The Craic Was Ninety in the Isle of Man was written by Barney Rush in the 1960s, and has entered the Irish folksong canon based on its catchy melody, one-line sing-along “refrain,” and the picaresque tale it tells (lyrics can be found online). It seems that a few of the lads, having gargled too many pints in the Ace of Hearts, a Dublin Pub, concoct a plan to move the party to the Isle of Man, a small island in the Irish Sea halfway between Ireland and England, but under the governance of the latter. The ringleader of this extemporaneous tour group is a fellow named Whacker, so it should come as no surprise that their little excursion ends in drunk and disorderly mayhem.
The Irish word “craic” (pronounced “crack”) means “talk,” or “conversation” (think “wisecrack”), but has the extended meaning of “fun,” “conviviality,” or “good times.” The term “ninety” means “as good as it gets,” and is perhaps derived from the rhyming slang spoken by Brits and Dubliners alike: “ninety-eight” rhyming with “great,” or “ninety-nine” rhyming with “fine,” contracted to “ninety.”
The song is fun to sing, and it sounds ninety on the five. The melody is quite simple, as all the best ones are, and so is this arrangement. As always, remember that any note picked on the beat may be followed by a thumb note on the fifth string off the beat (double-thumbing), a technique that many old-timers use almost constantly.
As for the tuning, regular G works perfectly well, but I prefer the sound of the fifth string lowered to D. Try both and take
your pick.
