There is a Thunder rolling over "My Emerald Island". A Thunder that started in Baile Átha Cliath, which means "Town of the Hurdled Ford" and is the official name of Dubh Linn, also written as Dublin, which means "Black Pool".
I am talking about CELTIC THUNDER.
In 2007 producer Sharon Browne filmed the first ever Celtic Thunder show at the Helix in Dublin, Ireland. The concept was to feature a group of men from Ireland and Scotland, who range in age from 21 to 42, and feature songs that celebrate a common Celtic heritage.
The members of Celtic Thunder are each a powerhouse in both their solo and ensemble songs. Ably backed by the dynamic Celtic Thunder Band, their shows are known for the use of dramatic effects of lighting and choreography as well as a stage set resembling an ancient stone pathway suggestive of those referenced in Celtic lore.
Let me start of by showing you a video of Michael O'Dwyer, one of the members, singing "The Thunder Rolls".
Celtic Thunder has been hailed as BILLBOARD’s Top World Music Artist, along with Top World Music Imprint and Top World Album of in 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2015. The Celtic Thunder official YouTube channel, “Celtic Thunder”, has received hundreds of thousands views and more than three hundred thousand subscribers since its inception in 2008. Their monthly newsletter "The Celtic Times" had a readership of over a million and is now, as far as I am able to find out, a blog page on their website https://www.celticthunder.com, and they have over hundreds of thousands likes and follows on their Facebook page.
When we take the last decade into account, and ask their fans what they loved the most about their music they always say ‘The Irish Songs’. So Celtic Thunder has given us ‘Celtic Thunder – ‘Homeland’ on CD http://bit.ly/2PP56CN and DVD https://bit.ly/38fSc7n.
This is a Revue from their most popular Irish and Celtic songs of the past decade, and is a blend of lively, upbeat songs including ‘A Place in The Choir’ and ‘Toora Loora Lay’ with classic ballads like ‘Buachaill On Eirne’ and ‘The Wild Rover’ with rousing anthems ‘Ireland’s Call’. ‘HOMELAND’ features the songs and performances that launched Celtic Thunder into the hearts and homes of audiences around the world. Their television specials have aired 25,000 times on public television across all 50 States in the US with 98% broadcast coverage of all U.S.
I will give you - in this blog - videos, which are on their YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYvDHxzMu61JR5L4SUqh01g), of most, if not all, of the tracks of the CD/DVD.
1.
"HEARTLAND", from Celtic Thunder Heritage.
Lyrics:
When the storm is raging
And thunder rolls
Deliver us from the ocean
Save our souls
A Thiarna, déan trócaire
A Chríost, déan trócaire
A Thiarna, déan trócaire
A Chríost, déan trócaire
When the winds are howling
Vigil keep
Shelter us and save us
From the deep
A Thiarna, déan trócaire
A Chríost, déan trócaire
A Thiarna, déan trócaire
A Chríost, déan trócaire
Thank you, Lord, you have brought us
Safe to shore
Be our strength and protection
Ever more
A Thiarna, déan trócaire
A Chríost, déan trócaire
A Thiarna, déan trócaire
A Chríost, déan trócaire
Dean troicara
Dean troicara
A Thiarna
A Thiarna, déan trócaire
A Chríost, déan trócaire
A Thiarna, déan trócaire
A Chríost, déan trócaire
A Thiarna, déan trócaire
A Chríost, déan trócaire
A Thiarna, déan trócaire
A Chríost, déan trócaire
Source: Musixmatch.
Songwriter: Phil Coulter.
2.
"Buachaill o'n Eirne"
Featured artist: Damian McGinty
Lyrics:
Buachaill o'n Eirne me 's bhreagfainn calin deas og
Ni iarrfainn bo spre lei ta me fhein saibhir go leor
'S liom Corcaigh da mheid e dha thaobh a' ghleanna 's Tir Eoghain
'S mura n-athrai me beasai 's me n' t-oidhr' ar Chontae Mhaigh Eo
Come by the hills to the land where fancy is free
And stand where the peaks meet the sky and the lochs meet the sea
Where the rivers run clear and the bracken is gold in the sun
And the cares of tomorrow can wait 'til this day is done
Come by the hills to the land where life is a song
And stand where the birds fill the air with their joy all day long
Where the trees sway in time and even the wind sings in tune
And the cares of tomorrow can wait 'til this day is done
Come by the hills to the land where legends remain
And the stories of old fill the heart and may yet come again
Where the past has been lost and the future is still to be won
And the cares of tomorrow can wait 'til this day is done
Source: Musixmatch.
