Last night after I left O'Donnell's,
It almost was my last good-bye,
The Banshee came and tried to take me,
She said it was my time to die.

She was a terrifying apparition,
Combing her long and awful hair,
I told her that it wasn't my time yet,
So she could just be off from there.

Chorus: Back ye go, ye Banshee devil,
Back ye go, in your Coach de Bower,
Back ye go, ye Banshee devil,
Let me live just one more hour.

The Banshee waved and beckoned me onward, 
To heaven or hell I could not say, 
That's when I started in to talking,
Telling her why I had to stay.

I've got a wife and a family that love me,
I've got a debt I've got to pay, 
I told my friends I'd meet them at Murphy's,
 Ain't got time to die today. 

Chorus

I talked and talked for hour on hour,
Until the dawn's first gleam of light,
The Banshee screamed an unearthly cry,
And vanished with the fading night.

Chorus (x2)

Lead vocal & Bones - Dan
Backing vocals - Karen, Michele, June
Fiddles - Cathy, Tim, Ben
Whistle - Karen
Bodhran & Spoons - Michele
Guitar - Steve

THE BERGEN

© by Jez Lowe, Lowe Life Music

Sleep, why'd you wake me with these dreams you bring , 
Dreams came to me where I lay, (refrain) 
And deep the melody the wild waves sing, 
And my love is far, far away. (refrain)

Chorus: Oh, pity the hearts the wild waves part, 
My love sails the bonny barque, The Bergen, 

They heap their nets upon the decks by light, 
And creep out gentle at the dead of night, 

They reap the harvest from the cold, night sea, 
It leaps with herring 'neath his decks for me, 

Steep waves rise above his cold, dark head, 
Oh, keep him safe to lie here in my bed, 

It weeps with rain tonight where my love lies, 
And sweeps the foreign sands from out his eyes, 

Lead Vocal - Karen
Fiddles - Cathy, Tim
Mandolin - Tim
Guitar - Steve

BLARNEY PILGRIM/DROWSEY MAGGIE/WIND THAT SHAKES THE BARLEY

Traditional

Fiddles - Cathy, Ben
Flute - Jack
Bones - Dan
Harp, Concertina - Karen
Bodhran - Michele
Guitar - Steve

PADDY'S GATE

© by John McMorrow

In the west of County Clare,
Outside of Milltown there,
Lies the winding road to Paddy Cleary's gate, 
There's a house upon the hill,
Where in my memory still,
I can see those happy days and times of late. 

Chorus: Paddy was a man who would greet you where you'd stand, 
If he met you in the town or at the fair, 
If he met you on the road,
He would lighten up your load,
With a kindly word, a smile, or a helping hand. 

I remember as a boy,
As I roamed the fields with joy,
Spending hours chasing rabbits in the glen, 
And if with the dogs I'd roam,
I was never far from home,
From the fields that led to Paddy Cleary's gate. 

Chorus:

I remember as a boy,
I can still feel all the joy,
As the fiddlers played a song beside that gate, 
As we laughed and sang and danced,
You could tell at just one glance,
All the warmth that dwelt inside of Paddy's gate. 

Chorus:

Oh Paddy, he's passed on,
But his memory still lives on,
In the hearts and minds of all that passed his way, 
So if by chance some day,
Into Milltown you should stray,
Stop and have a drink in Paddy's name.

Chorus: (x2)

Lead Vocal - Dan
Backing Vocals - Karen
Fiddles - Cathy, Tim
Flute - Jack
Bodhran - Michele
Guitar - Steve
Bass - Connie

AN BUACHAILLIN BAN/SMASH THE WINDOWS/MUG O' BROWN ALE

Traditional

Fiddles - Cathy, Ben
Flute - Jack
Bones - Dan
Harp, Concertina - Karen
Bodhran - Michele
Guitar - Steve

THE TWA RECRUITING SERGEANTS

Traditional

It's twa recruiting sergeants cam frae the Black Watch, 
To markets and fairs, some recruits for to catch, 
But all that they 'listed was forty and twa, 
So, 'list bonny laddie, and come awa.

CHORUS: And it's over the mountains over the main, 
Through Gibraltar, to France and Spain,
With a feather to your bonnet, and a kilt aboon your knee, 
Enlist bonny laddie, and come awa with me. 

