The Chieftains

Peh trouz zou ar en doar
Peh kan a gleuan me
Na kaeret er boehieu e za lein eun ne
Eled, lavaret d’emb eit petra e kannet?
Peneu eted ar ze e zou arriu er bed?

Arnet eue genemb kannet pobl ag en doar?
Ewan de laret d’ho eun ne ueted hemb par
Eur mabig beniget roue a Jerusalem
E zo gannet eit-ho er ger a vethleem

translation:

What noise on earth?
who is singing for me and who I am hearing
how much I like these voices who sing in the skies
and what do they say in their song?
what is new that happened on earth?

we hear the people sing on earth
I come to tell you that in the sky there is something beyond compare
a small child blessed, king of Jerusalem
and who was born for them (the people) in the town of Bethlehem


Translated by Nolwenn Monjarret

Ding dong merrily on high,
In heav'n the bells are ringing:
Ding dong! verily the sky
Is riv'n with angel singing.
Gloria, Hosanna in excelsis!
Gloria, Hosanna in excelsis!

E'en so here below, below,
Let steeple bells be swungen,
And "Io, io, io!"
By priest and people sungen.
Gloria, Hosanna in excelsis!
Gloria, Hosanna in excelsis!

Pray you, dutifully prime
Your matin chime, ye ringers;
May you beautifully rime
Your evetime song, ye singers.
Gloria, Hosanna in excelsis!
Gloria, Hosanna in excelsis!

God rest ye merry, gentlemen
Let nothing you dismay
Remember, Christ, our Saviour
Was born on Christmas day
To save us all from Satan's power
When we were gone astray
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy

From God our Heavenly Father
A blessed Angel came;
And unto certain Shepherds
Brought tidings of the same:
How that in Bethlehem was born
The Son of God by Name.
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy

Now to the Lord sing praises,
All you within this place,
And with true love and brotherhood
Each other now embrace;
This holy tide of Christmas
All other doth deface.
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy

I saw three ships come sailing in
On Christmas Day, on Christmas Day.
I saw three ships come sailing in
On Christmas Day in the morning.

And what was in those ships all three
On Christmas Day, on Christmas Day?
And what was in those ships all three
On Christmas Day in the morning?

Our Saviour Christ and his Lady,
On Christmas Day, on Christmas Day.
Our Saviour Christ and his Lady,
On Christmas Day in the morning.

And all the bells on Earth shall ring
On Christmas Day, on Christmas Day.
And all the bells on Earth shall ring
On Christmas Day in the morning

And all the angels in Heaven shall sing
On Christmas Day, on Christmas Day.
And all the angels in Heaven shall sing
On Christmas Day in the morning

Then let us all rejoice again
On Christmas Day, on Christmas Day.
Then let us all rejoice again
On Christmas Day in the morning

Oh, come, all ye faithful,
Joyful and triumphant!
Oh, come ye, oh, come ye to Bethlehem;
Come and behold him
Born the king of angels:
Oh, come, let us adore him,
Oh, come, let us adore him,
Oh, come, let us adore him,
Christ the Lord.

Sing, choirs of angels,
Sing in exultation,
Sing, all ye citizens of heaven above!
Glory to God
In the highest:
Oh, come, let us adore him,
Oh, come, let us adore him,
Oh, come, let us adore him,
Christ the Lord.

Oh holy night!
The stars are brightly shining
It is the night of the dear Savior's birth!
Long lay the world in sin and error pining
Till he appear'd and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn!

Chorus
Fall on your knees
Oh hear the angel voices
Oh night divine
Oh night when Christ was born
Oh night divine
Oh night divine

Truly He taught us to love one another
His law is love and His gospel is peace
Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother
And in His name all oppression shall cease
Let all within us praise His holy name

Chorus

Oh the Holly, she bears a berry, as white as the milk.
And Mary she bore Jesus all wrapped up in silk.