Songwriters: Traditional / Dermot O'brien.
3.
"The Maid of Culmore"
Lyrics:
Leaving sweet lovely Derry for fair London town
There is no finer harbor all around can be found
Where the youngsters, each evening, go down to the shore
And the joy bells are ringing for the maid of Culmore
The first time I saw her, she passed me by
And the next time I saw her, she bid me goodbye
But the last time I saw her, it grieved my heart sore
For she sailed down Loch Foyle and away from Culmore
If I had the power: the storms for to rise
I would make the wind blow out and I’d darken the skies
I’d make the wind blow high and the salt seas to roar
‘Til the day that my darling sailed away from Culmore
To the back parts of America, my love, I’ll go seek
For it’s there I know no one and no one knows me
But if I don’t find her, I’ll return home no more
Like a pilgrim I’ll wander for the maid of Culmore
Source: LyricFind.
Songwriters: Cara Dillon / Sam Lakeman.
4.
"ISLE OF INNISFREE"
Lyrics:
I've met some folks
Who say that I'm a dreamer
And I've no doubt
There's truth in what they say
But sure a body's bound to be a dreamer
When all the things he loves are far away
And precious things
Are dreams unto an exile
They take him o'er
The land across the sea
Especially when it happens he's an exile
From that dear lovely Isle of Inisfree
And when the moonlight
Peeps across the rooftops
Of this great city
Wondrous though it be
I scarcely feel its wonder or its laughter
I'm once again back home in Inisfree
I wonder o'er green hills
Through dreamy valleys
And find a peace
No other land could know
I hear the birds make music fit for angels
And watch the rivers laughing
As they flow
And then into a humble shack I wander--
My dear old home--
And tenderly behold
The folks I love
Around the turf fire gathered
On bended knee
Their rosary is told
But dreams don't last
Though dreams are not forgotten
And soon I'm back
To stern reality
But though they pave
The footways here with gold dust
I still would choose
The Isle of Inisfree
I still would choose
The Isle of Inisfree
Source: Musixmatch.
Songwriter: Richard Farrelly.
Isle of Innisfree lyrics © Peter Maurice Music Co. Ltd., Connoisseur Music.
5.
"Take Me Home"
Lyrics:
I sit here thinking
As the sun is sinking
Over the mountain
And the dry, dusty ground
As the night is falling
I start recalling
The nights
In my own town
I see the faces
In familiar places
I hear the music
That they played way back then
My heart rejoices
As I hear the voices
Calling me
Home again
Home
Oh take me home
Oh to the people
I left behind
Oh to the love
I know I'll find
Oooh take me home
As the sky is burning
My mind is turning
To the cold winter evenings
By my own fire side
So far away now
But any day now
I'll sail
On the morning tide
Home
Oh take me home
Oh to the people
I left behind
Oh to the love
I know I'll find
Oooh take me home
Take me home
Far across the sea
(All)
Home is where I long to be
Home
(Da da da da)
Oh take me home
(Da da da da)
Oh to the people
(Da da da da da)
I left behind
(Da da da)
Oh to the love
(Da da da da)
I know I'll find
(Da da da da)
Oooh take me home
Source: LyricFind.
Songwriters: Phil Coulter.
Take Me Home lyrics © Music & Media Int'l, Inc.
6.
"STREETS OF NEW YORK"
Lyrics:
I was 18 years old, when I went down to Dublin
With a fistful of money and a cartload of dreams
"Take your time", said my father, "Stop rushin' like hell"
"And remember, all is not what it seems to be"
"For there's fellows would cut you for the coat on your back"
"Or the watch that you got from your mother"
"So take care me young buck-o and mind yourself well"
"And will you give this we note to my, brother?"