Ach, laddie, ya dinna ken the danger that you're in, 
If yor horses was to gleg, or your oxen was to run, 
This greedy old farmer, he would na' pay your fee, 
So, 'list bonny laddie, and come awa with me. 

CHORUS:

It's in tae the barn, and oot o'er the byre, 
This old farmer thinks you'll never tire, 
It's a slavery job of low degree,
So, 'list bonny laddie, and come awa with me. 

CHORUS:

Laddie, if you've got a sweetheart and bairn, 
You'll easily get rid of that ill-spun yarn, 
Twa rattle o' the drum, and that'll pay it a', 
So, 'list bonny laddie, and come awa.

CHORUS (x 2)

Lead Vocal - Dan
Backing vocals - Karen, Michele, June
Fiddles - Cathy, Tim
Pipes - Michael
Guitar - Steve

BROOM OF THE COWDENOWES

Traditional

How blithe was I each mornin' tae see,
My lass come over the hill,
She skipped the byrne, and ran tae me,
I met her wi' good will.

CHORUS: Ah, the Broom, the bonny, bonny broom, 
The broom of the Cowdenowes,
Feign would I be in my own country,
Herdin' her father's yows (ewes).

We neither herded yows or lambs,
While the flock near us lay,
She gathered in the sheep at night,
And cheered me all the day.

CHORUS

Hard fate that I should banish-ed be,
Sent far o'er hill and moor,
Because I loved the fairest lass,
That ever yet was born.

CHORUS

Adieu, adieu, ye Cowdenowes, adieu,
Farewell all pleasure there,
To wander by her side again,
Is all I want or care.

CHORUS

Lead vocal - Dan
Backing vocals & Concertina - Karen
Fiddles - Cathy, Ben
Flute - Jack
Guitar - Steve

SIUIL A RUIN

Traditional

(My apologies for being unable to reproduce the properly
accented Irish words.)


I would I were on yonder hill
It's there I'd sit and cry my fill
And every tear would turn a mill
Is go dte tu mo mbuirnin slan

I'll sell my rock, I'll sell my reel
I'll sell my only spinning wheel
To buy my love a sword of steel
Is go dte tu mo mbuirnin slan

Refrain: Siuil, Siuil, Siuil a ruin
Siuil go sochair agus Siuil go ciuin
Siuil go doras agus ealaigh liom
Is go dte tu mo mbuirnin slan

Translation of Refrain
Go, go, go love
Go smoothly and quietly
Go to the door and escape with me
And may you go safe, my darling

I'll dye my petticoats, I'll dye them red 
And it's round the world I'll beg for bread 
Until my parents would wish me dead
Is go dte tu mo mbuirnin slan

I wish, I wish, I wish in vain
I wish I had my heart again
And vainly think I'd not complain
Is go dte tu mo mbuirnin slan

And now my love has gone to France
to try his fortune to advance
If he e'er comes back 'tis but a chance
Is go dte tu mo mbuirnin slan

Refrain

Vocal, Harp - Karen
Fiddle - Ben

SLIP JIGS AND REELS

© by Steve Tilston

He was barely a man, in his grandfather's coat, 
Sewn into the lining a ten shilling note. 
Good-bye to the family, good-bye to the shore, '
Til I taste good fortune, you'll see me no more. 

The boat on the ocean, it tossed like a cork, 
Then one fine morning, they sighted New York, 
And he stood on the gangway, a'breathing the air, 
Hello land of plenty, I've come for my share. 

CHORUS: But he did like the ladies, the rise and the fall, 
Of their ankles and dresses out on the dance floor, 
And the rollin' the dice and spinnin' the wheel, 
But he took most delight in the slip jigs and reels. 

There's talk of a pistol, some say a knife, 
But all are agreed there was somebody's wife, 
Some kind of commotion, a terrible fight, 
He left a man dead, and ran into the night. 

A train to St. Louis, just one jump ahead, 
He slept one eye open, his six-gun in bed, 
And he dreamed of the mountains and green fields of home, 
While crossing the plains where the buffalo roam. 

