1. |
Send a Prayer
04:55
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Send a prayer out there into the universe
And wait for an answer my friend
Maybe you will hear from me an echo in the wind
And a song that has no end
With a head full of books he’d forgotten
Bad memories from days in the war
Crowded out by the tales of tall cotton
Why can’t all things be just like before
The world though the eyes of my father
Repeating mistakes that he made
Refusing to lose the illusion
That one day he would lead the parade
Now he sits in the library day after day
With a wire a compass and pen
Uncovering a secret so long lost away
That will never be spoken again
Inventor of stories so deep in the heart
That will only come out in a dream
We can carve out a place or reverse into space
In the next world we’ll know what they mean
We were climbing the steps to the graveyard
With regrets and our baggage in tow
From the cliffs of the Ardarine mountains
You can see the sweet memories below
There was nothing here left but a portrait
On a mission here only to serve
An empty room with a glass and a bottle
It’s all that us free men deserve
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2. |
Better Days Ahead
04:36
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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
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3. |
Packy Go Home
05:59
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Now Packy Kildare was a kid without a care
His pal was Bucky McGrath
At the age of ten they talked like men
Feared by the rest of their class
Sister Josephine ran a clean machine
She was nobody’s fool
She’d send them down below to shovel in the coal
That heated all Saint Brendan’s school
They spilled off a spool just too cool for school
They called it a waste of time
So every other day was wasted away
By the river in their life of crime
Packy I confess you have beaten the best
With a story to tell all your own
Packy go home they’re searching for your bones
And your ma’s waiting up all alone
Yeah your ma’s waiting up all alone
Now the clever young man one day had a plan
To escape the fate he had comin’
Loading every grain of coal that furnace could hold
To keep that boiler hummin’
As the temperature soared to one thousand or more
And the pressure continued to rise
Our boys were miles away burning up another day
When the blast split the mid day sky
Packy I confess you have beaten the best
With a story to tell all your own
Packy go home they’re searching for your bones
And your ma’s waiting up all alone
Yeah your ma’s waiting up all alone
Packy’s old man was the first in command
The captain of the fire brigade
But the good Father Keane was the first on the scene
With the good sisters he did pray
When the flames were finally out they all looked about
Still searching for Packy and Buck
When neither could be found they were mourned through the town
As the heroes who ran out of luck
Packy I confess you have beaten the best
With a story to tell all your own
Packy go home wait til your dad gets home
Your ma’s waiting up all alone
Packy I confess you have beaten the best
With a story to tell all your own
Packy go home they’re searching for your bones
And your ma’s waiting up all alone
Yeah your ma’s waiting up all alone
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4. |
Only Good News
03:15
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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
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5. |
Men of Erin
03:31
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Fare thee well me boy as you wander this night
Be not feared in the darkness my heart is your light
As you go brave Men of Erin
Faith and love by your side
I will dream of your peace in the night
Please don’t cry my mother as you sit by the hearth
I will dance your memories with joy in my heart
I will go now and pray as I travel this land
And live by the lessons you gave
Fare thee well me boy as you wander this night
Be not feared in the darkness my heart is your light
As you go brave Men of Erin
Faith and love by your side
I will dream of your peace in the night
Please don’t cry my father as you sit by the hearth
I will dance your memories with joy in my heart
I will go now and pray as I travel this land
And live by the lessons you gave
Fare thee well me boy as you wander this night
Be not feared in the darkness my heart is your light
As you go brave Men of Erin
Faith and love by your side
I will dream of your peace in the night
Please don’t cry my children
As you stand by my grave
I have danced your memories all of my days
I will go now and pray as I travel this land
And live be the lessons you gave
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6. |
American Wake
04:17
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In the year of forty seven a new tradition came home
From necessity came a brand new name
For the hunger that stalked their bones
They got their affairs in order
And gathered their friends around
What was left of the food and the whiskey too
Was rounded up from this town
Well they listened to the lies and the stories
A last chance to look them in the eye
Like a walking corpse behind the horse
And you didn’t even get to die
An American Wake was all they had
They never went back to their native land
They left to find a place to stand
With everything they could take
But first they had to face their American Wake
Well the Brits all said it was coming
The famine was willed by God
The Tory crimes of the London Times
Sent many to die in the fog
Some gave gifts for the journey
Some only had tears and a prayer
An eleven week ride when they caught the tide
If they even lived halfway there
An American Wake was all they had
They never went back to their native land
They left to find a place to stand
With everything they could take
First they had to face their American Wake
Then a jig was danced, a one last chance
For the father to face the son
As the keener wailed they could count the sails
In the rising of the sun
There were blessings and toasts, they buried old ghosts
And they drank to the now and then
As the minutes passed by they tried to deny
They would never see Ireland again
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7. |
Gonna Take a Miracle
04:19
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I never made the top ten on anybody’s list
Of those who played it cool just to see what I had missed
Or be the boy most likely to make the hall of fame
By dreaming up a story I never could explain
Now maybe I was too proud to open up my veins
The heartache come and gone although the memory remains
Young dumb and fearless while leading that parade
I’m living with the choices that I made
Now I need a miracle to get me through
I’m halfway round the world again I’m halfway back to you
Halfway through the whiskey and out of my mind
It’s gonna take a miracle this time
So put me on the open sea with no place to hide
With steady wind to drive me home the stars will be my guide
All the way from Liverpool with this crew of five
I did it all the hard way a love that will survive
If there was no Graceland they would never make me King
If I had to do it all again I wouldn’t change a thing
If I had a brand new Cadillac parked in my Garage
I’ll never ever chase that Mirage
I’m standing in a hallway my mug shot on the wall
We made it through the wreckage holy cow we had a ball