At the time, uncle Benji was a policeman in Brooklyn
And my father the youngest looked after the farm
When a phone call from America said, "Send the lad over"
And the old fella said, "Sure, it wouldn't do any harm"
For I spent my life workin' this dirty old ground
For a few pints of porter and the smell of a pound
And sure, maybe there's somethin' you'll learn, or you'll see
And you can bring it back home, make it easy on me
So I landed at Kennedy and a big yellow taxi
Carried me and my bags through the streets and the rain
Well, my poor heart was pumpin' around with excitement
And I hardly even heard what the driver was sayin'
We came in the short parkway to the flatlands in Brooklyn
To my uncle's apartment on East 53rd
I was feelin' so happy, I was hummin' a song
And I sang, "You're as free as a bird"
Well, to shorten the story what I found out that day
Was that Benji got shot in an uptown foray
And while I was flyin' my way to New York
Poor Benji was lyin' in a cold city morgue
Well, I phoned up the old fella, told him the news
I could tell he could hardly stand up in his shoes
And he wept as he told me, "Go ahead with the plan"
And not to forget, be a proud Irishman
So I went up to Nelly's beside Fordham Road
And I started to learn about liftin' the load
But the healthiest thing that I carried that year
Was the bitter-sweet thoughts of my hometown so dear
I went home that December 'cause the old fella died
Had to borrow the money from Phil on the side
And all the bright flowers and grass couldn't hide
The poor wasted face of my father
I sold up the old farmyard for what it was worth
And into my bag stuck a handful of earth
Then I boarded a train and I caught me a plane
And I found myself back in the U.S. again
It's been 22 years since I set foot in Dublin
The kids know to use the correct knife and fork
But I'll never forget the green grass and the rivers
As I keep law and order in the streets of New York
Source: Musixmatch.
Songwriter: Liam Reilly.
The Streets of New York lyrics © Emi April Music Inc., Emi Blackwood Music Inc., Gifted Pearl Music Inc., Flight Thru Music, Eric B And Rakim Music Inc., Lellow Productions, Die On My Feet, Gifted Pearl Music, Bardis Music Co. Ltd.
7.
"mo ghile mear" (hail the hero)
Lyrics:
O-ro, ri na bhfarraige
Ri na bhfarraige
Na mhoir ro
O-ro, ri na bhfarraige
Ri na bhfarraige
Na mhoir ro
Sé mo laoch mo Ghile Mear
Sé mo Cheasar, Ghile Mear,
Suan ná séan ní bhfuair me féin
Ó chuaidh I gcéin mo Ghile Mear
Hail the hero, strong and true
Who fought the fight and saw it through
Who swore he ne'er would be a slave
And gave his life, our land to save
Sé mo laoch mo Ghile Mear
Sé mo Cheasar, Ghile Mear,
Suan ná séan ní bhfuair me féin
Ó chuaidh I gcéin mo Ghile Mear
From our wild Atlantic shore
Above the mighty ocean's roar
Let's sing from the highest mountainside
Of heroes who fill our hearts with pride
Sé mo laoch mo Ghile Mear
Sé mo Cheasar, Ghile Mear,
Suan ná séan ní bhfuair me féin
Ó chuaidh I gcéin mo Ghile Mear
Sé mo laoch mo Ghile Mear
Sé mo Cheasar, Ghile Mear,
Suan ná séan ní bhfuair me féin
Ó chuaidh I gcéin mo Ghile Mear
Source: LyricFind.
Songwriters: Paddy Moloney / Sean Macreamoinn.
Mo Ghile Mear lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., BMG Rights Management.
8.
"GALWAY GIRL"
Lyrics:
I took a stroll down the old long walk
On a day-I-ay-I-ay
I met a little girl and we stopped to talk
On a grand soft day-I-ay-I-ay
And I ask you, friend, what's a fella to do?
'Cause her hair was black and her eyes were blue
And I knew right then I'd be takin' a whirl
Down the Salthill Prom with a Galway girl
We were halfway there when the rain came down
On the day-I-ay-I-ay
And she asked me up to her flat downtown
On a fine soft day-I-ay-I-ay
And I ask you, friend, what's a fella to do?
If her hair was black and her eyes were blue
So I took her hand and I gave her a twirl
And I lost my heart to a Galway girl
So when I woke up I was all alone
With a broken heart and a ticket home
And I ask you, friend
(And I ask you, friend)
What's a fella to do?
(What's a fella to do?)
If her hair was black and her eyes were blue
See, I've traveled around
(See, I've traveled around)
I've been all over the world
(Been all over the world)
I've never seen nothin' like a Galway girl
And I ask you, friend
(And I ask you, friend)
What's a fella to do?
(What's a fella to do?)
If her hair was black and her eyes were blue
See, I've traveled around
(See, I've traveled around)
I've been all over the world
(Been all over the world)
I've never seen nothin' like a Galway girl
Source: LyricFind.
Songwriters: Steve Earle.
The Galway Girl lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, BMG Rights Management.
9.
