'TIS MIGHTY CRAIC
(Bramble, Procheska, Aitken, Colgan) C 2004 Marble Music Inc.

1) We've yearned to see old Ireland
     From there did our proud families come
     Cross generations and an ocean wide
     At last, we're going to see our home

     It all begins up in the sky
    When first we see our land beloved
    The hills seem covered with a quilt
    Of green-hued patchwork from above

2) And when we step upon the ground
    A familiar love comes o'er our hearts
    Feeling so at home, and wondering how
    For this land and ours are far apart

    The people are so charming here
    Happy and carefree as can be
    'Tis a bit o' heav'n here on earth
    From Atlantic to the Irish Sea

    CHORUS

    'Tis mighty craic, 'tis mighty craic
    In all you say and do
    And if you have the Irish blood  
    The love of Eire is coursing through

    The soft rain falling on your face
    A cool seabreeze at your back
    The warmth of Ireland in our hearts
    'Tis mighty craic, 'tis mighty craic

3) Those we meet are like family
    Who welcome us into their homes
    We share a pint, a glass or two
    Listening to tales and poems

    Spend hours in the local pub
    Hear the reels and jigs, and ballads, too
    The fiddle brings you to your feet
    Mighty craic is all around you!

4) We travel o'er the countryside
    Staying at castles on our way
    Love of this land is in our bones
    Just like our fathers, in their day

    Shannon to Dublin we did go
    Ennis, Gort and the Galway Bay
    Carrick-on-Shannon, Mullingar
    Some of the stops along the way

 
5)  We have to say goodbye for now
    But we'll return again one day
    Mighty craic's come to an end
    Though in our hearts 'twill always stay


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PRAYER FOR LOVE
(Thom Moore) Little Rox Music/Whinney-The-Tunes ASCAP

1) Faith won't heal up everything
    The wound grows and you believe in love
    Walk around feeling cut in two
    Wide open with your heart on view
    All you bereaved, all you bedazzled boys in need
    When love won't heed you, why, why believe she will?
    O Lyubvi molyu, otchayanno, say it on your knees
   
2) Oh, so sharp, and way too cool
    Love's bright and biggest fool
    Has to work on speaking slow
    To think hard and to lie low
    All you bereaved, all you besotted boys in need
    V krayu dalyokom, chuzhie ne nuzhny
    O Lyubvi molyu, otchayanno
    Say it on your knees
    Crying like a baby, "Please, please, please!"
    Crying, hoping maybe
    O Lyubvi molyu, otchayanno, say it on your knees
 
3) Candle is a splendid thing
    The room glows and the candle sings
    "Fly up to the only light
    Ev'ry, ev'ry tiny wing!"
    The moth inside you bolts up to join the beautiful
    He flies and dies
    So quickly, quickly wise
    O Lyubvi molyu, otchayanno
    Say it on your knees
    Crying like a baby, "Please, please, please!"
    Crying, hoping maybe
    O Lyubvi molyu, otchayanno, say it on your knees
    Say it on your knees, say it on your knees


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THE GALWAY SHAWL
(Traditional)

1) Near Orenmore in the County Galway
    One pleasant evening in the month of May
    I spied a damsel, she was fair and handsome
    And her beauty nearly took my breath away

    CHORUS:
    She wore no jewels, nor costly diamonds
    No paint nor powder, oh no, none at all
    She wore a bonnet with ribbons on it
    And 'round her shoulder was a Galway shawl

2) We kept on walking, and she kept on talking
    'Til her father's cottage, it came into view
    Said she, "Come in, sir, and meet my father
    And play to please him 'The Foggy Dew' "

3) I played 'The Blackbird' and 'The Stack of Barley'
    Oh, 'Rodney's Glory' and 'The Foggy Dew'
    She sang each note like an Irish linnet
    While the tears came into her eyes of blue

