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Sleeve Notes
Irish folklore has become incredibly popular here. The success of the Dubliners shows it: their concerts are always sold out and their records are bestsellers.
However — the fame of the Dubliners borders on star cult … But Ireland has a lot more good folklore to offer — Finbar and Eddie Furey prove that.
Finbar plays the bagpipes, not the primitive, booming ones, but the Irish bagpipes, which are the most advanced of all types of bagpipes: the Irish bagpipes are a real musical instrument with which its player can do a lot. Finbar Furey is considered one of Ireland's best pipers and has won many awards.
Below are some notes on the tracks included in this double album:
The Spanish Cloak — This pretty, cheerful tune is said to have come from Spain in the 16th century. It is said that a shipwrecked Spaniard who survived the sinking of the Armada brought it with him to Ireland.
Come By The Hills — The description of a beautiful, untouched landscape. It can be Ireland, but it can also be Scotland. The melody comes from an old Irish folk song — "Buachaill On Eirne" it is called — and the lyrics were written just a few years ago.
Sliabh Na Mban (The Mountain of the Women) — is the melody of a dirge, a "lament". The song commemorates an event during the Irish rebellion of 1798. This rebellion failed — like many rebellions by the Irish against the English.
One of the battles during the uprising took place in County Tipperary at Sliabh Na Mban, where a hastily recruited and poorly armed crew of Irish farm workers and farmers were crushed.
Dainty Davy — A love song, originally Scottish and from the 18th century. Eddie sings a new version of his own.
Jig, Reel & Hornpipe — Jigs, reels and hornpipes are the most played Irish dances.
The Flowers In The Valley — An Irish love song.
Leezie Lindsay — A Scottish ballad. These are the lyrics as Eddie sings them:
"Will ye gang to the Highlands, Leezie Lindsay?
Will ye gang to the Highlands with me?
Will ye go to the Highlands, Leezie Lindsay,
Me bride and me darling to be?
If I go to the Highlands with you, Sir
I don't think that ever could be
For I don't know the land that you live in
Nor knowing the name you go with.
Will ye gang …
Oh let I think you know little
If you say that you don't know me
For my name is Lord Ronald MacDonald
A chieftain of high degree.
Will ye gang …
So she's kilted up her skirts of green satin
And she's kilted them up around her knee
And she's gone with Lord Ronald MacDonald
His bride and his darling to be.
Will ye gang … "
The Curragh Of Kildare — "The Curragh" is the vast heathland east of Kildare; Kildare = town and landscape in the east of Ireland, not far from Dublin.
Eamonn To Chnuic (Ned of the hills) — "An Air", a slow, very beautiful melody — again the melody of a song: The song is said to come from a leader of the Irish who was defeated by the English in the wars of 1690 and declared an outlaw was. While fleeing, he finds momentary protection and peace with his loved one.
This Town Is Not Your Own — A song about the gypsies who are despised by society. It appeals for understanding and sympathy for them and was written in Ireland in the 1960s — during a campaign to find places where they could settle. The text:
"In a cloud of dust they roam
Covered wagons down a country road
Happy people lough and sing
Or hear: The bell of freedom rings awhile
And the countryside is their own.
Now the town it's drawing near
Parents' eyes began to shift with fear
While their children still play on
Not knowing they can never settle down
And make the town their own.
Round the camp the fires are hot
Hungry children gather round the pot
But some will go to bed tonight
Without a bite of food or heat or light
'Cause the town is not their own.
And at the dawn of the day
People come and tell us: 'Go away!
We don't want you likes here
You bring dirt, desease and to our children fear
Come on, get out, this town is not your own!
So once more we're on the run
Out to face the cruel winter sun
On old saints' and scholars' ways
We've lost our precious gift of charity
And don't recognize our own."
Manfred Bonson