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Gael Day (temporarily out of stock - downloads still available!

by The Elders

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1.
I was scuffling' hard and drinkin' down around Lough Ree Diggin' graves or buskin' made no difference to me Month to month, and week to week from hand to mouth I ran A million miles a minute, and a stubborn foolish man Well I took a walk long Green Street to kill the morning chill She was sellin' scones and brandy, a finger in the till A double shot to hold me, a straightner in the wind If I ever thought I knew for sure I'll never know again She was cool and she was kind 'Til she made me lose my mind We've got better days ahead Many more where they came from Don't chase 'em all away my friend 'Til your heart goes numb It's a long hard road they say With a fiddler on the way I will swear by better days Well the world is flat where I come from we got no place to hide No bridge across the ocean to reach the sons that died Now they say she's livin' on the coast a baby on the way The winter wolf outside the door south of Galway Bay I never bought that fishin' boat my second best laid plan She must have known my penance was a scam She was cool, she was kind ‘Til she made me lose my mind
2.
Now bad blood came and stayed too long I was close to goin’ underground When hard times came - I changed my name Even thought about leavin’ this town But I chanced on cross-eyed Molly What a merciful wreck she’d be By the time I’d forgotten everything was rotten There she was just waitin’ for me Only good news from now on Mighty fine craic from dusk till dawn So give me a reel, and give me a girl In the morning I’ll be gone Never numb to your days in this world So forget everything you ever knew The sky may fall, the rain may burn With a better fate comin’ to you When the sun goes down and the wind turns around You’re lookin’ at a long slow slide We will get away clean we saw it in a dream May you never swallow that lie If I ever do get what I haven’t found yet I would run away far and hide I would never forget not a single regret Bet it all on one big ride But the time is now, it’s down to the bone We’re in for a penny, we’re in for a pound So bust out a move, shut off that evil tube And burn this building down
3.
Two thousand years have come and gone Many stories hymns and song St Patrick to our shores he came He was slaved in chains On bended knee God takes his hand Spread his word throughout this land With the holy trinity we will be saved We pray to our father Off to the wars our soldiers called Armed with shamrock good luck to all To keep them from harm they will wear their green The Luck of the Irish Where on earth did that phrase come from The Luck of the Irish Never knowing what tomorrow will become Chorus: We’ve been beaten burned and enslaved Starved from our lands where our fathers dug their graves Never loosing faith we have fought for every mile Still no matter where you go you’ll always find An Irish smile The Luck of the Irish Many lands their admiration we have won The Luck of the Irish Many languages of love we have become The Luck of the Irish Around the world so many millions we are one The Luck of the Irish I pray our ancestors are proud of what we’ve done
4.
From the hunger and war came the weary and the poor On the ships and over land the rabble came The common and the destitute were bangin’ on the door On the list every alien name Every one of us should pay back what we owe To the masses before us they would go They raised their right hand They raised their right hand They raised their right hands to pray The words of a welcoming nation Forever they waited to say… On Decoration Day With photographs and letters from their families They would come even if they had to crawl They were knockin’ down the door of opportunity The promise of America’s call The ragged souls only beggin’ her to be free In the home of the brave with you and me With their broken family trees all in a tangle Frozen out from all the riches back at home Not a thought of ever living as illegal All the widows and the orphans came alone With a vow they could never come to deny To swear on the Fourth of July
5.
There comes this tale of a doomed romance It started at the Rose and Crown She wined him & dined him through London & France Every night she burned him down The glad eye she was givin’ this young fresh fish She came on all proper and pale But little did he know he was only a wish And already headed for jail Just a mark set up for the taking Only he was the last one to know She was the best he’d ever seen, but he was so damn green He would never shake free from her ghost It was good to be king for a while He was only in for a laugh He went down in style, a long high mile It finally broke him in half … On the morning the gallows did swing It was good to be king for a while She practiced the art - she ran her game Of fools she could push right over He went down with the best just like all the rest Inside out & barely sober She warned him and dared him, she broke him down Just like she told him she would And finally the night it came unwound She pulled it off to prove that she could The emperor of bedlam a legend in time ‘Til the priest had to lead him away He said an eye for an eye leaves every man blind You only live to die another day