4) 'Twas early, early, all in the morning
    When I took that road for old Donegal
    She cried and kissed me, and she said, "Goodbye, sir"
    But my heart remains with that Galway shawl


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RED IS THE ROSE
(Tommy Makem) Keady Music       


1) Come over the hills, my bonnie Irish lass
    Come over the hills to your darlin'
    You choose the road, love, and I'll make a vow
    That I'll be your true love forever

    CHORUS:
    Red is the rose that in yonder garden grows
    And fair is the lily of the valley
    Clear is the water that flows from the Boyne
    But my love is fairer than any

2) 'Twas down by Killarney's green woods we did stray
    The moon and the stars they were shining
    The moon shone its rays on her locks of golden hair
    And she swore she'd be my love forever

3) It's not for the parting that my sister pains
    It's not for the grief of my mother
    It's all for the loss of my bonnie Irish lass
    Now my heart is broken forever


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MAGGIE
(Traditional)
 
1) The violets were scenting the woods, Maggie
    Displaying their charms to the breeze
    When I first said I loved only you, Maggie
    And you said you loved only me
    The chestnut blooms gleam through the glade, Maggie
    A robin sang loud from the tree    
    When I first said I loved only you, Maggie
   

2) A golden row of daffodils shone, Maggie
    And danced with the leaves on the breeze
    When I first said I loved only you, Maggie
    And you said you loved only me
    The birds in the trees sang a song, Maggie
    Of happier transports to be     
    When I first said I loved only you, Maggie
    And you said you loved only me

3) Our hopes, they have all come true, Maggie
    Our dreams, they were meant to be     
    Since I first said I loved only you, Maggie
    And you said you loved only me


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THE URGE FOR GOING
(Joni Mitchell) Westminster Music

1) Well I woke up today and found frost perched on the town
    It hovered in a frozen sky and gobbled summer down
    And when the sun turns straight and cold
    And shiverin' trees are standing in a naked row
    I get the urge for going but I never seem to go

2) I had someone in the summer time with summer coloured skin
    And not another one in town my darlin's heart could win
    And when the leaves fell tumblin' down
    And bully winds did rub their faces in the snow
    He got the urge for goin', and I had to let him go
    Well he got the urge for going
    When the meadow grasses are turnin' brown
    Summer time is a fallin' down, winter's closin' in

3) The warriors of winter gave a cold triumphant shout
    All that stays is dyin', and all that lives is gettin' out
    See the geese in chevron flight, a flapping and a racing on before  the snow
    They've got the urge for going, and they've got the wings to go
    They've got the urge for going
    When the meadow grasses are turnin' brown
    Summer time is a fallin' down, winter's closin' in

4) I'll pile the fire with kindlin' and pull the blankets to my chin
    I'll lock the vagrant winter out, and bolt my wanderin' in
    I'd like to call back summertime, and let her stay for just another a month or so
    But she's got the urge for going, and I'll have to let her go
    She's got the urge for going
    When the meadow grasses are turnin' brown
    Summer time is a fallin' down, winter's closin' in
    Well she's got the urge for going
    When the meadow grasses are turnin' brown
    All her empires are fallin' down, winter's closin' in


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 MOLLY MALONE
(Traditional)

1) In Dublin's fair city, where the girls are so pretty
    I first set my eyes on sweet Molly Malone
    As she wheeled her wheelbarrow through streets broad and narrow
    Crying  cockles and mussels, alive alive - o!
    Alive alive - o, alive alive - o
    Crying cockles and mussels, alive alive - o

2) She was a fishmonger, and sure 'twas no wonder
    For so were her father and mother before
    And they both wheeled their barrows through streets broad and narrow
    Crying cockles and mussels, alive alive - o
    Alive alive - o, alive alive - o
    Crying cockles and mussels, alive alive - o

3) She died of a fever, and no one could save her
    And that was the end of sweet Molly Malone
    Now her ghost wheels her barrow through streets broad and narrow
    Crying cockles and mussels, alive alive - o
    Alive alive - o, alive alive - o
    Crying cockles and mussels, alive alive - o
    Alive alive - o, alive alive - o
    Crying cockles and mussels, alive alive - o


