AN ISLAND CEILIDH PART 4: TRIBUTE SONGS

Back in Malpeque, Dad is ready to tote out one of his tribute songs. It’s called “Andy, the Perfect Maritime Man.” Dad loves telling stories about Andy. After gathering so many little anecdotes, he decided to weave them into a song. It’s ceilidh gold, and it follows the tradition of “songing” people, made popular by Larry Gorman (an Island song-maker of acclaim).

He’s salt of the earth and a family man, a phenomenal dancer and a one-man band. He never quits ‘til his hands are blistered. I’m playing second fiddle since he married my sister.

“Having him there makes it so much more effective,” says Dad. The crowd gets to watch Andy turn as red as the Island soil.

Fiddler, plumber, electrician. Good things come in three. We all feel inadequate since he joined our family. I won’t back down ‘til I find a flaw, ‘cause I can’t keep up to my brother-in- law. We all look bad since he joined our clan. He’s Andy the Perfect Maritime Man.

Dad gets the audience singing along. At one point, he stops the music and yells out Andy’s telephone number to the cackles of elderly ladies. “In case you need him tonight!”

When Dad first played his song for Andy and Monique (Dad’s sister), they both cried. Not from the humour of the song, but because they were touched. “Hidden in there is a nice tribute,” says Dad.