Recently I finally got a copy of Alan Doyle's 2017 album Week at the Warehouse. Doyle has been a favorite of mine since I first heard his Newfoundland band Great Big Sea in the fall of 1999. I had just started college and the band was booked as part of the freshman class's initiation festivities. What luck! Great Big Sea was a Celtic folk rock band, creating its unique interpretation of traditional songs while building a catalogue of its own. Somewhere along the way Doyle became friends with Russell Crowe and started showing up in his movies. Arguably the culmination of that was Doyle being cast as Alan-a-Dale in 2010's Robin Hood, becoming instantly, perhaps, the most authentic person to play the role in modern times. He composed the ditty "Bully Boys" for the film. And somewhere along the way, the song took on a life of its own. Here's a sampling of interpretations, including a few with Doyle himself singing:
Even the Wikipedia page for Doyle's album is convinced "Bully Boys" is a traditional. The truth is, the song's long legs is fine testament to just how perfect his casting for Alan-a-Dale really was. I'm glad he finally made a recording of his own, and that I've finally added it to my collection. Recently, having become aware of the phenomenon, I began committing the chorus to memory, and have been singing it. Maybe I'll record myself singing it, too...
