Tapped Out: Cara Dillon and "The Parting Glass"

Cara Dillon sings today's random song, called The Parting Glass. An Irish folk singer, Cara Dillon was part of the supergroup Equation and has collaborated with her husband, musician and songwriter Sam Lakeman, as Polar Star. From Dungiven in Northern Ireland, an area steeped in traditional Irish music, she learned local folk songs in school from teachers and at traditional music workshops. Primarily a singer, she can also play fiddle and whistle, but it is her voice that has made her famous and at 14 she won the All Ireland Singing Trophy. She formed her first band, Óige, in 1991 where she put her vision of Irish, Scottish and other traditional music out into the public. In 1995, she left to replace Kate Rusby in Equation and the band recorded one album of which one single was released before the record was shelved. She and Sam Lakeman left Equation because of creative differences with the other band members and formed Polar Star; unfortunately, none of their recordings was ever released. However, she did perform on Mike Oldfield's 1998 album Tubular Bells III. From 2001 to the present, often with help and support of Lakeman, she has released solo albums and her voice has often been compared to that of Kate Bush. You can find The Parting Glass on her 2009 album Hill of Thieves. The song is often sung at the end of a gathering of friends, and can be a powerful song at funerals to honor those who have departed.

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.