Chorus:
And Mary she bore Jesus our Savior for to be.
And the first tree that's in the green wood, it was the Holly.
Holly. Holly.
And the first tree that's in the green wood, it was the Holly.

O the Holly, she bears a berry, as green as the grass.
And Mary she bore Jesus who died on the cross.

Chorus

O the Holly, she bears a berry, as blood it is red.
And we trust in our savior who rose from the dead.

Chorus

Once in royal David's city
Stood a lowly cattle shed,
Where a mother laid her baby
In a manger for His bed:
Mary was that mother mild,
Jesus Christ her little child.

He came down to earth from heaven,
Who is God and Lord of all,
And His shelter was a stable,
And His cradle was a stall;
With the poor, and mean, and lowly,
Lived on earth our Savior Holy.

Not in that poor lowly stable,
With the oxen standing by,
We shall see Him; but in heaven,
Set at God's right hand on high;
Where like stars His children crowned
All in white shall wait around.

I knew of two sisters whose name it was Christmas
And one was named Dawn of course, the other one was named Eve
I wonder if they grew up hating the season
The good will that lasts till the Feast of Saint Stephen

For that is the time to eat, drink, and be merry
Till the beer is all spilled and the whiskey has flowed
And the whole family tree you neglected to bury
Are feeding their faces until they explode

There'll be laughter and tears over Tia Marias
Mixed up with that drink made from girders
’Cause it's all we've got left as they draw their last breath
Ah, it's nice for the kids, as you finally get rid of them
In the Saint Stephen's Day Murders

Uncle is garglin' a heart-breaking air
While the babe in his arms pulls out all that remains of his hair
And we're not drunk enough yet to dare criticize
The great big kipper tie he's about to baptize

With his gin-flavoured whiskers and kisses of sherry
His best Crimble shirt slung out over the shop
While the lights from the Christmas tree blow up the telly
His face closes in like an old cold pork chop

And the carcass of the beast left over from the feast
May still be found haunting the kitchen
And there's life in it yet, we may live to regret
When the ones that we poisoned stop twitchin'

There'll be laughter and tears over Tia Marias
Mixed up with that drink made from girders
’Cause it's all we've got left as they draw their last breath
Ah, it's nice for the kids, as you finally get rid of them (rid of them)
In the Saint Stephen's Day Murders

The boar's head in hand bear I,
Bedeck'd with bays and rosemary.
And I pray you, my masters, be merry
Quot estis in convivio (Translation: As many as are in the feast)

CHORUS
Caput apri defero (Translation: The boar's head I offer)
Reddens laudes Domino (Translation: Giving praises to the Lord)

The boar's head, as I understand,
Is the rarest dish in all this land,
Which thus bedeck'd with a gay garland
Let us servire cantico. (Translation: Let us serve with a song)

CHORUS

Our steward hath provided this
In honour of the King of Bliss;
Which, on this day to be served is
In Reginensi atrio. (Translation: In the Queen's hall)

CHORUS

The boar's head in hand bear I,
Bedeck'd with bays and rosemary.
And I pray you, my masters, be merry
Quot estis in convivio (Translation: As many as are in the feast)

CHORUS

All the streets are filled with laughter and light
And the music of the season
And the merchants windows are all bright
With the faces of the children
And the families hurrying to their homes
As the sky darkens and freezes
Theyll be gathering around the hearths and tales
Giving thanks for all God's graces
And the birth of the rebel Jesus

Well they call him by the Prince of Peace
And they call him by the Savior
And they pray to him upon the seas
And in every bold endeavor
As they fill his churches with their pride and gold
And their faith in him increases
But they've turned the nature that I worshipped in
From a temple to a robber's den
In the words of the rebel Jesus

We guard our world with locks and guns
And we guard our fine possessions
And once a year when Christmas comes
We give to our relations
And perhaps we give a little to the poor
If the generosity should seize us
But if any one of us should interfere
In the business of why they are poor
They get the same as the rebel Jesus

But please forgive me if I seem
To take the tone of judgement
For I've no wish to come between
This day and your enjoyment
In this life of hardship and of earthly toil
We have need for anything that frees us
So I bid you pleasure
And I bid you cheer
From a heathen and a pagan
On the side of the rebel Jesus.

