Taken from the album 'The Great Irish Song Book' - Tony Christie & Ranagri - recorded at Stockfisch Studios, released on September 18th 2015 Wrasse Records/Stockfisch Records.
More information at www.ranagri.com/the-great-iris...
Lyrics
Near Banbridge Town in the County Down
One morning last July,
From a boreen green came a sweet colleen
And she smiled as she passed me by.
She looked so sweet from her two bare feet
To the sheen of her nut brown hair.
Such a coaxing elf, sure I shook myself
To be sure I was really there.
From Bantry Bay up to Derry Quay and
From Galway to Dublin Town,
No maid I've seen like the sweet colleen
That I met in the County Down.
As she onward sped, sure I scratched my head,
And I looked with a feelin' rare,
And I say's, say's I, to a passer-by,
"Whose the maid with the nut brown hair"?
He smiled at me and he said, said he,
"That's the gem of Ireland's crown.
It's Rose McCann from the banks of the Bann,
She's the star of the County Down”.
From Bantry Bay up to Derry Quay and
From Galway to Dublin Town,
No maid I've seen like a sweet colleen
That I met in the County Down.
Well, I've travelled a bit, but I never was hit
Since my roving career began
But fair and square, I surrendered there
To the charms of Rose McCann
I’d a heart to let and no tenant yet
Did I meet in a shawl or gown
But in she went, and I asked no rent
From the star of the County Down
From the Bantry Bay to the Derry Quay
And from Galway to Dublin town
No maid I've seen like a sweet colleen
That I met in the County Down
At the Harvest Fair she'll be surely there
And I'll dress in my Sunday clothes,
With my shoes shone bright and a hat cocked right
For a smile from my nut brown rose.
No pipe I'll smoke, no horse I'll yoke
Till my plough turns a rust coloured brown.
Till a smiling bride, by my own fireside
Sits the star of the County Down.
From Bantry Bay up to Derry Quay and
From Galway to Dublin Town,
No maid I've seen like a sweet colleen
That I met in the County Down
Tony Christie and Ranagri have joined forces to produce an album of 12 of the most well loved Irish Folk Songs.
Tony Christie (born Anthony Fitzgerald) grew up in Sheffield, and was introduced to these songs by his musical Irish grandparents.
Ranagri (pronounced Rana-Grye) are a folk band of Irish and English heritage. This album is the realisation of a dream - to explore a shared cultural history in song.
Tony says "I’ve had many conversations with Dónal Rogers (of Ranagri) over the years about collaborating on a recording of Irish songs, that we grew up with, and which we used to sit around my kitchen table and sing".
The album features an array of songs with outpourings of great joy and deep sorrow; rousing ballads such as 'Black Velvet Band' and 'Star of the County Down', poignant songs of love and loss including 'Carrickfergus', 'When You Were Sweet Sixteen' , 'The Parting Glass'.
"Within this group of musicians we have a very interesting cultural mix. The Twentieth Century saw great waves of emigration from Ireland to Britain and America. We find ourselves now living in a time of peace and extraordinarily good relations between Ireland and Britain.
This recording project gave us the opportunity to explore and find common ground, and what better way to celebrate this than through song.”
“Many of the songs we chose reflect this dual heritage. A good example of this is 'Lord Franklin's Lament' - a song with a perfect blend of lyrics from an English collection, twinned with an ancient Irish traditional melody. What a thrill for us to discover, whilst recording this song, that Franklin's lost ship from his ill-fated 19th Century expedition to the Northwest Passage - HMS Erebus - was rediscovered near Canada."
"Irish blood, English Heart -This I'm made of." - Morrissey
Tony Christie's grandparents moved to Yorkshire from the West of Ireland in the 1920's. Tony's grandfather played the melodeon and his Grandmother played the fiddle in a Céilí dance band. Tony grew up listening to the songs and tunes of his Grandparents' homeland, and went on to have huge international success in the music business.
25 авг 2015