6.
Here’s a story of a man you want to know Lords it over all the spirits down below You will want him around when your dream goes down Any soul in their midst will be sold On one November Samhain Eve She journeyed to her water from the well The prettiest girl on the island In an omen there she slipped and fell The red-headed man will take you in He’s unlucky ‘til he goes underground He will save you from the spell of the little blue men Where their magic can always be found Red-headed man She awoke into a world that was strange In the middle of a stunned & silent crowd By enchantment her vision had changed But when she tried to leave, her path was not allowed The banquet was laid out from east to west Their underworld was hopeless to resist Gentlemen seducers and wenches for the guests While the mortals got their knickers in a twist BRIDGE: Then they drank from a golden cup And they danced to a silent band She was tempted by the spirits and the wine And the eyes of a handsome young man When he beckoned her to stand by the fire She was pulled by a hand unseen She was warned just in time by desire She was saved and led her out of her dream
7.
Raging Sea 03:18
I am a little boy just born just born now Lookin’ at me Má she smile now Carried to the room with the fishes on the wall now Wanna walk gotta go to the sea now Lookin’ at the boats and lookin’ at the sky I will learn to fish I will learn to fly Not a better fisherman there will ever be Paddy and his boat on the raging sea Dye dee diddle dum da diddly boom boom da I am a bigger boy gonna see a pretty girl now Not a better lookin’ girl I will see now Drink a little whiskey and a bun in the oven now Mad Daddy with a loaded gun now A lovely sunny day as the wedding bells ring We will learn to dance we will learn to sing A happy little family you and me Paddy and his boat on the raging sea Dye dee diddle dum da diddly boom boom da I am a bigger Man lookin’ at my little boy now Wonder what he gonna be gonna see now Will he be a doctor will he be a fisherman now I wonder what to say now Mamma screaming orders on a stormy day You will fix the roof you will bail the hay With a gleam in his eye, he wants to be Paddy and his boat on the raging sea I am an old man old man wise man now Happy days happy life read a book now Lookin’ at the picture and the trophies on the wall now All me boys with a vessel and there fishin’ now Written in a book are the words I see This dream came true for you and me Not a better fisherman there will ever be Paddy and his boat on the raging sea Dye dee diddle dum da diddly boom boom da
8.
Kathleen 02:55
Grey ashes on the floor, a life that might have been A frozen ring of smoke hung in the air He met his death by friendly fire, they called it Cool McFinn The holy and the evil said a prayer Her lover taught her everything she knew In this world of the brave and the new Don’t you cry Kathleen, just drink the wine and go Don’t you cry any more for a love and a war Kathleen No cross could bear a sign of a dance so divine Kathleen Her temper was as bad as the weather She exorcised her brimstone and death That evil twin was once removed forever With a magic cool revenge on her breath She would fall into a trance that rose and fell But his teenage pill could never break the spell She came up with a plan, to resurrect her man Her lover if she failed would disappear When a sleep he fell in, her mother wailed to Finn Neither dyin’ nor religion came in fear But he dreamed he had a thousand miles of pain In a fever from Las Vegas, Las Vegas to the Seine
9.
So the bitterness is behind you Promise in the days ahead Forget about all those bad times And the foolish things that we said See the fortunes you will find And the places you will see Between Far and Away Now in time our wounds will heal From the things we thought all went wrong We will travel roads of a lifetime To the place that we belong Older than any words These ties that bind you and me Between Far and Away Let all good things come to you And all your sadness washed away Let your troubles be few, far and between And the angels be with you in your every dream Pack your amulets and your chains Turn your sails onto the wind All the treasure that you claim Will be there for you my friend You will find your place in this world Never too long will you stay Between Far and Away
