, she catches my attention and helps me hear things on more than one level. There’s the song coming in my ears but then there’s how it makes me feel, and what it nudges me to remember.

“Trouble in the Fields” is a sort of American folk anthem appropriate for recent recessions. She says about the lovely, familiar melody, “Down by the Salley Gardens”, with words by William Butler Yeats, “If you need a song of regret, this would be a good one.”

“Hay Una Majer Disapercida”, by Holly Near, is a chilling tune about Pinochet, Chile and the disappearance of citizens in the 1970s. She shared how she had heard a bit of it on the radio once, remembered a phrase and used Google to track it down.

She sang Gerry O’Beirne’s, “Western Highway”, which she said with excitement, is Number Sixty on the Australian Hit Parade! Her career of more than thirty years can be glimpsed in capsule on You Tube. You can see clips of her starting out as a wee, young thing sitting on a stool in a pub, eyes closed, singing her melodious heart out, and then over the years, pouring out lively and heartfelt interpretations before joyful throngs.

In Ireland, lots of unaccompanied singing happens spontaneously in pubs and homes. Maura so loves the tradition that in 2009, she recorded the mirthfully named a cappella album, “Naked with Friends”, which features some of the most wonderful voices on either side of the Atlantic. Among them are Enya’s sister, Moire Brennan, Irish singer Mary Black, Alison Krauss, Sarah Dugas (the Duhks), Kate Rusby, Dolly Parton and many others.

She can belt out those wailin’ love songs of anguish too. She does a great version of Cheryl Wheeler’s “Summer Fly”. Here’s some of the lyrics:

“A summer fly was buzzin’ every night
When I was young
In the gentle world my childlike senses knew
And the world was just my cousin
And the wind was just the tongue
In the voice my lonely moments listened to

And I look at me today all the dreams have gone away
And I’m where I never thought I’d be
Seein’ things I never thought I’d see happen to me
And I lie awake at night till the darkness goes to light
Hearin’ voices callin’ out my name
Dronin’ over and again the same message to me

Cryin’ who’s your partner, who’s your darlin’, who’s your baby now?
Who wakes up at night to pull you in?
It don’t matter, you just make her lonely anyhow
Don’t know why you even try to win”

It was a treat to be in the company of such a talented woman who has established herself alongside many great musicians in the Celtic/Folk/Bluegrass genres, and beyond. She finished the show with “The Blessing”, an all-occasion prayer based on an Irish blessing, “May the Wind Be At Your Back”.  And we felt the wind at our backs all the way home. Thank you Maura, for sharing your wonderful presence with us.