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THE BLACK VELVET BAND
(Traditional)

1) In a neat little town they call Belfast
    Apprentice to trade I was bound
    Many an hour's sweet happiness
    Have I spent in that neat little town
    But a sad misfortune came over me
    Which caused me to stray from the land
    Far away from my friends and relations
    Betrayed by the black velvet band

2) Well I took a stroll down Broadway
    Meaning not long for to stay
    When whom should I meet but this pretty fair maid
    Who came tripping along the highway
    Now she was both fair and handsome
    And her neck it was just like a swan's
    And her hair, it hung over her shoulder
    Tied up with a black velvet band

    CHORUS:
    Her eyes, they shone like diamonds,
    I thought her the queen of the land
    And her hair, it hung over her shoulder
    Tied up with a black velvet band

3) So then I took a stroll with this pretty fair maid
    And came a gentleman passing us by
    I knew that she meant the doing of him
    By the look in her roguish black eye
    A gold watch she took from his pocket
    And she placed it right into my hand
    And the very first thing that I says to myself
    Was bad luck to the black velvet band


4) Before the judge and the jury
    Next morning I had to appear
    And the judge he says to me, "Young man
    Your case, it is proven quite clear
    We'll give you seven years' penal servitude
    To be spent far away from the land
    Far away from your friends and companions"
    Betrayed by the black velvet band

5)  So come all you jolly young fellows
    Let a warning be taken from me
    When you are out on the town, me lads
    Beware of them pretty colleens
    For with porter and whiskey they'll feed you
    'Til you are unable to stand
    And the very next thing that you'll know is that
    You've landed in Van Diemen's land


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LOVER'S HEART
(A.M. Stewart, P. Cunningham)

1) She was in a flow'ry garden when first she caught my eye
    And I, just a marching soldier, she smiled as I passed by
    The flowers she held were fresh and fair, her lips were full and red
    And as I passed that shady bower, these words to me she said
 
    CHORUS:
    Last night we spoke of love, now we're forced to part
    You leave to the sound of a marching drum, and the beat of a lover's   
    heart

2)  She was by the shore in the evening when next I saw my dear
    Running barefoot by the waterside, she called as I drew near
    The sunlight glanced at the water's edge makin' fire of her auburn 
    hair
    My young heart danced to her parting words that hung in the evening
    air

3)  She was on the strand next morning when orders came to sail
    And as we slipped our ropes away, I watched her from the rail
    She threw me a rose which fell between us, it floated on the bay
    And as our ship pulled from the shore, I heard her call and say

4) Now the soldier's life won't suit me, sweet music is my trade
     For I'd rather melt the hardest heart than pierce it with a blade
     Let the time be short 'til I return to my home in the north of Skye
     And the loving girl who stole my heart with these words as I passed
     by


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DOWN BY THE SALLEY GARDENS
(Traditional)

1) Down by the salley gardens my love and I did meet
    She passed the salley gardens with little snow-white feet
    She bid me take love easy, as the leaves grow on the tree
    But I being young and foolish, with her would not agree

2) In a field by the river my love and I did meet
    And on my leaning shoulder she laid her snow-white hand
    She bid me take life easy, as the grass grows on the weirs
    But I was young and foolish, and now am full of tears

3) Down by the salley gardens my love and I did meet
    She passed the salley gardens with little snow-white feet
    She bid me take love easy, as the leaves grow on the tree
    But I being young and foolish, with her I would not agree


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COLLEEN MALONE
( P. Goble, L. Drumm) Brandykeg Publishing, B.M.I.