Near Bethlehem did shepherds keep
Their flocks of lambs and feeding sheep
To whom God's angels did appear
Which put the shepherds in great fear.
"Arise and go", the angels said
"To Bethlehem, be not afraid
For there you'll find this happy morn'
A princely Babe, sweet Jesus born"

There were three wise men from afar
Directed by a glorious star,
And on they wandered night and day
Until they came where Jesus lay.
And when they came unto that place
Where our beloved Messiah was,
They humbly laid at his feet,
Their gifts of gold and incense sweet.

The wren, oh the wren; he's the king of all birds,
On St. Stevens day he got caught in the furze,
So it's up with the kettle and it's down with the pan,
Won't you give us a penny for to bury the wren.
(Lilting)

Well, it's Christmas time; that's why we're here,
Please be good enough to give us an ear,
For we'll sing and we'll dance if you give us a chance,
And we won't be comin' back for another whole year.
(lilting)

We'll play Kerry polkas; they're real hot stuff,
We'll play the Masons Apron and the Pinch of Snuff,
Jon Maronley's jig and the Donegal reel,
Music made to put a spring in your heel.
(lilting)

If there's a drink in the house, would it make itself known,
Before I sing a song called "The Banks of the Lowne",
And I'll drink with you with occasion in it,
For me poor dry throat and I'll sing like a linnet.
(lilting)

Oh please give us something for the little birds wake,
A big lump of pudding or some Christmas cake,
A fist full o' goose and a hot cup o' tay (Tea),
And then we'll all be goin' on our way.
(lilting)

repeat first verse and then lilt verse twice.

On Raglan Road on an autumn day I met her first and knew
That her dark hair would weave a snare that I might one day rue;
I saw the danger, yet I walked along the enchanted way,
And I said, let grief be a fallen leaf at the dawning of the day.

On Grafton Street in November we tripped lightly along the ledge
Of the deep ravine where can be seen the worth of passion's pledge (play),
The Queen of Hearts still making tarts and I not making hay -
O I loved too much and by such and such is happiness thrown away.

I gave her gifts of the mind I gave her the secret sign that's known
To [the] artists who have known the true gods of sound and stone
And word and tint. I did not stint [for] I gave her poems to say.
With her own name there and her [own] (long) dark hair like clouds over fields of May

On a quiet street where old ghosts meet I see her walking now
Away from me so hurriedly my reason must allow
That I [had wooed] (have loved) not as I should a creature made of clay -
When the angel woos the clay he'd lose his wings at the dawn of day.

Farewell to the groves of shillelagh and the shamrock
Farewell to the girls of old Ireland all 'round
And may their hearts be as merry as ever they could wish for
As far away o'er the ocean I'm bound

My father is old and my mother's right feeble
To leave their own country, it would grieve their heart sore
Oh, the tears down their cheeks, in great floods they are rolling
To think that I must die upon some far and foreign shore

But what matter to me, where my bones they may lie buried
If in peace and contentment I can spend my life
The green fields of Amerikay, they daily are calling
It's there I'll find an end to my misery and strife

So pack up your sea stores now, consider it no longer
Ten dollars a week isn't very bad pay
With no taxes or tithe there to devour up your wages
Across on the green fields of Amerikay

The lint dams are gone and the looms are lying idle
Gone are the winders of baskets and creels
And away o'er the ocean, go journeyman cowboys
And fiddlers who play out the old mountain reels

Ah, but I mind the time when old Ireland was flourishing
And most of her tradesmen did work for good pay
Ah, but since our manufacturers have crossed the Atlantic
Well, it's now that I must follow onto Amerikay

