1. |
Lady Franklin's Lament
03:41
|
|||
|
It was homeward bound one night on the deep
Swinging in my hammock I fell asleep
I dreamed a dream and I thought it true
Concerning Franklin and his gallant crew
With one hundred seamen he sailed away
To the frozen ocean in the month of May
To seek a passage around the pole
Where we poor seamen do sometimes go
Through cruel hardships they mainly strove
Their ship on mountains of ice was drove
Only the Eskimo with his skin canoe
Was the only one that ever came through
In Baffin's Bay where the whale fish blow
The fate of Franklin no man may know
The fate of Franklin no tongue can tell
Lord Franklin along with his sailors do dwell
And now my burden it gives me pain
For my long lost Franklin I'd cross the main
Ten thousand pounds I would freely give
To say on earth that my Franklin do live
|
||||
2. |
Crazy Man Michael
04:36
|
|||
|
Within the fire and out upon the sea
Crazy Man Michael was walking
He met with a raven with eyes black as coals
And shortly they were a-talking
Your future, your future I would tell to you
Your future you often have asked me
Your true love will die by your own right hand
And crazy man Michael will cursèd be
Michael he ranted and Michael he raved
And beat up the four winds with his fists-o
He laughed and he cried, he shouted and he swore
For his mad mind had trapped him with a kiss-o
You speak with an evil, you speak with a hate
You speak for the devil that haunts me
For is she not the fairest in all the broad land
Your sorcerer's words are to taunt me
He took out his dagger of fire and of steel
And struck down the raven through the heart-o
The bird fluttered long and the sky it did spin
And the cold earth did wonder and startle
O where is the raven that I struck down dead
And here did lie on the ground-o
I see that my true love with a wound so red
Where her lover's heart it did pound-o
Crazy Man Michael he wanders and calls
And talks to the night and the day-o
But his eyes they are sane and his speech it is plain
And he longs to be far away-o
Michael he whistles the simplest of tunes
And asks the wild wolves their pardon
For his true love is flown into every flower grown
And he must be keeper of the garden
|
||||
3. |
The Pretty Maid
04:04
|
|||
|
It was on a fine summer's morning
The birds sweetly tune on each bough
And as I walked out for my pleasure
I saw a maid milking a cow
Her voice was so enchanting, melodious
Left me quite unable to go
My heart, it was loaded with sorrow
For the pretty maid milking her cow
Then to her I made my advances
"Good morrow most beautiful maid
Your beauty my heart so entrances"
"Pray sir do not banter, " she said
"I'm not such a rare precious jewel
That I should enamour you so
I am but a poor little milk girl, "
Says the pretty maid milking her cow
The Indies afford no such jewel
So bright, so transparently clear
I do not add things to my funeral
Consent but to know me my dear
Oh, had I the Lamp of Aladdin
Or the wealth that gold mines can bestow
I'd rather be poor in a cottage
With the pretty girl milking her cow.
|
||||
4. |
The 18th of June
04:07
|
|||
|
All you people who live at home easy
And are far from the trials of war
Never knowing the danger of battle
But are safe with your families secure
Know you, the long scythe of destruction
Has been sweeping the nations all around
But it never yet cut with the keenness
That it did on the eighteenth of June
It began about five in the morning
And it lasted 'til seven at night
All the people stood 'round in amazement
They had never yet seen such a sight
And the thunder of five hundred cannons
Proclaimed that the battle was on
And the moon in the sky overshone all
Recording the eighteenth of June
And what a sad heart had poor Boney
To take up instead of a crown
And to canter from Brussels to Paris
Lamenting the eighteenth of June
All you young girls with sweethearts out yonder
That go daily to buy the black gown
'Tis one thousand to one I will lay you
Your love fell on the eighteenth of June
Sixty thousand stout-hearted brave soldiers
Who died made an awful bold tune
And it's many's the girl will remember
With sorrow the eighteenth of June
And what a sad heart had poor Boney
To take up instead of a crown
And it's many's the girl will remember
With sorrow the eighteenth of June
|
||||
5. |
Jacob's Dream
07:01
|
|||
|
In the spring of 1856 with the snow still on the ground
Two little boys were lost in the mountains above the town
The father went out hunting the boys had stayed behind
While mother tended to her chores they wandered from her side.
The two had gone to follow him and lost their way instead
By dusk the boys had not been found and fear had turned to dread
Two-hundred men had gathered there to comb the mountain side
The fires were built on the highest peak in hopes they'd see the light.
