I love the lyrics of Jimmy MacCarthy. One of our most gifted writers. He should be more celebrated but isn't. Fortunately many great singers have done wonderful rendering of his songs.
He's my dad's uncle istg I honestly swear on my life I live in Ireland, Kildare and my dad is J____ MacCarthy and I am E_____ MacCarthy Sorry I feel like I shouldn't reveal names but my dad's dad is Rory MacCarthy
If life is a river and your heart is a boat And just like a water baby, baby born to float And if life is a wild wind that blows way on high Then your heart is Amelia dying to fly Heaven knows no frontiers And I've seen heaven in your eyes And if life is a bar room in which we must wait 'Round the man with his fingers on the ivory gates Where we sing until dawn of our fears and our fates And we stack all the deadmen in self addressed crates In your eyes faint as the singing of a lark That somehow this black night Feels warmer for the spark Warmer for the spark To hold us 'til the day When fear will lose its grip And heaven has its way Heaven knows no frontiers And I've seen heaven in your eyes If your life is a rough bed of brambles and nails And your spirit's a slave to man's whips and man's jails Where you thirst and you hunger for justice and right Then your heart is a pure flame of man's constant night In your eyes faint as the singing of a lark That somehow this black night Feels warmer for the spark Warmer for the spark To hold us 'til the day when fear will lose its grip And heaven has its way And heaven has its way When all will harmonise And know what's in our hearts The dream will realise Heaven knows no frontiers And I've seen heaven in your eyes Heaven knows no frontiers And I've seen heaven in your eyes
I just listened to the Corrs version of this song and it was an absolutely fabulous performance, but a performance never the less. On the other hand Jimmy MacCarthy is a singer, poet and a prophet all rolled into one. The meaning of his words awakens something within the listener, not just in this song but all his songs.
It's a mystery how beautiful sisters can turn a fantastic song into a pile o' shite as long as it takes to say flob a dob , I would rather be at the dentist than listen to the Corrs any day, they look sweet, they sound, er, ok, but their selection of material needs a good look at from my perspective .
It's a good song but not at all good here, it's awful.. Thankfully other artists saw its potential and made it great. I didn't think I could ever dislike the song but here's a lesson in the importance of good performance. He murders it but before anyone calls me a hater, I should say I am grateful to him for writing it. Just stick to what you're good at, writing.
I think he has a very unique singing voice, particularly with that Cork accent, that cannot be replicated. I think for some songs, and I count this as one, he does a job that no one can match. That is not to say it is "better" or "worse," but that Mary Black does not sing it in this way, only Jimmy can produce this version. That is worthwhile enough.
This version is much better, I find the other versions unlistenable. They just scream cheese at me, they make my skin crawl like a strange man rubbing his leg and asking me to sit on his lap. That's me though. Something like the opposite of you, I never realized this was a good song until I heard his version of it. I don't think either of us is right or wrong about which is better, but it is definately wrong to say that one version is bad.
I saw him in concert a few times in the 90s (back by the Voice Squad). I understand that his voice has an unusual quality but his delivery of the songs is strengthened because he is fully attached to the emotion behind them.