CHORUS:

O, bad reputation's a hard thing to bear, 
Mothers pour scorn, and young children they stare, 
But he found consolation in flash company, 
Life ain't so bad with a girl on your knee. 

Yes, they called him The Kid, and by twenty-one, 
All that he knew was the power of the gun, 
And by twenty-three he had shot five men down, 
He got him his way as he rambled around. 

CHORUS:

There's bones on the desert, and buzzards that fly, 
In the highest of circles, just wishing he'd die, 
But in matters of cruelty, it must be said, 
The landlord'll pick your bones before you're dead. 

It was wild Mescaleros, I heard people say, 
In a murderous ambush near old Santa Fe, 
And a young buck was taken, still dressed in that coat, 
Sewn into its lining, was a ten shilling note. 

CHORUS:

Lead Vocal - Dan
Backing Vocals - Karen, June, Michele
Fiddles - Cathy, Tim
Bodhran - Michele
Guitar - Steve
Hammered Dulcimer - June

BY THE HUSH

Traditional

It's by the hush, me boys; sure, I'd have you hold your noise, 
And listen to poor Paddy's sad narration, 
I was by hunger pressed, and in poverty distressed, 
So I took a thought I'd leave the Irish nation. 

Chorus: So, hear's you my boys, now take my advice; 
To Americay I'd have you not be farin',
There's nothing here but war, where the murdering cannons roar, 
And I wish I was at home in dear old Erin. 

Well, I sold my horse and plough, my little pigs and sow, 
From my little plot of land I soon was parted, 
And my sweetheart, Bid McGhee, I'm afraid I'll no more see, 
For I left her there that morning, broken hearted. 

Chorus:

It's just myself, and a hundred more, to Americay sailed o'er, 
Our fortunes to be making we was thinking, 
When we got to Yankee land, they shoved a gun into my hand, 
Saying," Paddy, you must go and fight for Lincoln." 

Chorus:

General Meagher to us he said, "If you get shot or lose your head, 
Every mother's son of you will get a pension." 
Well, meself, I lost me leg, and all I got was a wooden peg, 
And I swear it is the truth to you I mention. 
Chorus:

Now, I think myself in luck if I get fed on Indian buck, 
And old Ireland is the country I delight in. 
"To the devil," I do say, "it's curse Americay, 
For I'm sure I've had enough of your hard fightin'. 

Lead Vocal - Dan
Backing Vocals - Karen, Michele , June
Fiddles - Cathy, Tim
Whistle - Karen
Bodhran - Michele
Guitar - Steve

TRUE LOVER'S FAREWELL

Traditional

Oh fare you well, I must be gone, and leave you for awhile, 
But wherever I go, I will return,
Though I go 10,000 miles, my dear, though I go 10,000 miles. 

10,000 miles it is so far to leave me here alone, 
While I must lie, lament, and cry,
And you'll not hear me moan, my dear, and you'll not hear me moan. 

Oh the crow that is so black my dear, will change its color white, 
And if ever I prove false to you,
The day will turn to night, my dear, the day will turn to night. 

Oh can't you see that milk white dove sitting on yonder tree? 
Lamenting for her own true love,
As I lament for thee, my dear, as I lament for thee. 

Oh the rivers never will run dry, nor the rocks melt with the sun, 
And I'll never be false to the one I love, 
'Til all these things be done, my dear, 'til all these things be done. 

Oh fare you well, I must be gone and leave you for awhile, 
But wherever I go, I will return,
Though I go 10,000 miles, my dear, though I go 10,000 miles. 

Lead vocal & Harp - Karen
Fiddles - Cathy
Hammered Dulcimer - June
Dumbek - Michele
Guitar - Steve

SPANCIL HILL

Traditional

Last night as I lay dreaming of pleasant days gone by, 
My mind bein' bent on rambling, to Ireland I did fly, 
I stepped aboard a vision, and followed with a will, 
'Til I came at last to anchor at the cross near Spancil Hill. 

Delighted by the novelty, enchanted by the scene, 
Where, in my early boyhood days, there I often had been, 
I thought I heard a murmur, I think I hear it still, 
It's the little stream of water that flows down Spancil Hill. 

