Galway Bay lyrics
Celtic WomanIf you ever go across the sea to Ireland
And maybe at the closing of your day,
You can sit and watch the moon rise over Claddagh
And see the sun go down on Galway Bay.
Just to hear again the ripple of the trout stream
The women in the meadow making hay
Just to sit beside a turf fire in the cabin
And watch the barefoot gossoons at their play
Mmm... Oo...
For the breezes blowing o'er the sea from Ireland
Are perfumed by the heather as they blow
And the women in the uplands diggin' praties
Speak a language that the strangers do not know.
Yet the strangers came and tried to teach us their ways
And they scorned us just for bein' what we are
But they might as well go chasin' after moonbeams
Or light a penny candle from a star.
And if there is gonna be a life hereafter
And faith, somehow I'm sure there's gonna be
I will ask my God to let me make my heaven
In that dear land across the Irish sea.
I will ask my God to let me make my heaven
In my dear land across the Irish sea.
Mmm... Oo...
In my dear land across the Irish sea.
Song Details
Composer: Arthur Nicholas Whistler Colahan
Date: 1942.
Brief: Colahan was an an Irish doctor, British Army Officer and songwriter. He was born on 12th August 1884 in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Ireland and his family later moved to Galway where he grew up. The song was made famous internationally by the American singer Bing Crosby, who released it as a single in 1947, and became a huge hit all around the world and still continues to remain an Irish favorite.
Although living abroad, the singer describes his love of Galway Bay - a land of beautiful women and children; the moon rising over Claddagh; the ripple of the trout stream; perfumed breezes of heather; the magnificant sunsets; turf fires in the cabins and a spoken language that the English don't know. The English came and tried to teach them their ways but failed. The singer hopes that when he dies he can return to his heaven across the Irish Sea in Galway Bay.
Glossary:
Claddagh - a fishing village and suburb of Galway.
gossoons - children
praties - potatoes
strangers - the English
Genre: Irish Folk Song
Covers: Celtic Woman (featured), Bing Crosby, The Clancy Brothers, The Irish Tenors, Foster & Allen, Daniel O'Donnell, The Celtic Angels, Ronan Tynan, John McDermott...
Please Note: In this version - the 4th verse beginning with 'Yet the strangers came and tried to teach us their ways', the melody line is altered.
Album: Songs from the Heart (January 26, 2010).
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