The Whole Of The Moon(two versions with lyrics)

Today I have been listening to The Whole Of The Moon– two versions repeatedly. Someone posted this in Twitter and before I knew it I was hooked going back and forth like what you do in a seesaw. It s a boring Monday and I have been doing paper works with that song in the background. Oh and I have to tell you I am doing this on a break-not during work.

There’s something about the lyrics that captivated my imagination. It’s originally done by The Waterboys in 1985 from the album This Is The Sea. In the early 90’s, Irish singer Terry Reid covered this.  Enya collaborated with him on this track providing backing vocals and keyboards.

The Whole Of The Moon lyrics
Songwriters: Scott, Michael;

I pictured a rainbow, you held it in your hands
I had flashes but you saw then plan
I wandered out in the world for years while you just stayed in your room
I saw the crescent, you saw the whole of the moon
The whole of the moon

You were there in the turnstiles with the wind at your heels
You stretched for the starts and you know how it feels
To reach too high, too far, too soon
You saw the whole of the moon

I was grounded while you filled the skies
I was dumbfounded by truth, you cut through lies
I saw the rain dirty valley, you saw Brigadoon
I saw the crescent, you saw the whole of the moon

I spoke about wings you just flew
I wondered I guessed and I tried, you just knew
I sighed and you swooned
[ From: http://www.elyrics.net/read/w/waterboys-lyrics/the-whole-of-the-moon-lyrics.html ]
I saw the crescent, you saw the whole of the moon
The whole of the moon

With a torch in your pocket and the wind at your heels
You climbed on the ladder and you know how it feels
To get too high, too far, too soon
You saw the whole of the moon, the whole of the moon, hey yeah

Unicorns and cannonballs, palaces and piers
Trumpets, towers and tenements, wide oceans full of tears
Flags, rags, ferryboats, scimitars and scarves
Every precious dream and vision underneath the stars

Yes, you climbed on the ladder with the wind in your sails
You came like a comet, blazing your trail
Too high, too far, too soon
You saw the whole of the moon

Oh, how [Incomprehensible] did you see the whole of the moon

© DIZZY HEIGHTS MUSIC PUBLISHING LT;

According to GrecoCelt: On a less speculative note, Mike Scott (The Singer/Songwriter/Guitarist/Pianist of the Waterboys) has said that the song’s subject is “a composite of many people”, including C.S. Lewis.

from Song Meanings website.

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If you are in Cornwall and looking for a place to hang out for some Celtic music, then try Rule 7 Bar try this link for a complete info: http://www.folkmusicfestivalsandsessions.com/2011/02/friendly-traditional-english-irish.html

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Now for some Scottish Puirt a Beul is Sileas.

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Fisherman’s Friends from Port Isaac Cornwall will receive BBC Radio 2 Folk Award for Good Tradition .

From  http://www.independent.co.uk:

Once known as a safe haven for fishermen and sailors on the merciless north Cornish coast, Port Isaac, with its typical whitewashed cottages and cobbled lanes, is now a place more recognisable as the setting for television dramas such as Doc Martin and films such as Nigel Cole’s Saving Grace.

However, the Fisherman’s Friends have proved that home-grown talent can grab the headlines, too. The choir, who have sung together for 16 years, first came to critical attention when they released their first album, Port Isaac’s Fisherman’s Friends, on Universal Records at the end of April 2010. Since then, they have performed at Glastonbury, the Cambridge Folk Festival, the Royal Festival Hall, Union Chapel and, slightly closer to home, the Boardmasters Festival in Newquay and the Falmouth Sea Shanty Festival.

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/ship-comes-in-at-last-for-cornish-folk-singers-2206359.html

Highland by Blackmore’s Night from the New Album

Those who love the beauty of British folk will have no second thoughts from savouring this track from this wonderful band whose roots go back to the 70’s.  Those who love the music that I featured in this site will surely love this release as well. After all, don’t we all love the essence of “Ren and Rock”? Read more on the press release for this wonderful duo of husband and wife team up.

NEW RELEASE DATE) Spinefarm Records to Release Blackmore’s Night’s ‘Autumn Sky’ In The US January 18th, New Song Streaming Now

BLACKMORE’S NIGHT, the group featuring husband and wife Richie Blackmore and Candice Night, will be releasing their new album Autumn Sky on January 18th. With a career spanning nearly two decades, the band of minstrels has gained crossover success all over the world with its new genre of “Ren and Rock” music. The lyrics, written by award winning singer/songwriter Candice Night, are inspired by nature and the myths and fairy tales they encounter on their international travels. The melodies, composed and arranged by Grammy nominated Ritchie Blackmore, encompass musical structure and the essence of melodies from the early 1600s. And then they are “Blackmore-ized.” Blackmore’s Night’s last album, Secret Voyage, debuted at #1 on the Billboard New Age Chart and held that spot for four consecutive weeks. 