And now to conclude and to finish my ditty
If e'er a friendless Irishman should happen my way
With the best in the house, I will greet him and welcome him
At home on the green fields of Amerikay

So pack up your sea stores now, consider it no longer
Ten dollars a week isn't very bad pay
With no taxes or tithe there to devour up your wages
Across on the green fields of Amerikay

Here we are we've come to call with pipes and flutes and fiddles and all
In case of death we've even brought a keener
So, if you're glum and feeling down just feel like us
And act the clown and soon there'll be a change in your demeanor
(Lilting)
I put me money on a horse today for with the race he'd run away
Or so a friend that's in the know he told me
Twenty lengths ahead at most, he proudly cantered pass the post
But, woe was me, he lost the bloomin' jockey!
(Lilting, followed by verse-long fiddle and whistle break)
Now of all the places I have seen from China to the Caribbean
Are all across the goat compared to Ireland
From Bally Castle to Tralie the Corup to the Liffy
There's no where else on earth but like this island
(Lilting, followed by short piano break)
In Hollywood I long to be, no, not the place across the sea
But in County Wickloe Ireland's lovely garden
Where no pretenders will you find but decent people warm and kind
And flocks of friendly sheep into the bargain
(Lilting, followed by short fiddle and whistle break)
For your ills don't take a pill but take it down the road, the hills
And listen to the larks lovely warbling
In the evening in the company with music in the key of E
You'll be dancing Kerry sets until the morning
(Lilting)
Dancing Kerry sets until the morning

Far away across the ocean. Beneath an Indian star
Lives a little dark eyed maiden On the coast of Malabar

In the harbour where we anchored I could see her shy and sweet
With a blossom on her bosom And the wild waves at her feet

I can see the crowded city. The palm trees green and tall
And the starry night she danced with me Inside those city wall

She gave a little wistful glance. As she looked across the bay
And she whispered if you love me, why do you sail away

I must go my little dark eyes. I must go my Indian star
But I'll come again and love you. On the coast of Malabar

In my dreams I oft-times wander to that far off Indian sea
And the days we spent together. They come back again to me

I can see the crowded city, the palm trees on the shore
But that little dark-eyed maiden, she's there no more no more

Fare thee well my little dark eyes. Fare thee well my Indian star
In my dreams I will live forever on the Coast of Malabar

My own love said to me "My mother won't mind
And my daughters won't slight you for your lack of kind"
He went away from me and this he did say:
"It will not be long, Love, till our wedding day"

He went away from me and he moved through the fair
And slowly I watched him move here and move there
He went his way homeward with one star awake
As this swan in the evening moves over the lake

I dreamed last night that my own love came in
He came in so sweetly his feet made no din
He came close beside me and this he did say:
"It will not be long Love till our wedding day"

It will not be long love, long love, long love, love

I wish, I wish, I wish in vain
I wish I were a maid again
But a maid again I can never be
Until apples grow on an ivy tree
For love it is pleasin' and love is teasin'
And love is a treasure when first it's new
But as love grows older, then love grows colder
And it fades away like the morning dew
There is a little house into town
And there my love, he sits him down
He takes a strange girl on his knee
And he tells her things that he wants to be
For love and water make younger older
And love and whiskey make her old and grey
And what cannot be cured, love, must be endured, love
And now I am bound for America
La la la la la la...
La la la la la la...
As life grows older sure love grows older
And it fades away like the morning dew

I was down the glen one Easter morn
To a city fair rode I.
There armed lines of marching men
In squadrons passed me by.
No pipe did hum, no battle drum did sound its loud tattoo.
But the Angelus Bells o'er the Liffey swells rang out in the foggy dew.
Right proudly high in Dublin town
Hung they out a flag of war.
'Twas better to die 'neath that Irish sky
than at Sulva or Sud el Bar.
And from the plains of Royal Meath
strong men came hurrying through
While Brittania's huns with their long range guns
sailed in through the foggy dew.
Their bravest fell and the requiem bell
rang mournfully and clear
For those who died that Eastertide in the
springing of the year.
While the world did gaze with deep amaze
at those fearless men but few.
Who bore the fight that freedom's light
Might shine through the foggy dew.
And back through the glen
I rode again.
And my heart with grief was sore.
For I parted then with valiant men
Whom I never shall see n'more.
But to and fro in my dreams I go
And I kneel and pray for you.
For slavery fled the glorious dead
when you fell in the foggy dew.

