1. |
Pair of Brown Eyes
04:24
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One summer evening drunk to hell
I sat there nearly lifeless
An old man in the corner sang
Where The Water Lilies Grow
And on the jukebox Johnny sang
About a thing called love
And it's how are you kid and what's your name
And how would you bloody know?
In blood and death 'neath a screaming sky
I lay down on the ground
The arms and legs of other men
Were scattered all around
Some cursed and prayed, some prayed then cursed
Then prayed then bled some more
And the only thing that I could see
Was a pair of brown eyes that was looking at me
And when we got back, labeled parts one to three
There was no brown eyes waiting for me
And a rovin' a rovin' a rovin' I'll go
And a rovin' a rovin' a rovin' I'll go
And a rovin' a rovin' a rovin' I'll go
For a pair of brown eyes
I looked at him he looked at me
All I could do was hate him
While Ray and Philomena sang
Of my elusive dream
I saw the hills, the rolling fields
Where his brown eyes were waiting
And I thought about a pair of brown eyes
That were waiting once for me
So drunk to hell I left the place
Sometimes crawling, sometimes walking
A hungry sound came across the breeze
So I gave the walls a talking
I heard the sounds of long ago
Down by the old canal
And the birds were singing in the trees
While the wind was gently laughing
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2. |
Love And Freedom
02:37
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Well a maid went to the market place
And what do you think she's seen
A bonny piper laddie
Playing out on the green
Hey Donal Oh Donal
Dirrum-a-diddle-aye-day
Hey Donal Oh Donal
Dirrum-a-diddle-aye-day
Well played a jig he played a reel
He played a sweet strathspey
He set her heart a-beating
With the tunes that he did play
I have nothing to offer you
The young man he did say
But I'll give you love and freedom
If you come with me away
He drew out his chanter
And he began to play
And she chose love and freedom
To wander all her days
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3. |
An Irish Blues
02:33
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Do you love an apple
Do you love a pear
Do you love a laddie with curly brown hair?
Oh yes I love him, I'll not deny him
I'll go with him wherever he goes
He works in a factory
For nine bob a week
Come saturday nights
He comes rolling home drunk
He stands at the corner
A fag in his mouth
Two hands in his pockets
He whistles me out
Before I got married
I wore a grey shawl
But now that I'm married
I've nothing at all
Before I got married
I sported and played
But now the cradle
It gets in me way
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4. |
The Orphan Set
05:48
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5. |
One Starry Night
04:23
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One starry night as I lay sleeping
One starry night as I lay in bed
I dreamed I heard wagon wheels creaking
When I awoke, my own love had fled
I'll search the highways likewise the byways
I'll search the boreens, the camping places too
I will inquire of all our people
Have they tide or tidings or sight of you
Many's the mile, love together we have traveled
Many's the hour, love, together we've spent
I dreamed you were my love forever
Now I find, love, you were only lent
Well I'm drunk today, but oft times sober
A constant rover from town to town
But when I am dead and my traveling is ended
Molly Bán a stoirín, won't you lay me down
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6. |
Red Is The Rose (Jamie)
03:30
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Red is the rose that in yonder garden grows
Fair is the lily of the valley
Clear is the water that flows from the Boyne
But my love is fairer than any.
Come over the hills, my bonnie Irish lass
Come over the hills to your darling
You choose the road, love, and I'll make the vow
And I'll be your true love forever
'Twas down by Killarney's green woods that we strayed
When all of 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
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 bonny Irish lass
That my heart is breaking forever
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7. |
Lady of Autumn
03:02
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Oh my Lady of Autumn, sing me your song
Play me your tune, tell me I'm wrong
Tell me you don't mean the things that you say
Tell me that we'll find a way.
Your eyes clear as winter, your touch soft as spring
You way like the summer, free as birds on the wing
The seasons are changing, it's time you were gone
The colors of you will go on.
Fields that were golden are changing to brown
Leaves that were green tumble to the ground
And the warm sun of summer makes way for the snow
I know it's time you must go.
For the seasons are changing, the sky's overcast
Summer has gone and autumn is past
Deep in this dark world some warmth I must find
Though it's winter in the valley, it's still autumn in my mind.