In addition to being known from their unique sound which combines traditional as well as modern day instruments (including electric and acoustic guitars, keyboards, violins, shawms, chanters etc), and Candice’s enchanting lyrics and vocals, they are also known for their fabulous live shows, many of which have been performed at castles and other exceptional venues that add to the mystique and warmth of their performance. Blackmore’s Night has appeared nationwide on PBS and Discovery channel specials, and has been awarded the Best Album of the Year and Best Vocal Album of the year by NPR New Age Reporter for their past 7 studio CDs.

Autumn Sky brings us 14 new Blackmore’s Night songs, plus a cover of “Celluloid Heroes” from The Kinks. Recorded during Candice’s pregnancy, Candice and Ritchie have dedicated the Autumn Sky album to their newly born daughter Autumn Esmerelda Blackmore.

Listen to “Highland” from Autumn Sky here:

OFFICIAL SITE: www.blackmoresnight.com


Clannad Back to Performing

One of my favorite Irish bands became quiet somewhere at the start of the decade. Of course I kept track of Moya Brennan’s musical takeoff as a solo artist. I am glad that the lineup is great and Pol Brennan is back with the team. You can read the detailed info here:

http://www.clannad.nl/2010/12/more-clannad-concerts-including-pol.html

 

Happy New Year!

  I can’t believe it’s only been several months since I last greeted you all a happy New Year! Now it’s going to be 2011. I am excited about what the year will bring. And yes we will have Celtic artists featured here. I will publish the interview I did for Sue Aston. That’s going to be next week. Now please enjoy the music and the good vibes.

Mary Fahl is not really Celtic-just Celticky but I feel I want to share this wonderful cover of a Pink Floyd song-Live!

And yes…Celtic Blues.

Girsa:Bringing the Emerald Isle to American Music

Sweet, sad, energetic and calming…

Maeve Flanagan
fiddle/whistle

Deirdre Brennan
fiddle/mandolin/vocals

Kristen McShane
fiddle

Margaret Dudasik
fiddle/vocals/low whistle/dancing feet

Blaithin Loughran
accordion

Bernadette Flanagan
piano/bodhran/dancing feet

Pamela Geraghty
accordion/vocals/guitar

Emily McShane
piano/vocals/bodhran/guitar

Girsa-A combination of beautiful instruments and voices in the veins of Alysson Krauss and Solas. These young women have what it takes to charm even the jaded listeners with their energetic but  at times calming music.  I’d like to thank Christi Broersma for bringing this band to my attention. Girsa—pronounced geer-sha and meaning “young girls ” in Gaelic—is a group of eight Irish American teenagers wholive in and around Pearl River in Rockland County(the same place where Mary Fahl came from). . Instrumentation includes fiddle, accordion, whistle, mandolin, piano, and guitar. Two band members are also dancers. Immigrant Eyes is a track recorded and rendered with clarity and control. It is Irish but at the same time American. It is also one song that Guy Clarke recorded in 1993 for his Old Friends album. The lyrics:

Oh Ellis Island was swarming
Like a scene from a costume ball
Decked out in the colors in Europe
And on fire with the hope of it all
There stood my father’s own father stood huddled
With the tired and hungry and scared
Turn of the century pilgrims
Bound by the dream that they shared
They were standing in lines just like cattle
Poked and prodded and shoved
Some were one desk away from sweet freedom
Som were were torn from someone they love
Through this sprawling tower of babel
Came a young man confused and alone
Determined and bound for America
And carryin’ everything that he owned

Chorus
Sometimes when I look in my grandfather’s Immigrant Eyes
I see that day reflected and I can’t hold my feelings inside
I see starting with nothing and working hard all of his life
So don’t take it for granted say grandfather’s Immigrant Eyes

Now he rocks and stares out the window
But his eyes are still just as clear
As the day he sailed through the harbor
And come ashore on the island of tears
My grandfather’s days are numbered
But I won’ t let his memory die
‘Cause he gave me the gift of this country
And the look in his Immigrant Eyes

I swear this song made it hard for me to see the computer screen because I was trying hard to fight back the tears. Such sweet and sad song. I don’t know about you lads but if there is one song that’s really worth listening to as we think about the blessings we have in our lives and how those before us have given their blood, sweat and tears to bring us to where we are now then this is that perfect soundtrack. As the year draws to an end this is an eye-opener. And we should give love to one another as intensely as we can while we are still alive and while we are still capable of giving that love. because through all the pain let us find comfort in everyone in this cold mad world.

Know more about this wonderful group:

http://www.girsamusic.com