When first I came to Ireland
Some pleasure for to find
It's there I spied a damsel fair
Most pleasing to my mind
Her rosy cheeks and sparkling eyes
Like arrows pierced my breast
They call her lovely Molly O
The Lily of the West

One day as I was walking
Down by a shady grove
I espied a Lord of high degree
Conversing with my love
She sang a song delightful
While I was sore oppressed
Saying "I bid adieu to Molly O
The Lily of the West..."

I stepped up with my rapier
And my dagger in my hand
And dragged him from my false love
And boldly bid him stand
But being mad with desperation
I swore I'd pierce his breast
I was then deceived by Molly O
The Lily of the West
I then did stand my trial
And boldly I did plead

A flaw was in my indictment found
And that soon had me freed
That beauty bright I did adore
The judge did her address
"Now go, you faithless Molly O
The Lily of the West."

Now that I've gained my liberty
A-roving I will go
I'll ramble through old Ireland
And travel Scotland o'er
Tho' she thought to swear my life away
She still disturbs my rest
I still must style her Molly O
The Lily of the West

Ten years ago, on a cold dark night
Someone was killed 'neath the town hall light
Just a few at the scene and they all did agree
That the man who ran looked a lot like me

Well the judge said, "Son, what's your alibi?
If you were somewhere else, then you won't have to die"
But I spoke not a word, though it meant my life
For I'd been in the arms of my best friend's wife

She walks these hills in a long black veil
She visits my grave when the night winds wail
Nobody knows, Lord, nobody sees
Nobody knows but me

Well, the scaffold is high and eternity near
She stands in the crowd and sheds not a tear
But sometimes at night when the cold winds moans
In a long black veil, she cries all over my bones

She walks these hills in a long black veil
She visits my grave when the night winds wail
Nobody knows, Lord, nobody sees
Nobody knows but me

Nobody knows but me, yeah

In the merry month of May from me home I started
Left the girls of Tuam sad and broken hearted
Saluted father dear, then kissed me darlin' mother
Then drank a pint of beer me tears and grief to smother
Off to reap the corn, leave where I was born,
I cut a stout blackthorn to banish ghost and goblin
A brand new pair of brogues, rattlin o'er the bogs
And frightenin' all the dogs on the rock road to Dublin.

One, two, three, four, five
Hunt the hare and turn her
Down the rocky road, another way to Dublin
Whack fol-laddie-roll!

In Dublin next arrived, I thought it such a pity
To be so soon deprived a view of that fine city
When I took a stroll all among the quality
My bundle it was stole from that neat locality
Something crossed me mind, when I looked behind
No bundle could I find upon me stick a-wobblin'
Enquirin' for the rogue, they said me Connacht brogue
Wasn't much in vogue on the rock road to Dublin.

One, two, three, four, five
Hunt the hare and turn her
Down the rocky road, another way to Dublin
Whack fol-laddie-roll!

The boys of Liverpool, when we safely landed,
Called meself a fool, I could no longer stand it,
Me blood began to boil, for all I was a losin',
Poor old Erin's Isle they began abusin'
"Hurrah, me Soul!" says I, shillelagh I let fly
Some Galway boys came by and saw I was a hobblin'
With a loud "Hurray" they joined in the affray
And quickly cleared the way for the rocky road to Dublin!

One, two, three, four, five
Hunt the hare and turn her
Down the rocky road, another way to Dublin
Whack fol-laddie-roll!