Newfoundland s had a raw deal in the PR stakes. Apart from Annie Proulx s hilarious The Shipping News, and Aer Lingus flight paths that skirt her airspace, not much news ever reaches these shores of Canada s most northerly province. But hey! When did the media ever muzzle a songwriter with a sharpened pen? Ron Hynes is the author of Sonny or Sonny s Dream , as he originally christened it, and, boy, has it bought him some fancy airline seats of his own.
Anyone who s ever lent an ear to that particular song (either Christy Moore s rendition or the version by Mary Black, Dolores Keane and Emmylou Harris recorded for Bringing It All Back Home) is bound to harbour strong feelings about it. Some will relish it to its core, and lovingly linger over the lonesome tune, while others all but lose their reason at the very mention of it. Either way, Hynes is unperturbed. After all, this is a man who cites the Lone Ranger theme as his first musical influence.
And Sonny s evolution (at least in the Irish recording scene) is probably best described as unbelievable, if not bizarre:
To be perfectly honest with you, the first time I heard it in 84 , he admits, I was mortified. The lyrics had changed so much, and only the chorus and a semblance of the original storyline remained. This was largely because Hamish Imlach, who had brought it back from St. John s (and had learned it over a few rum and cokes late at night), didn t remember the full song. Anyway, after that Christy Moore had suggested adding a lyric and changing the storyline. I realised that because they re so steeped in the narrative tradition over here as we are in Newfoundland I could understand that impulse. But to be honest Sonny will forever be nine years old in my mind, because that s the character I was writing about.
Rewrites notwithstanding, Hynes is more than happy with the domino effect that that song unleashed.
Sonny supports my family more with royalties , Hynes asserts. I get more money for Sonny in Ireland than I get for the whole catalogue back in Canada. Which certainly says a lot about IMRO and how you people support your artists here.
Hynes philosophy is interwoven in his songs, with a primal force centring on the desire that tomorrow will bring something better.
That s part of the human condition , Hynes avers. Everybody thinks that tomorrow is going to be better than today. I think Paul Simon said it better than anybody when he wrote: the thought that life can be better/is woven indelibly into our hearts and our brains . That s beautiful.
Hynes is envious of the way in which the State treats artists here in comparison with their treatment in Canada, and Newfoundland in particular.
The way you people support your artists here puts Canada and North America to shame , he declares. You manage to keep your artists and your writers and your painters in your country a bit of a tax break didn t hurt either, of course. Everybody s leaving Newfoundland now. I think I m the only singer left there right now. I tell you, Canada could learn a whole lot from Ireland when it comes to keeping her artists at home.
Siobhan Long
11:11 Newfoundland Women Sing collection of songs co-written by Ron and Connie Hynes and recorded by 11 women singers is out now.