The Future of The Rattlin' Bog Fan Shrine

It's been just over six months since I launched this site, sitting at my desk in Ennis on a September evening with Rattlin' the cat on my lap and no idea if anyone would ever visit. Six months, lads. And what a six months it's been.

I want to take a moment to look back, and then look forward. Because this site isn't slowing down. If anything, like the song itself, it's speeding up.

Looking Back

When I wrote the first post, I said there was no other website on the internet dedicated to The Rattlin' Bog. That's still true, as far as I know. We're still the only ones. The first. The original. The shrine.

Since then, I've written about why it's the greatest song, argued passionately about the correct verse order, explored the history of cumulative songs, told the story of teaching Cian and the bus from Limerick, and documented the legendary Christmas session at Cruise's. I wrote about my nan and got more emotional than I expected. I rated every verse and gave the flea 11 out of 10 because the flea deserves it.

And then — THEN — someone put the song on YouTube and everything changed.

The Numbers

I'm not going to pretend we're a massive site. We're not RTe.ie. But the hit counter keeps climbing, and the guestbook keeps filling up, and the emails keep coming. People from all over Ireland. People from England, Scotland, America, Australia. People who found us by searching for "rattlin bog lyrics" or "Irish bog song" or, in one memorable case, "song about a flea on a bird in a tree."

Every single visitor means something to me. Every guestbook entry. Every email. You lot are the reason I keep writing.

What's Coming Next

Right, here's the exciting bit. Here's what I'm planning for the rest of 2003 and beyond:

A MIDI File

I'm working on creating a MIDI version of The Rattlin' Bog that you can download and play on your computer. I know, I know — a MIDI isn't the same as a live session. But it's something. You could set it as your email notification sound. You could play it while you read the site. The possibilities are endless. (The possibilities are those two things.)

I'm learning how to make MIDI files. It's harder than it looks. But I'm committed.

FAQ Section

I get a lot of the same questions in emails:

"What's the correct verse order?" (Here)
"How do I learn the song?" (Here)
"Is it 'rare bog' or 'rattlin' bog'?" (Both)
"Are you okay?" (Yes, mostly)

I'm going to put together a proper FAQ page so people can find answers quickly. Might even do a "frequently argued" section for the debates that come up on the forum.

A Chat Room

This is the big dream. An actual chat room on the site where people can come and talk about The Rattlin' Bog in real time. Imagine — you could be chatting with someone from Galway about the nest verse while someone from Dublin is arguing about the flea verse with someone from Cork. The craic would be MIGHTY.

I need to figure out the technical side. Maybe one of those Java chat applets. If anyone knows how to set one up, email me. Seriously. I'll mention you in the credits.

Rattlin' Bog Merchandise?

I'm only half joking. I made myself a t-shirt for St Patrick's Day and I got three compliments on it (all from people at Cruise's, but still). If there's enough interest, maybe I'll look into making some available. "I Survived the Flea Verse" t-shirts. "BogLord2002 Approved" mugs. We'll see.

Thank You

I mean this genuinely and from the bottom of my heart: thank you. Thank you for visiting. Thank you for reading. Thank you for signing the guestbook and sending emails and arguing about verse orders on the forum. Thank you for caring about a song about a flea on a bird in a bog.

When I started this site, I was just a lad in Ennis with a dial-up connection and a cat named Rattlin' and an unreasonable amount of love for a folk song. I'm still all of those things. But now I'm those things with a COMMUNITY. And that's something I never expected.

The Bog Abides

Songs come and go. Websites come and go. (Especially websites — have you seen how many Geocities pages have disappeared already?) But the bog abides. The song has been around for centuries and it'll be around for centuries more. People will be singing about the flea on the feather on the bird long after this website, and the internet itself, have been forgotten.

But for now, in 2003, on a small website built with love and HTML, the bog has a home. And I'm going to keep building it, one post at a time.

Ho ro the rattlin' bog.

Slan go foill, BogLord2002 (Seamus)

P.S. — Rattlin' the cat has just climbed onto my keyboard to indicate that this post is long enough. She's right. She's always right. Good night, lads.

P.P.S. — The bog down in the valley-o.

☘ THE RATTLIN' BOG ☘
FAN SHRINE

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