It being the 23rd of June, the day before the fair, 
When Ireland's sons and daughters in crowds assemble there, 
The young, the old, the meek, the bold came their duty to fulfill, 
In the little church in Clooney, a mile from Spancil Hill. 

I went to see my neighbors to hear what they might say, 
The old ones were all dead and gone, the young ones turning gray, 
But I met with tailor Quigley, he's as bold as ever still, 
Sure, he used to make my britches when I lived in Spancil Hill. 

I paid a flying visit to my first and only love, 
She's fair as any lily and gentle as the dove, 
She threw her arms around me saying "Johnny, I love you still," 
She's Mag, the farmer's daughter, and the pride of Spancil Hill. 

I dreamed I held and kissed her as in the days of yore, 
She said, "Johnny, you're only joking as many's the time before," 
Then the cock crew in the morning, he crew both loud and shrill, 
And I woke in California, many miles from Spancil Hill. 

Vocal - Dan
Harp - Karen
Fiddles - Cathy, Ben
Flute - Jack
Hammered Dulcimer - June
Appalachian Dulcimer - Steve
Dumbek - Dino

BLARNEY PILGRIM/DROWSEY MAGGIE/WIND THAT SHAKES THE BARLEY

Traditional

Fiddles - Cathy, Tim
Whistle - Jack
Bodhran - Michele
Guitar - Steve

JACK DOLAN/HOBART'S TRANSFORMATION

Traditional

It's of a wild colonial boy, Jack Dolan was his name, 
Of poor but honest parents, he was born in Castlemain, 
He was his father's only hope, his mother's only joy, 
And dearly did his parents love their wild colonial boy. 

At the tender age of sixteen years, he left his native home, 
And through Australia's sunny clime, a bush ranger he roamed, 
He robbed them wealthy squatters, and their stock he did destroy, 
A terror to Australia was the wild colonial boy. 

CHORUS: So come on all me hearties, we roam the mountains high, 
Together we will plunder, and together we will die. 
We'll ramble through the valleys, we'll gallop o'er the plains, 
We'll scorn to live in slavery, bound down by iron chains. 

In '61, this daring youth commenced his wild career, 
With a heart that knew no danger for no foeman did he fear, 
He held up the Beechworth mailcoach and he robbed Judge MacEvoy 
Who trembled and gave up his gold to the wild colonial boy. 

One day as Jack was rambling the mountainside along, 
A'listening to them little birds, their happy laughing song, 
Up came three mounted troopers - Kelly, Davis, and Fitzroy, 
They swore that they would capture him, the wild colonial boy. 

Chorus:

"Surrender now, Jack Dolan, for you see we're three to one, 
Surrender now, Jack Dolan, or your life will not be long," 
Jack pulled a pistol from his belt, and he waved it up on high, 
"I'll fight, but not surrender," says the wild colonial boy. 

He fired at trooper Kelly, and he brought him to the ground, 
Then turnin' 'round to Davis he received a mortal wound, 
All shattered through the jaws, he lay still firing at Fitzroy, 
And that was how they captured him, the wild colonial boy. 

Chorus:

Lead Vocal & Bones - Dan
Backing Vocals - Karen, June, Michele, Steve, Lacy Fiddles - Cathy, Ben
Whistle - Jack , Karen
Guitar - Steve
Bodhran - Michele
Hammered Dulcimer - June

PARTING GLASS

Traditional

Oh, all the money that e're I had,
I spent it in good company,
And all the harm that e're I done,
alas it was to none but me,
And all I done for want of wit,
to mem'ry now I can't recall,
So fill to me the parting glass,
good night, and joy be with you all.

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, and her ruby lips,
I own she has my heart in thrall,
So fill to me the parting glass,
Good night and joy be with you all.

Yes, and all the comrades that e're I had, 
They are sorry for my goin' away,
And all the sweethearts that e're I had, 
They would wish me one more day to stay, 
But since it falls unto my lot,
That I should rise, and you should not,
I will gently rise, and I'll softly call, 
Good night, and joy be with you all.

Lead Vocal - Dan
Backing Vocals - Karen
Fiddles - Cathy
Flute - Michele
Hammered Dulcimer - June
Appalachian Dulcimers - Steve, Connie

THE DARK ISLAND

by I. McLaughlin

Pipes - Michael