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8. |
Sweet Bride
03:16
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A young maid was walking on a midsummer's day
The birds they were whistling so merrily and gay
Along came a white steed in the finest array
And on it a horseman these words he did say
Come live by the great moon
That rules the strong tide
Climb up on my horse love
And be my sweet bride
I bid you good morning, the young man did say
And where might you be going upon this day
I'm going to view sir the deep blue sea
It's all I have left now that means much to me
If that's all you love now, come ride with me
You'll live in my castle deep under the sea
You'll sleep in my gold bed, with my fine silken sheets
Have gifts of great beauty from all that you meet
Well she's upped in the saddle, away they did ride
And the horse danced and pranced over waves on the tide
She's only remembered by a story I tell
Recalled by an old man on horseback who once knew her well
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9. |
Polkas
03:06
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10. |
Jacaranda
03:49
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Oh jacaranda purest blossom blue
Oh jacaranda purest blossom blue
It is no lie I could not take my eyes off you
The first time I saw you you lit up the day
Oh how your blossom really lit up my day
It ain’t no lie you surely took my breath away
I love to hear the breeze blow through the bamboo cane
I love to hear the breeze blow through the bamboo cane
It’s then I hear the voice of jacaranda call my name
I’d like to take you to my north country
Watch you growing in the north country
But I must forsake you cos I know this could never be
Cross the big ocean and it’s sand to sand
Shoreline to shoreline and sand to sand
Someday I’m going to make it back to jacaranda land
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11. |
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As I was out walking down by the Royal Albion
Cold was the morning and dark was the day
Who did I spy but a handsome young sailor
Handsome young sailor as cold as the clay
So beat the drum slowly and play the pipe merrily
Play the death march as you carry him along
Take him to the churchyard
And fire three volleys over him
His poor aged father, his poor aging mother
Oft times had told him about his bad life
Along with the flash girls his money he squandered
Along with the flash girls he took his delight
Now at the street corner were two flash girls standing
One to the other did turn round and say
There goes that young sailor whose money we squandered
There goes that young sailor as cold as the clay
So come all you young sailors take heed by my warning
All you young sailors take warning by me
Don't go squandering your money on flash girls of the city
Flash girls of the city were the ruin of me
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12. |
Slipjigs And Reels
04:34
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He was barely a lad in his grandfather's coat
And sewn in the lining was a ten shilling note
Goodbye to old Ireland farewell to your shore
Till I make my fortune, I'll see you no more
On a boat on the ocean tossed about like a cork
Until one fine morning they sighted New York
He stood on the gangplank threw his hat in the air
Hello land of plenty I've come for my share
And he did like the ladies and the rise and the fall
Of their ankles and dresses down in the dancehall
The rolling of dice, the spinning the wheel
But he took most delight in the slipjigs and reels
There was talk of a pistol though some say a knife
Though all are agreed there was somebody's wife
A terrible commotion and some kind of fight
He left one man dead running into the night
Took a train to St. Louis one jump ahead
Slept one eye open and a gun 'neath his head
And he dreamed of the green fields and mountains of home
As he traveled the plains where the buffalo roam
So they called him the kid and by twenty-one
All he had learned was the power of a gun
By age twenty-three he had cut five men down
Who stood in his way as he traveled around
Now a bad reputation is a hard thing to bear
For mothers pour scorn and children do stare
But he found consolation in flash company
And life ain't so bad with a girl on your knee
There are bones in the desert and buzzards that fly
In high lazy motions just hoping you'll die
In matters of cruelty it must be said
That a landlord will skin your bones long ere you're dead
It was wild Mescaleros I've heard people say
In the deadliest ambush around Santa Fe
Where a young bloke was taken wrapped up in a coat
And sewn in the lining was a ten shilling note
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13. |
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14. |
Shades of Green And Blue
03:38
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One cold and dreary April morn so many years ago
I set out for your golden coast where winter winds won’t blow
I thought I’d left gray clouds behind but this was not to be
For I found the darkness in my soul had sailed along with me
Still dreaming of that emerald shore
And those eyes that match its hue
Their siren song that I still sing
In shades of green and blue
Well not for me that isle of rain where cold winds scour my bone
And not for me those ties that bind I’d wend my way alone
I tried to cast the past aside and through this new world roam
But still the pull of hearth and heart it always calls me home
So now I chase the setting sun where no clouds touch the sky
And on trackless roads I run and run ‘til I can almost fly
But if somehow I could grow wings and soar up through the blue
I’d leave this star-crossed land behind and return my love to you
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15. |
The Musical Priest Set
04:58
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16. |
Holy Ground
03:57
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I was born on the holy ground
A running boy in fields of clover
Living in the grandeur of my father's land
By the side of the swirling sea
I spent my days in childish wonder
The rocks I held in my hands I never felt slip away
The sun shone bright upon the waves
And the wind blew high as I was leaving
I sailed so far away looking for adventure
But I would not stay where the city streets
Proclaimed so loudly man's endeavor
Though music is a pretty thing in fine company
The wilderness took my breath away
Under a sun that never falters
A man has to find his way where no-one ever goes
It was in the south that may new home lay
With a dark-eyed girl and wild horses
And humming birds and roses there in old Mexico
But the winds of change they blew so far
Of liberty and revolution
It seemed each man held in his breast the drumming of a nation
Oh on the fields where the guns did play
There I fell with many another
Where the sagebrush grows and the desert wind is blowing free
I was born on the holy ground
A running boy in fields of clover
Living in the grandeur of my father's land
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17. |
Molly Durkin
02:16
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I’m a decent honest working man as you will understand
I’ll tell you the reason why I left old Ireland
‘Twas Molly Durkin done it when she married Jim O’Shea
To keep my heart from breaking I sailed to Americay
Ah goodbye Molly Durkin I’m sick and tired of working
And me heart is nearly broken and longer I’ll be fooled
Oh sure me name is Cooney I’m bound for Californey
Instead of digging mortar I’ll be digging lumps of gold
I came to Castle Garden where I met a man named Burke
He told me remain in New York until he found me work
But he hasn’t got it for me so tonight I’ll tell him plain
For San Francisco in the morn I’m going to take a train
I’m out in Californey and my fortune it is made
My pockets full of gold I’ll throw away me old pick and spade
Go home to dear old Ireland the Castle out of sight
And marry Miss O'Kelly Molly Durkin for to spite
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18. |
Mele Na Leni
03:01
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Jamie O'Brien Tucson, Arizona
Jamie O'Brien comes from a London-Irish family. Before arriving in Tucson, Arizona, he lived in Pennsylvania for many years. And before that, Germany was home. He's been singing and playing all through his life, enjoying many different styles as a solo performer and with various bands. Along with performing his original songs, he also enjoys playing Celtic and Hawaiian music. ... more
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