by RobertaSparrow » 10 Nov 2013, 04:07
It's all supposition and speculation, but I think he was fascinated by American culture, and he got pulled into it through our music. In his heart he was Irish and proud of it. It surprised and saddened me when I learned that he never put roots down there, never settled and had a family, because whenever I saw him play, I saw him as the beautiful, talented stranger, passing through to sing and play for us. I was always glad to see him play when he was in town, and sad to know we couldn't keep him, that he would be leaving to go on to the next place, but never too sad, because whenever I saw him he was ecstatic to be where he was, and to play music, and take us along for the ride, even though it was brief. He left us happy, and he seemed just as happy, and all was right with the world, in that moment.
Yeah, his interests in American cinema, our "pulp fiction," and most of all our music is what really seemed to grab his attention, he worked it into just about everything he did. Most of time when he did covers, it was of other American artists, and he even dressed like us. He played the music, and he often wove American places, names, slang into his own music, but it always had a uniqueness to it- he always put himself into it, and it was a familiar flavor, but it was different, it was Rory, he was unmistakably Irish, and we loved him.
He put so many American cultural references in his songs, it would be a challenge to list them all. And not just the dark side, crime and intrigue, he was also interested in western folklore, and American history. But he was based in Europe, and especially toward the end of his life, his attention was turned more toward his European base, and my impression was that his interest in American culture was just that, an interest. His heart was always in Ireland, even if he didn't settle there.