Oh, mommy and daddy why can't you hear our cries
The day is almost over, soon it will be night
We're so cold and hungry and our feet are tired and sore
We promise not to stray again from our cabin door.
Now Jacob Diverd woke one night from a strange and erie dream
He saw a path between two hills near a dark and swollen stream
He told his wife he saw the boys huddled close beside a log
For two more nights the dream returned this vision sent from God.
Oh, mommy and daddy why can't you hear our cries
The day is almost over, soon it will be night
We're so cold and hungry and our feet are tired and sore
We promise not to stray again from our cabin door.
A thousand men had searched in vain the west side of pop's creek
But Jacob's wife knew of this place and said to travel east
With a guide to take him there, Jacob came upon the scene
And found the boys cold and still beneath the old birch tree.
Oh, mommy and daddy, look past the tears you cry
We're both up in Heaven now, God is by our side
As you lay us down to rest in the presence of the Lord
Know that we will meet you here at Heaven's door.
Oh, mommy and daddy, look past the tears you cry
We're both up in Heaven now, God is by our side
And as you lay us down to rest in the presence of the Lord
Know that we will meet you here at Heaven's door...
|
||||
6. |
The West's Awake
04:14
|
|||
|
When all beside a vigil keep,
The West's asleep, the West's asleep -
Alas! and well may Erin weep
When Connacht lies in slumber deep.
There lake and plain smile fair and free,
'Mid rocks their guardian chivalry.
Sing, Oh! let man learn liberty
From crashing wind and lashing sea.
That chainless wave and lovely land
Freedom and nationhood demand;
Be sure the great God never planned
For slumb'ring slaves a home so grand.
And long a brave and haughty race
Honoured and sentinelled the place.
Sing, Oh! not even their sons' disgrace
Can quite destroy their glory's trace.
For often, in O'Connor's van,
To triumph dashed each Connacht clan.
And fleet as deer the Normans ran
Thro' Corrsliabh Pass and Ardrahan;
And later times saw deeds as brave,
And glory guards Clanricard's grave,
Sing, Oh! they died their land to save
At Aughrim's slopes and Shannon's wave.
And if, when all a vigil keep,
The West's asleep! the West's asleep!
Alas! and well may Erin weep
That Connacht lies in s1umber deep.
But, hark! a voice like thunder spake,
The West's awake! the West's awake!
Sing, Oh! hurrah! let England quake,
We'll watch till death for Erin's sake
|
||||
7. |
||||
|
My young love said to me, "My mother won't mind
And my father won't slight you for your lack of kind"
And she stepped away from me and this she did say:
It will not be long, love, till our wedding day"
As she stepped away from me and she moved through the fair
And fondly I watched her move here and move there
And then she turned homeward with one star awake
Like the swan in the evening moves over the lake
Last night she came to me, my dead love came in
So softly she came that her feet made no din
As she laid her hand on me and this she did say
"It will not be long, love, 'til our wedding day"
|
||||
8. |
||||
|
The soldier came knocking upon the Queen's door
He said, "I am not fighting for you any more"
The Queen knew she'd seen his face someplace before
And slowly she let him inside
He said, "I've watched your palace up here on the hill
And I've wondered who's the woman for whom we all kill
But I am leaving tomorrow and you can do what you will
Only first I am asking you why"
Down in the long narrow hall he was led
Into her rooms with her tapestries red
And she never once took the crown from her head
She asked him there to sit down
He said, "I see you now, and you are so very young
But I've seen more battles lost than I have battles won
And I've got this intuition, says it's all for your fun
And now will you tell me why?"
The young queen, she fixed him with an arrogant eye
She said, "You won't understand, and you may as well not try"
But her face was a child's, and he thought she would cry
But she closed herself up like a fan
And she said, "I've swallowed a secret burning thread
It cuts me inside, and often I've bled"
He laid his hand then on top of her head
And he bowed her down to the ground
"Tell me how hungry are you? How weak you must feel
As you are living here alone, and you are never revealed
But I won't march again on your battlefield"
And he took her to the window to see.
