She Moved Through The Fair Lyrics
Celtic WomanMusic Video
She Moved Through The Fair
My young love said to me, "My mother won't mind,
And my father won't slight you for your lack of kind."
Then she stepped away from me and this she did say,
"It will not be long love, Till our wedding day."
She stepped away from me and she moved through the fair,
And fondly I watched her move here and move there
Then she made her way homeward with one star awake,
As the swan in the evening moves over the lake.
[Traditional verse omitted by the artists:]
The people were saying, that no two were e'er wed,
But one had a sorrow that never was said.
And I smiled as she passed with her goods and her gear,
And that was the last that I saw of my dear.
Last night she came to me, she came softly in,
So softly she came that her feet made no din;
Then she laid her hand on me and this she did say
"It will not be long love, till our wedding day."
Song Details
🎶 Music: Traditional
✍️ Lyrics: Padraic Colum - Irish poet, novelist, dramatist, biographer, playwright, children's author and collector of folklore.
Padraic had already found the verse of a traditional old Irish song, and wrote two verses to complete the song. He sent the verses to be published when he realised that it needed a third verse to explain that the young woman in the song had died.
The first version of the song was published without the third verse, but subsequently the fourth verse was added. To this day, many versions are still recorded without the third verse, including the featured video in this session.
Please Note:
In this version of the song, the first line of the third verse is:
"Last night she came to me, she came softly in"
In some other references, the first line of the third verse is:
"Last night she came to me, my dead love came in"
📝 Song Brief: The song follows a young man who watches his beloved walk away from him at a fair, unaware that this will be the last time he sees her alive. Later, she appears to him in a dreamlike visitation, promising that “it will not be long” until their wedding day — a line understood as a message from beyond the grave.
🌟 Symbolism in the song and their possible meanings:- The Fair — A place of life, community, and possibility. In the song, it represents the couple’s shared hopes and the last moment of normality before tragedy.
- The Star Awake — A traditional symbol of guidance and the presence of the supernatural. It hints that the world is shifting from the ordinary to the otherworldly.
- The Swan — A long‑standing Celtic symbol of transition between worlds, often associated with love, death, and the soul’s journey.
- The Night Visit — A classic motif in Irish and Scottish folklore, where a deceased lover returns in a dream or vision to offer comfort or a final message.
- “It will not be long, love” — A gentle but chilling promise of reunion in death, rather than in life.
🍀 Genre: Traditional Irish Folk Song
👥 Covers: Sinead O’Connor, Andrea Corr, Van Morrison and The Chieftains, Cara Dillon, Loreena Mckennitt, John McCormack, Deirdre Shannon, Meg Davis, Lothlorien, Katie McMahon, Shannon Mccall, Sarah Dinan, The Dubliners, Mary Black, Anne Briggs, Shirley Collins, Odetta, Jean Redpath, Cy Grant, Josh Groban, Elvis Costello, The King's Singers, Nyle Wolfe, Rebsie Fairholm, Rhys Meirion, Liosa, Siobhán Owen, Rising Gael, Laura Sullivan and many more.
🎤 Featured Artists: Celtic Woman
💿 Album: Voices Of Angels
Recorded: 12–13, 15 August 2016
Released: 18 November 2016 (US, Canada and Ireland), 30 March 2017 (Europe)
Format: CD
Label: Manhattan
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