The medals and apologies we wear with pride
No need for us to run and hide
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8. |
Racing the Tide
04:00
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The sirens wailed at midnight in that old Viking town
We all ran out to Princess Street to see what’s goin’ down
The train pulled in from Gorey at twenty after one
And seven hours later the dirty work was done
The sailors stumbled down to the river
They were all three sheets to the wind
There’s a name for them out in Milwaukee
But in Queenstown we just call ‘em Jim
Casting off from the docks at a half past three
They made off for the open sea
Out into the black if they’re never comin’ back
With the ghost from the past they were hoping to see
The ladies stumbled down to the river
They were all three sheets to the wind
So they dreamed up a demon and gave it a name
Just to have someone to blame
With no battle to fight they sailed into the night
With only one mission in mind
As many have tried and many have died
They were only racing the tide
Their heroes had left them behind
Strung out on the decks with nowhere to hide
Heads filled with stories of fish that could fly
And rumors of dragons that would not die
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9. |
Moore Street Girls
05:29
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I walk along the cobbled streets of Dublin in the rain
The Man selling papers I ask him if he’s heard her name
Notorious are the stories you have to meet the girls
If you ask a sailor they’re known around the world
You can meet them on the corner
They are the Moore Street girls
This is the street their world
Their seducing smiles are nothing you’ll ever know
They will allure you they’ll put you in a trance
Before you know it you’ll be tapping the street
Doin’ an Irish dance
It’s said they have the power to sell a map to a salmon
The tourist from the desert goes home with a bucket of Sandymount sand
Fresh fruit and veggies smelly fish they have them all
Their sad and hardened faces still they smile and have a ball
They’ll make you buy your dog a dozen roses
They are the Moore Street girls
This is the street their world
Their seducing smiles are nothing you’ll ever know
They will allure you they’ll put you in a trance
Before you know it you’ll be tapping the street
Doin’ an Irish dance
Where have all the girls all gone?
We used to love them used to listen to their dirty Dublin songs
Where have all the girls all gone?
They can be grumpy still we love them
Oh what a shame
I stopped and talked to Rosie, I asked her would she sing me a song
She turned to me with angry eyes I ask her Rosie what is wrong?
The foreigners in the market, the vermin of the world
With all their ugly faces from lands you’ve never heard
Oh what a shame you’ll never know them
Oh what a shame you’ll never know them
They are the Moore Street girls
This is the street their world
Their seducing smiles are nothing you’ll ever know
They will allure you they’ll put you in a trance
Before you know it you’ll be tapping the street
Doin’ an Irish dance
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10. |
Lucko'the Irish
05:31
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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
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11. |
Saint Kevin
04:12
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Saint Kevin walks down the path
See a sign for Lynhams Pub and Glendalough this way
He steps in with caution look around
The boys from Clara Lara just in from bailing hay
He seated in the corner sipping a drop of the black stuff
And whiskey they beckon him a cheers
In steps Tony Murphy and with a smile they tip a glass
He tells him of the years
They come from all the Nations to hear your story told
Like the fog that curls around the hills
Life and death they do behold
Your words still speak of promise
Forever they will flock
The valley, the tower, the church and the lakes
The vale of Glendalough
Young Murphy tells Kevin of the legends
Father Cronin always said an angel child was he
The truth is all written in Acta Santorum
Let’s have another glass and I'll drink a pint with thee
We talked on into the night, the barman said it's time me lads
So we stepped out in the cold
In the moonlight as the rain was lashing down
They danced a merry jig with ghosts of old
They come from all the Nations to hear your story told
Like the fog that curls around the hills
Life and death they do behold
Your words still speak of promise
Forever they will flock
The valley, the tower, the church and the lakes
The vale of Glendalough
Oh what a sight, this valley is enchanted land
Oh what a dream, the people really care
Oh where am I? Give us a glass of the black stuff
We’ll walk the misty road and say a prayer
Your words still speak of promise
Forever they will flock
The valley, the tower, the church and the lakes
The vale of Glendalough
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12. |
Love of the Century
06:17
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If you could only see her face one time against the green blue sea
And hear the pipes at sunset I know you would believe
They say she launched a thousand ships and a hundred billion tears
And in this leaky boat I’ve been nye on forty years
I’ve seen the light in her eyes and drowned in her mystery
And I’ve seen those who gave up the ghost
For the Love of the Century
In this holy mercy light that shines on every man
Who had a heart to give away to reach the promised land
Is there any man among us a hundred thousand strong
A nation full of broken hearts can all of us be wrong
To climb every mountain high sail every ocean deep
Spend a life roving never be holding
The Love of the Century
She walks the cliffs of County Cork the ocean down below
Dreaming’ of a love she lost a long long time ago
His legend was a captain brave that went down with his crew
On the jagged rocks of Migen Head and a son he never knew
He built castles in her name though she had no other need
But one more chance to be safe in the arms
Of the Love of the Century
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13. |
Buzz's Jig
03:49
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Over the fields and far away spread your wings and fly away
Free your body free your soul lay’er down and let ‘er roll
Don’t you dare cast a blame cloudy skies are bound to rain
Listen you can hear the sound tonight the boys are layin’ it down
Love may be hard and love may be cruel
We're almost there now don't be a fool
Long dark roads that lead nowhere
Give way to better days
Over the fields and far away spread your wings and fly away
Listen you can hear the sound tonight the girls are coming ‘round
If the world could learn to dance the world would stand a better chance
Let the healing song begin hand to hand and skin to skin
Let the spirit take the day give yourself up to the sway
Move your body to the sound lift your feet up off the ground
Lay down your arms come away from the brink
Open your heart and let it sing
If he never intended for us to fly
Why’d he give us these wings
Over the fields and far away spread your wings and fly away
Free your body free your soul lay’er down and let ‘er roll
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14. |
Turnpike
04:13
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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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