"Toora Loora Lay"
Lyrics:
I woke upon a Sunday morning
Tired eyes to great the day
A rucksack full of expectations
Up on dreary Langton Way
The train awaiting on the platform
The bees all humming high
A one way ticket stamped for freedom
Time for just one last goodbye
Toora loora lay
I'm on my way
Make it New York City, San Francisco, Botany Bay
I've been praying I've been waiting mister
For this fateful day
Toora loora lay
Took passage on the early water
Waved the mainland sweet goodbye
Lit a cigarette above on top deck'
Watched the seagulls soar the sky
I woke up to the sound of laughter
And the strangers passing by
Stepped upon the land of dreams
And had myself a smile
Toora loora lay
I'm on my way
Make it New York City, San Francisco, Botany Bay
I've been praying I've been waiting mister
For this fateful day
Toora loora lay
Met a sham from Blarney, ginger red
On a New York City street
He was asking if I'd seen the hurling
And how the hell we'd meet
At a bar in Queens
He knew a man that came from my hometown
Then he borrowed twenty dollars
Till his pay day came around
Toora loora lay
I'm on my way
Make it New York City, San Francisco, Botany Bay
I've been praying I've been waiting mister
For this fateful day
Toora loora lay
I got some work by Sydney Harbour
With a firm from Antrim town
We were digging up the paving stones
Laying concrete piping down
Found a place up on the hill for pints
Where they said you'd have to craic
They were singing toora loora lay
Saying we're never going back
Toora loora lay
I'm on my way
Make it New York City, San Francisco, Botany Bay
I've been praying I've been waiting mister
For this fateful day
Toora loora lay
I'm on my way
Make it New York City, San Francisco, Botany Bay
I've been praying I've been waiting mister
For this fateful day
Toora loora lay
10.
"A Place in the Choir"
Lyrics:
All God's creatures got a place in the choir
Some sing low and some sing higher,
Some sing out loud on a telephone wire,
Some just clap their hands, or paws, or anything they've got now
All God's creatures got a place in the choir
Some sing low and some sing higher,
Some sing out loud on a telephone wire,
Some just clap their hands, or paws, or anything they've got now
Listen to the top where the little bird sings
On the melodies and the high notes ringing,
And the hoot owl cries over everything
And the blackbird disagrees
Singing in the night time, singing in the day,
When little duck quacks, and he's on his way
And the otter hasn't got much to say
And the porcupine talks to himself
All God's creatures got a place in the choir
Some sing low and some sing higher,
Some sing out loud on a telephone wire,
Some just clap their hands, or paws, or anything they've got now
The dogs and the cats they take up the middle
While the honeybee hums and the cricket fiddles,
The donkey brays and the pony neighs
And the old gray badger sighs
Listen to the bass, it's the one on the bottom
Where the bullfrog croaks and the hippopotamus
Moans and groans with a big t'do
And the old cow just goes moo
All God's creatures got a place in the choir
Some sing low and some sing higher,
Some sing out loud on a telephone wire,
Some just clap their hands, or paws, or anything they've got now
It's a simple song a little song everywhere
By the ox and the fox and the grizzly bear,
The dopey alligator and the the hawk above,
The sly old weasel and the turtle dove
All God's creatures got a place in the choir
Some sing low and some sing higher,
Some sing out loud on a telephone wire,
Some just clap their hands, or paws, or anything they've got now
All God's creatures got a place in the choir
Some sing low and some sing higher,
Some sing out loud on a telephone wire,
Some just clap their hands, or paws, or anything they've got now
All God's creatures got a place in the choir
Some sing low and some sing higher,
Some sing out loud on a telephone wire,
Some just clap their hands, or paws, or anything they've got now
All God's creatures got a place in the choir
Source: LyricFind.
Songwriters: Bill Staines.
A Place In The Choir lyrics © BMG Rights Management.
11.
"THE WILD ROVER"
Lyrics:
I've been a wild rover for many's the year
And I've spent all me money on whiskey and beer
But now I'm returning with gold in great store
And I never will play the wild rover no more
And it's no, nay, never
No, nay never no more
Will I play the wild rover
No never no more
I went to an alehouse I used to frequent
I told the landlady my money was spent
I ask her for credit, she answered me nay
Such a custom as yours I can have any day
And it's no, nay, never
No, nay never no more
Will I play the wild rover
No never no more
I brought from me pocket ten sovereigns bright
And the landlady's eyes opened wide with delight
She said:'I have whiskeys and wines of the best
And the words that you told me were only in jest'
And it's no, nay, never
No, nay never no more
Will I play the wild rover
No never no more
I'll go home to my parents, confess what I've done
And I'll ask them to pardon their prodigal son
And when they've caressed me, as oft times before
I never will play the wild rover no more
And it's no, nay, never
No, nay never no more
Will I play the wild rover
No never no more
And it's no, nay, never
No, nay never no more
Will I play the wild rover
No never no more
Source: Musixmatch.