10.
You can call me names and hit me, hold me down and kick me Those northern girls are like that you shall see She came from County Derry by way of Portadown In a week or two she broke both her and me She lived outside the wall behind the Butcher’s Gate Where the Green and the Gold live free Put her ashes in the jar when she is gone High on the wall of Kings Arms Every Sunday say a prayer she’ll remember me from there By every drop of whisky she would swear And whisper her name if you dare Her mother was a Methodist, her father was a Jew He acquired a taste for Bushmill’s in good time Worked me seven nights a week, midnight creep On the main line way back in fifty nine When they finally cut her down, no mention in the news What a shame not a soul gave a damn From Giant’s Road to Cave Hill, Falls Road to the coast She shook me down and waved the bloody shirt They took her in the afternoon, and there she stood accused In time they could really make it hurt Painting murals on the walls with the enemy Her only crime was the freedom that could stand
11.
A hundred whales a year at the peak of his career And in between ten hundred thousand fish Twice a week she would appear at the Straight Street pier Where every able seaman got his wish There was plenty half again, Captain Cathcart loved his gin He gave a daily ration to the crew He danced a blinding jig every time they hit it big When the lookout lubber sounded thar she blew Then the skipper would give chase / as they heaved into the race In the eye of the beast every sailor saw his face Chorus: The Ghost of Ontario sailed into the night All the way from Nantucket to Cape John How he ever found the way into St. George’s Bay Harpoon and a live one hangin’ on … And she dragged ‘em all the way to Cape Breton In the town there was a rumor of a whale that dragged a schooner Halfway back to Ireland in a tick It was Halloween night but Cathcart wouldn’t bite He could tell-she-weren’t-no-Moby Dick But when they gaffed her in the side they were in for a ride Straight off the Bay-of-Rocks with no place to hide Bridge: I was clingin’ to the wreckage with a few survivors left The lucky ones among us left for dead I could swear I heard her creakin’ in the wind from the west But we never saw it comin’ up ahead They say he roams the oceans just lookin’ for a fight Though his ship went down a thousand miles from land He haunts the Coffin House for liquor every night A telescope and a pistol in hand No tide that came his way could ever drown that thirst No hurricanes or icebergs (Act of God) could lift that mighty curse
12.
Just an accidental boy, never really there Blending in to beige and grey walls Never noticed in a room, records and guitar Forever lonely and small Away from a dirty sharp tongue Ran a number on what would become A seventh son I was, a ragged sixth sense A fifth of bad whiskey in a perfect past tense I gave it all up, I’ll never go forth Lookin’ stronger than I was to my friends Born under that sign I could never erase Left out of that battle that I could taste A dangerous thing, left to my own mind Turned away when her mercy came to me I measured every dollar, counted every dime ‘Til I blew it all again when it was free Hey uncle I could surely use a hand On Christmas could you spare a couple grand?
13.
Galway Girl 03:45
Well, I took a stroll on the old long walk Of a day -I-ay-I-ay I met a little girl and we stopped to talk Of a fine soft day -I-ay-I-ay And I ask you, friend, what's a fella to do 'Cause her hair was black and her eyes were blue And I knew right then I'd be takin' a whirl 'Round the Salthill Prom with a Galway girl We were halfway there when the rain came down Of a day -I-ay-I-ay And she asked me up to her flat downtown Of a fine soft day -I-ay-I-ay And I ask you, friend, what's a fella to do 'Cause her hair was black and her eyes were blue So I took her hand and I gave her a twirl And I lost my heart to a Galway girl When I woke up I was all alone With a broken heart and a ticket home And I ask you now, tell me what would you do If her hair was black and her eyes were blue I've traveled around I've been all over this world Boys I ain't never seen nothin' like a Galway girl

credits

released March 17, 2009

All songs written by Brent Hoad, Steve Phillips, Ian Byrne & Norm Dahlor © Elders Pub Music 2009 EXCEPT Galway Girl written by Steve Earle

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The Elders Kansas City, Missouri

The Elders were founded in 1998 by six musicians with a passion for music rooted in Irish jigs & reels & American folk rock. Their original songs offer delightful story lines, with vibrant narratives that explore history, legends, tall tales and true-life experiences ... more

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