Kilkelly Ireland lyrics
Rowena Taheny 🎸Kilkelly, Ireland, 18 and 60, my dear and loving son John
Good friend the schoolmaster Pat McNamara's d
So good as to write these words down.
Your brothers have all gone to find work in England,
The house is so empty and sad
The crop of potatoes is sorely infected,
A third to a half of them bad.
And your sister Brigid and Patrick O'Donnell
Are going to be married in June.
Your mother says not to work on the railroad
And be sure to come on home soon.
Kilkelly, Ireland, 18 and 70, dear and loving son John
Hello to your Mrs and to your 4 children,
May they grow to be healthy and strong.
Michael has got in a wee bit of trouble,
I guess that he never will learn.
Because of the dampness there's no turf to speak of
And now we have nothing to burn.
And Brigid is happy, you named a child for her
And now she's got six of her own.
You say you found work, but you won't say what kind
Or when you will be coming home.
Kilkelly, Ireland, 18 and 80, dear Michael and John, my sons
I'm sorry to give you the very sad news
That your dear old mother has gone.
We buried her down at the church in Kilkelly,
Your brothers and Brigid were there.
You don't have to worry, she died very quickly,
Remember her in your prayers.
And it's so good to hear that Michael's returning,
With money he's sure to buy land
For the crop has been poor and people are selling
At any price that they can.
Kilkelly, Ireland, 18 and 90, my dear and loving son John
I guess that I might be close on to eighty,
It's thirty years since you're gone.
Because of all of the money you send me,
I'm still living out on my own.
Michael has built himself a fine house
And Brigid's daughters have grown.
Thank you for sending your family picture,
They're lovely young women and men.
You say that you might even come for a visit,
What a joy to see you again.
Kilkelly, Ireland, 18 and 92, my dear brother John
I'm sorry that I didn't write any sooner
To tell you that father passed on.
He was living with Brigid, she says he was cheerful
And healthy right down to the end.
Ah, you should have seen him play With the grandchildren
of Pat McNamara, your friend.
And we buried him alongside our dear old mother,
Down at the Kilkelly churchyard.
Oh he was a strong and a feisty old man,
Considering his life was so hard.
And it's funny the way he kept talking about you,
He called for you in the end.
Oh, why don't you think about coming to visit,
We'd all love to see you again.
Song Details
Songwriter: Peter Jones
Brief: The song is about John, an Irish emigrant to America and a series of letters written to him by his father back in Kilkelly keeping him informed about his family. Sadly, the last verse is sent by his brother as his father had passed away. The song contains five verses which cover the period between 1860 and 1892.
The followng is an excerpt from The Mudcat Cafe in relation to a post discussing the origins of the song (Guest: Des Wade):
Peter Jones was in Ireland before Christmas. He visited Kilkelly in Mayo where they gave him a police escort and he was piped into the town by a lone piper. He sang the song at mass in the local church before meeting a load of residents in a local pub. I met with him in Kilmacanogue, a few days later, with a few other singers and he sang for us. He comes across as a lovely guy. He was not really aware of his Irishness until he found the letters. He then wrote the song. Afterwards he got some song sheets of Irish music, to hear what Irish music was like, and then composed the air. Or that is my recollection of what he said.
Glossary: ☘
18 and 60 - refers to 1860 etc.
Kilkelly - a village in Kilmovee parish, County Mayo, Ireland.
Genre: Irish Folk Song
Covers: Rowenda Taheny (featured), Robbie O'Connell, Mick Moloney, Seán Keane, Anne Feeney, Cast, Colcannon, Kevin McKrell, Atwater-Donnelly, Asher Quinn, The Dubliners, Ciara Considine, Jim Brannigan, Empty Hats, Tom Sweeney...
Album: Women Of Celtic Song (2009)
Kilkelly Ireland Chords
Key: DmTime Signature: 3/4 (♩)
Tempo: 65 bpm
The Relative Major Key of Dm is highlighted - Transpose to any other key.
Intro:4/4 [Dm] x6 1. [Dm]Kilkelly, Ireland, [F]18 and 60, my [C]dear and [Am]loving son [Dm]John Good friend the schoolmaster [F]Pat McNamara's So [C]good as to [Am]write these words [Dm]down. Your [F]brothers have all gone to [C]find work in England, The [Bb]house is so empty and [C]sad The [Dm]crop of potatoes is [F]sorely infected, A [C]third to a [Am]half of them [Dm]bad. And [F]your sister Brigid and [C]Patrick O'Donnell Are [Bb]going to be married in [C]June. Your [Dm]mother says not to [F]work on the railroad And be [C]sure to [Am]come on home [Dm]soon. [Dm] 2. [Dm]Kilkelly, Ireland, [F]18 and 70, [C]dear and [Am]loving son [Dm]John Hello to your Mrs and [F]to your 4 children, May they [C]grow to be [Am]healthy and [Dm]strong. [F]Michael has got in a [C]wee bit of trouble, I [Bb]guess that he never will [C]learn. Be-[Dm]cause of the dampness there's [F]no turf to speak of And [C]now we have [Am]nothing to [Dm]burn. And [F]Brigid is happy, you [C]named a child for her And [Bb]now she's got six of her [C]own. You [Dm]say you found work, but you [F]won't say what kind Or [C]when you will [Am]be coming [Dm]home. [Dm] 3. [Dm]Kilkelly, Ireland, [F]18 and 80, dear [C]Michael and [Am]John, my [Dm]sons I'm sorry to give you the [F]very sad news That your [C]dear old [Am]mother has [Dm]gone. We [F]buried her down at the [C]church in Kilkelly, Your [Bb]brothers and Brigid were [C]there. You [Dm]don't have to worry, she [F]died very quickly, Re-[C]member [Am]her in your [Dm]prayers. And it's [F]so good to hear that [C]Michael's returning, With [Bb]money he's sure to buy [C]land For the [Dm]crop has been poor and [F]people are selling At [C]any [Am]price that they [Dm]can. [Dm] 4. [Dm]Kilkelly, Ireland, [F]18 and 90, my [C]dear and [Am]loving son [Dm]John I guess that I might be [F]close on to eighty, It's [C]thirty [Am]years since you're [Dm]gone. Be-[F]cause of all of the [C]money you send me, I'm [Bb]still living out on my [C]own. [Dm]Michael has built him-[F]self a fine house And [C]Brigid's [Am]daughters have [Dm]grown. [F]Thank you for sending your [C]family picture, They're [Bb]lovely young women and [C]men. You [Dm]say that you might even [F]come for a visit, What a [C]joy to [Am]see you a-[Dm]gain. [Dm] 5. [Dm]Kilkelly, Ireland, [F]18 and 92, my [C]dear [Am]brother [Dm]John I'm sorry that I didn't [F]write any sooner To [C]tell you that [Am]father passed [Dm]on. He was [F]living with Brigid, she [C]says he was cheerful And [Bb]healthy right down to the [C]end. Ah, you [Dm]should have seen him play [F]With the grandchildren Of [C]Pat McNa-[Am]mara, your [Dm]friend. And we [F]buried him alongside our [C]dear old mother, Down [Bb]at the Kilkelly church-[C]yard. Oh [Dm]he was a strong and a [F]feisty old man, Con-[C]sidering his [Am]life was so [Dm]hard. And it's [F]funny the way he kept [C]talking about you, He [Bb]called for you in the [C]end. Oh, [Dm]why don't you think about [F]coming to visit, We'd [C]all love to [Am]see you a-[Dm]gain.
