Release Date: 27 June 2025

This 27th of June brings the 20th anniversary of the passing of the highly respected and immensely prolific and beloved song collector and folk singer Frank Harte. "When Adam Was In Paradise" is a collection of works curated by one of Frank’s four children, daughter Orla Harte, and engineered by his long-time collaborator Dónal Lunny. His often emulated distinctive style is showcased across a range of timeless songs including "A Spailpín, A Rúin", "I Am Stretched On Your Grave", "Easy and Slow and many more.

Frank Harte was dedicated to collecting and recording Irish traditional songs, focusing on songs that represented the "unofficial" accounts of history and experiences. He recorded eight albums in his lifetime, with later albums focusing on specific themes in Irish history.

Before his death, Frank planned to create an album of love songs. Although he only compiled a list of songs, a concert he gave on the theme of traditional love songs was recorded and many of those songs are included on this album. Orla gathered recordings of Frank singing love songs from various sources, and compiled his lecture notes to provide context for the songs.

Frank shows us the significance of love as a theme in traditional songs, covering various forms of love, including marriage, courtship, seduction, betrayal, and murder. He highlights the difference between songs written for commercial gain and traditional songs that tell a story of real or imagined romantic occurrences.

Frank Harte said about “When Adam was in Paradise”: “What you have heard is a personal selection of love songs and I have left out as many more songs that I would have liked to have sung, but perhaps they may arouse an interest in you to look for, or listen more intently to, the love songs of the Irish. It’s always a pleasure to sing these kinds of songs where there is an audience who wants to listen to the stories that they have to tell.”

Orla Harte says: “I hope that the album will help keep Frank’s voice and the tradition of Irish song alive.”

https://www.frankharte.com

TRACKLIST

1. Donal Óg

2. Adam In Paradise

3. As I Roved Out

4. I Am Stretched On Your Grave

5. Síle Ní Iyre

6. The Spanish Lady

7. A Spailpín, A Rúin

8. The Brown and Yellow Ale

9. The Lover's Ghost

10. The Bonny Blue Eyed Lassie

11. Red Roses For Me

12. The Lambeg Drummer

13. Matt Hyland

14. I Wonder What's Keeping My True Love

15. The Woods Of Truagh

16. The Holland Handkerchief

17. Easy and Slow

18. True Lover John

19. The Deserted Wife

20. Sweet Sorrow In The Wind