Songwriters: Luke Kelly / Ronald Joseph Drew / Robert Anthony Lynch / Ciaran Padraig Maire Bourke / Barney Mckenna / John Edmund Sheehan.
The Wild Rover lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Mgb Ltd., Universal Music Publishing Ltd., Perfect Songs Ltd., Logo Songs Ltd.
12.
"CASTLE ON THE HILL"
Lyrics:
When I was six years old I broke my leg
I was running from my brother and his friends
And tasted the sweet perfume of the mountain grass I rolled down
I was younger then, take me back to when
I found my heart and broke it here
Made friends and lost them through the years
And I've not seen the roaring fields
In so long, I know I've grown
And I can't wait to go home
I'm on my way
Driving at ninety down
Those country lanes
Singing to "Tiny Dancer"
And I miss the way
You make me feel, and it's real
We watched the sunset
Over the castle on the hill
Fifteen years old and smoking hand-rolled cigarettes
Running from the law through the backfields and getting drunk with my friends
Had my first kiss on a Friday night, I don't reckon that I did it right
I was younger then, take me back to when
One friend left to sell clothes
One works down by the coast
One had two kids, but lives alone
One's brother overdosed
One's already on his second wife
One's just barely getting by
But these people raised me and I
Can't wait to go home
I'm on my way
I still remember
These old country lanes
When we did not know the answers
And I miss the way
You make me feel, and it's real
We watched the sunset
Over the castle on the hill
I'm on my way
Over the castle on the hill
I'm on my way
Over the castle on the hill
I'm on my way
13.
"RISE AGAIN"
Lyrics:
The waves roll on
Over the water
And the ocean cries
We look to
Our sons and daughters
To explain our lives
As if a child
Could tell us why
That as sure as the sunrise
As sure as the sea
As sure as the wind in the trees
We rise again
In the faces of our children
In the voices of our song
We rise again
Like the waves out on the ocean
And then, we rise again
When the light grows dark
With the forces of creation
Across the stormy sky
We look to
Reincarnation
To explain our lives
As if a child
Could tell us why
That as sure as the sunrise
As sure as the sea
As sure as the wind in the trees
We rise again
In the faces of our children
We rise again
In the voices of our song
We rise again
Like the waves out on the ocean
And then, we rise again
We rise again
In the faces of our children
We rise again
In the voices of our song
We rise again
Like the waves out on the ocean
And then, we rise again
We rise again
In the faces of our children
We rise again
In the voices of our song
We rise again
Like the waves out on the ocean
And then, we rise again
And then, we rise again
14.
"THE VOICE"
Lyrics:
I hear your voice on the wind
And I here you call out my name
"Listen my child", you say to me
I am the voice of your history
Be not afraid, come follow me
Answer my call and I'll set you
Set you free, free
I am the voice in the wind and the pouring rain
I am the voice of your hunger and pain
I am the voice that always is calling you
I am the voice, I will remain
I am the voice in the fields when the summer's gone
The dance of the leaves when the autumn winds blow
Ne'er do I sleep throughout all the cold winter long
I am the force that in springtime will grow
I am the voice of the past that will always be
Filled with my sorrow and blood in my fields
I am the voice of the future
Bring me your peace
Bring me your peace
And my wounds they will heal
I am the voice of the past that will always be
I am the voice of your hunger and pain
I am the voice of the future
I am the voice
I am the voice
I am the voice
I am the voice
Source: Musixmatch.
Songwriters: Brendan Graham.
The Voice lyrics © Peermusic (uk) Ltd., Peer International Corporation.
15.
"Ireland's Call"
Lyrics:
Ireland
Ireland
Side by side
We stand like brothers
One for all and all together
We will stay united through darker days
And we'll be unbeatable forever
Ireland, Ireland
Together standing tall
Shoulder to shoulder
We'll answer Ireland's call!
Come the day and come the hour
Some will live in song and story
We were born to follow our guiding star
And to beat our destiny with glory
Ireland, Ireland
Together standing tall
Shoulder to shoulder
We'll answer Ireland's call!
Hearts of steel and heads are bowing
Vowing never to be broken
We will fight, until we can fight no more
'Til our final requiem is spoken
Ireland, Ireland
Together standing tall
Shoulder to shoulder
We'll answer Ireland's call!
Ireland, Ireland
Together standing tall
Shoulder to shoulder
We'll answer Ireland's call!
We'll answer Ireland's call!
Source: Musixmatch.
Songwriter: Philip Michael Coulter.
Ireland's Call lyrics © Four Seasons Music Ltd.
ELTICELTIC THNER - IRELANDC THUNDER - IRELAND
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