1) It's been ten years and three since I first went to sea
    Since I sailed from old Ireland and home
    But those hills lush and green were a part of my dreams
    When I dreamed of my Colleen Malone

2) On the day I returned to my sorrow I learned
    That the angels had called her away
    To a grave on the hill overlooking the mill
    That's the place where she's sleeping today

   CHORUS
    As the soft breezes blow through the meadow I go
    Past the mill with the moss covered stone
    Up the pathway I climb through the woods and the vines
    To be with my Colleen Malone

3) She was faithful each day as I sailed far away
    There was no one but me that she loved
    And I remember those eyes soft and blue as the skies
    And her heart was as pure as a dove

4) All the years of my life I will not take a wife
     I will live in this valley alone
    Planting flowers around in the soft gentle ground
    That is holding my Colleen Malone


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FOUR GREEN FIELDS
(Tommy Makem) Keady Music
 
1)  "What did I have?", said the fine old woman
    "What did I have?", this proud old woman did say
    "I had four green fields, each one was a jewel
    But strangers came and tried to take them from me
    I had fine, strong sons, they fought to save my jewels
    They fought and died, and that was my grief", said she

2) "Long time ago", said the fine old woman
    "Long time ago", this proud old woman did say
    "There was war and death, plundering and pillage
    My children starved by mountain, valley and sea
    And their wailing cries, they shook the very heavens
    My four green fields ran red with their blood", said she

3) "What have I now?", said the fine old woman
    "What have I now?", this proud old woman did say
    "I have four green fields, one of them's in bondage
    In strangers' hands that tried to take it from me
    But my sons have sons, as brave as were their fathers
    My fourth green field will bloom once again", said she


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THE TOWNE I LOVED SO WELL
(Phil Coulter)Four Seasons Music

1) In my memory I will always see
   The towne that I have loved so well
   Where our school played ball by the old gasyard wall
   And we laughed through the smoke and the smell
   Going home in the rain, running up the dark lane
   Past the jail and down behind the fountain
   Those were happy days in so many, many ways
   In the towne that I loved so well


2) In the early morn, the shirt factory horn
   Called women from Creggan, the Moor and the Bog
   While the men on the dole played a mother's role
   Fed the children and then walked the dog
   And when times got tough, there was just about enough
   But they saw it through without complaining
   For deep inside was a burning pride
   In the towne that I loved so well

                                                                                                                  
3) There was music there in the Derry air
    Like a language that we could all understand
    I remember the day when I earned my first pay
    When I played in a small pick-up band
    There I spent my youth, and to tell you the truth
    I was sad to leave it all behind me
    For I'd learned about life, and I'd found a wife
    In the towne that I loved so well


4) But when I returned, how my eyes they did burn
     To see how a towne could be brought to its knees
     By the armoured cars and the bombed out bars
     And the gas that hangs on to every breeze
     Now the army's installed by that old gasyard wall
     And that damned barbed wire gets higher and higher
     With their tanks and their guns, oh my God, what have they done
     To the towne that I loved so well


5) Now the music's gone, but they still carry on
     For their spirits been bruised, but never broken
     They will not forget, but their hearts are set
     On tomorrow, and peace once again
     For what's done is done, and what's won is won
     And what's lost is lost and gone forever
     I can only pray for a bright, brand new day
     In the towne that I loved so well

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THE PARTING GLASS
 (Traditional)
                                                        
1) Of all the money that 'ere I had,I've spent it in good company
    And all the harm I've ever done, alas, it was to none but me
    And all I've done for want of width to memory, now I can't recall
    So fill to me the parting glass, good night and joy be with you all

2) If I had money enough to spend and leisure time to sit awhile
   There is a fair maid in this town that sorely has my heart beguiled
    Her rosy cheeks, her ruby lips, I own she has my heart enthralled
    Then fill to me the parting glass, good night and joy be with you all

3) Of all the comrades that 'ere I had, they're sorry for my going away
    And all the sweethearts that 'ere I had, they wished me one more day to stay
    But since it falls unto my lot that I should rise and you should not
    I gently rise and softly call, good night and joy be with you all


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