Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy - Woman of the House

WOMAN OF THE HOUSE: (Nat’s comments)

Woman of the House started with a cool groovy riff from Elmer on guitar (who says he got it from Rachel Aucoin on piano). From there, I was just jamming over the fun little riff with the fiddle and the base of the song was born.
After Donnell, Elmer and I worked it into an arrangement, there was still something it needed... I started to hum a counter melody over top and then the idea came to turn it into a song. A Gaelic song perhaps! I thought about my connection to Gaelic and instantly was taken to thoughts of my Gaelic speaking grandmothers. Inspired by their strength and charisma, I wrote lyrics to the melody. I brought this to Jeff MacDonald, a friend and Gaelic expert, and he translated it, helping me to adjust these lyrics to better suit the Gaelic language.

While this process was happening, I was soooo excited thinking of the ideal person to sing it…. Rhiannon Giddens! Oh that would be our first pick!! She knocked the Gaelic out of the park at the 2018 Celtic Colours Festival!!

So, through an arranged zoom call, we met the lovely and incomparable Rhiannon and she went on to sing this version, adding her own grooviness and harmonies. She is a stand out every time in every way. We are thrilled with this track.