SOMEONE PUT THE RATTLIN' BOG ON YOUTUBE AND I AM NOT OK

I AM SHAKING. My hands are shaking as I type this. Rattlin' the cat has been staring at me for twenty minutes because I keep making noises that are not normal human noises. I need to sit down. I am sitting down. I need to sit down MORE.

Someone has put The Rattlin' Bog on YouTube.

THE RATTLIN' BOG. ON YOUTUBE. A VIDEO. THAT YOU CAN WATCH. ON THE INTERNET.

How I Found It

My mate Dara told me about this site called YouTube — I'll write more about it tomorrow for those of you who haven't heard of it yet — where people can upload videos and you can watch them for free. FOR FREE, LADS. Just on your computer. Like a telly but it's the internet.

So Dara says "here, you should search for your bog song on it" and I said "there's no way anyone's put The Rattlin' Bog on YouTube" and he said "just try it" and I typed it in and—

There it was.

The Rattlin' Bog. On video. On the internet.

The Video

I clicked play. It took a while to load — I'm still on dial-up, lads, and video on the internet is a lot of data — but when it started playing, I just... I can't describe it. I genuinely got emotional. I might have cried a small amount. A SMALL amount. Manly tears. Bog tears.

It's a proper performance. People singing the song with all the joy and energy and chaos that I know and love. The chorus hits and everyone's in. The verses build. The speed increases. By the flea verse, it's absolute pandemonium, just like it should be.

I watched the whole thing with my mouth open.

Performance Review

Right, let me try to be professional about this. Here is my official review of The Rattlin' Bog on YouTube:

The Singing: Brilliant. Multiple voices, all in together, that gorgeous wall of sound you get when a room full of people decides to sing the same song at the same time. The harmonies aren't perfect — they're not supposed to be. It sounds like a session, like a pub, like real people having real fun.

The Speed: They build it properly. Start at a sensible pace, let it accelerate naturally, and by the flea verse they're going at a speed that should be physically impossible. Textbook.

The Verse Order: I believe they follow the correct order. I need to watch it a few more times to confirm. (I have already watched it seven times.)

The Energy: You can FEEL it through the screen. The joy is real. The chaos is real. The laughter is real. This is what The Rattlin' Bog is supposed to be, and seeing it — actually SEEING it, not just hearing it — adds a whole new dimension.

The Ending: The final chorus, the big finish, everyone landing together on "the bog down in the valley-o" — I punched the air. At my desk. Alone. At half eleven at night. Rattlin' the cat left the room.

Rating: 10/10. Obviously.

What This Means

I have been running this website for six months, trying to spread the word about The Rattlin' Bog through text and my own enthusiasm. And now — NOW — there's a video. That anyone can watch. From anywhere in the world.

Someone in Japan could watch this. Someone in Brazil. Someone in Canada who's never heard an Irish folk song in their life could click that link and experience the bog for the first time. That's INCREDIBLE.

This changes everything for the site. I can link to this video. I can show people what I've been talking about. When I write about the session at Cruise's or the bus from Limerick, people have to imagine it. Now they can SEE what it's like. Not the same session, not the same bus, but the same energy. The same joy. The same bog.

Watch It

If you haven't watched it yet, stop reading this and go watch it now:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QO8bWGNPyo

Watch it once. Then watch it again. Then try to stop watching it. You won't be able to. I've watched it eleven times since Dara sent me the link and I'm about to watch it again.

I Am Not OK

I'm grand, actually. I'm better than grand. I'm the best I've been since the Christmas session. The Rattlin' Bog is on the internet. You can watch it. With your eyes. This is the future and the future is BOGS.

BogLord2002

P.S. — If anyone knows who uploaded this video, please tell them I want to shake their hand. Or buy them a pint. Or both.

P.P.S. — I have now watched it fourteen times.