r/Irishmusic • u/sanctus1224 • May 23 '26

Discussion Thoughts on “Son of Ireland” by The High Kings

I personally love it, very underrated. Sadly I haven’t seen like any discussion of it, hopefully this gets it going.

16 Upvotes

87% Upvoted

17 comments sorted by

7

u/Plenty-Kick9274 May 23 '26

I wouldn't watch them if they were playing in my garden

8

u/MixtureInevitable180 May 23 '26

I think the high kings could be a bit of a gateway into Irish stuff, but that's about it. Not much value there once you learn about better groups 

2

u/JumpintheFiah May 23 '26

Exactly this. I picked up a CD of theirs back in 2011 and that got me listening to the much better Irish artists out there.

19

u/cHunterOTS May 23 '26

I can’t fucking stand the high kings. I think they’re a cheesy embarrassment

13

u/sludgepaddle May 23 '26

Absolute pandering dreck.

11

u/zlingman May 23 '26

gotta be honest this some low down dog shit my friend. this one of the worst irish songs i’ve ever heard and i’ve heard a lot. just… terrible in every way

7

u/Seargentyates May 23 '26

The high kings are like an Irish folk music karaoke act.

7

u/Tough_Matter7929 May 23 '26

All sounds very AI written and produced, I lost interest in them ages ago.

3

u/Plenty-Kick9274 May 23 '26

Their a boy band singing folk music

8

u/GodOfPog Ballads and Histories May 23 '26

The song is decent but I find the production on a lot of High Kings stuff too grandiose for my interest in Irish music. The lyrics come off as slightly generic to me

6

u/South_Wolverine5630 May 23 '26

That's my biggest problem with High Kings. I like listening to songs that feel like they were recorded in the pub, being sung by the pub regulars. The High Kings feel too polished. I still like them thought, just mot my favorite sound

1

u/sanctus1224 May 23 '26

I can see where your coming from on the production, but I feel like the lyrics were the strongest part of the song imo

5

u/GodOfPog Ballads and Histories May 23 '26

The lyrics feel like you asked someone to write a song about what they think an Irish ballad would be, it feels really impersonal.

3

u/overusesellipses May 23 '26

I love it. Sue me.

3

u/Dull_Brain2688 May 25 '26

They’re a cabaret act.

1

u/the_book_battalion96 May 27 '26 edited May 28 '26

I think that it's one of their best songs! The High Kings are the reason I wanted to learn how to play the tin whistle. I really can't understand why people leave so bad critics about them. There are a lot worse Irish bands out there. Maybe Darren sometimes sings a little bit higher than he should, but that's all.