Ar Éirinn Ní Neosfainn Cé Hí (For Ireland, I’d Not Tell Her Name)

Cathy Jordan and Dervish (one of my favorite singer/bands) performing For Ireland, I’d Not Tell Her Name live. And farther below is the Irish form of the song, performed by the great Liam Clancy.

Ar Éirinn Ní Neosfainn Cé Hí (For Ireland, I’d Not Tell Her Name)

There’s a home by the wide Avonmore
That would sweep o’er the broad open sea
And wide rivers where the waves wash ashore
Whilst bulrushes they wave to the breeze
Where the green ivy clings round the door
And the birds sweetly sing on each tree
O me darling they’re tuning they’re notes
Is ar Éirinn ní neosfainn cé hí

Like a sick man that longs for the dawn
I do long for the light of her smile
And I pray for my own cailin ban
While I’m waiting for her by the stile
Oh I’d climb all the hills of this land
And I’d swim all the depths of the sea
To get one kiss from her lily-white hand
Is ar Éirinn ní neosfainn cé hí

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My Own Native Land

One of my favorite recordings from Cherish the Ladies. Mary Black sings this ode to Éireann. Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

My Own Native Land

There’s a dear little isle in the Western Ocean
An island of purity, holy and grand
Whose name fills its daughters and sons with emotion
When heard on the shores of a far distant land.

It’s Ireland, my country, the birthplace of heroes
The home of the patriot, warrior and sage
Of bards and of chieftains whose names live in story
May they live forever on history’s page.

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The Night Visiting Song

Luke Kelly sings “The Night Visiting Song.”

I must away now,I can no longer tarry,
This morning’s tempest,I have to cross,
I must be guided,without a stumble,
Into the arms I love the most
And when he came to his true love’s dwelling,
He knelt down gently,upon a stone,
And through her window,he whispered lowly
Is my true lover within at home.
Wake up,wake up love it is thine own true lover,
Wake up,wake up love and let me in,
For I am tired love and oh so weary,
And more than near drenched to the skin.