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Thunder of My Island!

Updated: Oct 9, 2021

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

We rise again

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

CELTIC THUNDER - IRELAND FROM DUBLIN WITH LOVE

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