Week 5 The spirit of Ireland 3a Reading Leggi il brano seguente. An island of song and dance Ireland s cultural exports songs, dance and poetry are the true wealth of Ireland. In the past, the history of Ireland was full of wars, revolutions and bloodshed, but now it is the dawn of a new golden age and most Irish live in comfort and safety, unlike the previous generation. Today, the most famous Irishman in the world is a singer: Bono (real name Paul David Hewson) who founded the band, U2. This group was formed in 1976 and exploded onto the rock and roll scene in the late 1970s. At first their music reflected the Irish situations of violent struggles. For example, their album War, published in 1983 contained the hit song Sunday Bloody Sunday. At the end of the 1980s, the band still continued to sing about revolution and political change in Pride (In the Name of Love). However, by 2001, the success of the band and the changes in Ireland brought a new sense of joy to their music in songs such as Beautiful Day. Today, they are still one of the world s most popular bands with more than 145 million albums sold. Bono and the band also started a charity in aid of Africa. Northern Ireland also produced a musical legend: Van Morrison (real name George Ivan Morrison). He combined traditional Celtic themes with American rock, blues and jazz rhythms. His unique sound made him a very popular singer-songwriter, but he never lost his roots and in 1989 he produced the album Irish Heartbeats, together with the Chieftains, a band playing traditional Irish music. You can also see this Irish cultural revival in dance. In 1994 the Irish dance troupe Riverdance became very popular in Europe and in America, bringing success to traditional Irish dance. (Adapted from J. McCullough, A Pocket History of Ireland) 3b Dì se le affermazioni che seguono sono vere (T = true) o false (F = false) o se l informazione non viene data nel testo (DS = doesn t say). Ex.: Irish culture is living a new golden age. T 1 U2 started their career in 1983. 2 Sunday Bloody Sunday was the first song by U2. 3 Beautiful Day was particularly successful. 4 Van Morrison only plays traditional Irish music. 5 Riverdance became popular all over the world. 6 It is very hard to learn traditional Irish dance. USEFUL WORDS aid = aiuto; bloodshed = spargimento di sangue; charity = beneficenza; dawn = alba; hit song = canzone di successo; root = radice; safety = sicurezza; struggle = lotta; wealth = ricchezza. 46