And the sun, it was gold, though the sky, it was gray
And she wanted more than she ever could say
But she knew how it frightened her, and she turned away
And would not look at his face again
And he said, "I want to live as an honest man
To get all I deserve and to give all I can
And to love a young woman who I don't understand
Your highness, your ways are very strange"
But the crown, it had fallen, and she thought she would break
And she stood there, ashamed of the way her heart ached
She took him to the doorstep and she asked him to wait
She would only be a moment inside
Out in the distance her order was heard
And the soldier was killed, still waiting for her word
And while the Queen went on strangely in the solitude she preferred
The battle continued on
|
||||
9. |
Songbird
04:01
|
|||
|
For you, there'll be no more crying
For you, the sun will be shining
And I feel that when I'm with you
It's alright, I know it's right
To you, I'll give the world
To you, I'll never be cold
'Cause I feel that when I'm with you
It's alright, I know it's right
And the songbirds are singing,
Like they know the score
And I love you, I love you, I love you
Like never before
And I wish you all the love in the world
But most of all, I wish it from myself
And the songbirds keep singing
Like they know the score
And I love you, I love you, I love you
Like never before, like never before,
Like never before
|
||||
10. |
The Old Churchyard
04:26
|
|||
|
Come, come with me out to the old churchyard,
I so well know those paths 'neath the soft green sward.
Friends slumber in there that we want to regard;
We will trace out the names in the old churchyard.
Mourn not for them, their trials are o'er,
And why weep for those who will weep no more?
For sweet is that sleep, though cold and hard
Their pillows may be in the old churchyard.
I know that it's vain when our friends depart
To breathe kind words to a broken heart;
And I know that the joy of life is marred
When we follow those friends to the old churchyard.
But were I at rest 'neath yonder tree,
Oh, why would you weep, my friends, for me?
I'm so weary, so wayworn, why would you retard
The peace I seek in the old churchyard?
Why weep for me, for I'm anxious to go
To that haven of rest where no tears ever flow;
And I fear not to enter that dark lonely tomb
Where our saviour has lain an' he conquered the gloom.
I rest in the hope that one bright day
Sunshine will burst through these prisons of clay,
And old Gabriel's trumpet and the voice of the Lord
Will wake up the dead in the old churchyard.
|
||||
11. |
Wild Horses
03:51
|
|||
|
Childhood living is easy to do
The things you wanted I bought them for you
Graceless lady you know who I am
You know I can't let you slide through my hands
Wild horses couldn't drag me away
Wild, wild horses, couldn't drag me away
I watched you suffer a dull aching pain
Now you decided to show me the same
No sweeping exits or offstage lines
Could make me feel bitter or treat you unkind
Wild horses couldn't drag me away
Wild, wild horses, couldn't drag me away
I know I dreamed you a sin and a lie
I have my freedom but I don't have much time
Faith has been broken, tears must be cried
Let's do some living after we die
Wild horses couldn't drag me away
Wild, wild horses, couldn't drag me away
|
||||
12. |
If I were a Blackbird
05:08
|
|||
|
If I were a blackbird, the wind beneath my wing
I would follow the vessel my true love sails in
In the top rigging, I'd there build my nest
I'd flutter my wings o'er her lily white breast
My words they are simple, my story is true
Once I was carefree, my own path to choose
I courted a lady by night and by day
But now she has left me and gone far away
She followed me gladly to Donnybrook Fair*
I bought her fine ribbons to tie in her hair
She offered to marry and stay by my side
But then in the morning she sailed with the tide
My parents they chide me and will not agree
Saying me and my true love, never married should be.
But let them deprive me, let them do what they will
While there's life in my spirit, she's the one I'll love still
If I were a blackbird, the wind beneath my wing
I would follow the vessel my true love sails in
In the top-rigging, I'd there build my nest
I'd flutter my wings o'er her lily white breast
|
||||
13. |
||||
|
Across the evening sky, all the birds are leaving
But how can they know it's time for them to go?
Before the winter fire, I will still be dreaming
I have no thought of time
For who knows where the time goes?
Who knows where the time goes?
Sad, deserted shore, your fickle friends are leaving
Ah, but then you know it's time for them to go
But I will still be here, I have no thought of leaving
I do not count the time
For who knows where the time goes?
Who knows where the time goes?
And I am not alone while my love is near me
I know it will be so until it's time to go
So come the storms of winter and then the birds in spring again
I have no fear of time
For who knows how my love grows?
And who knows where the time goes?
|
||||
14. |
The Loveliest of Days
04:07
|
|||
|
At crystal light in mid of day,
I lazed a lazy day away.
And spirits on a musk-white scent,
Enticed my thoughts and off they went.
The exhausting list of chores to do,
Took flight and danced off with them too.
So for a moment, left alone, remote and rural, quite at home.
The lilac and the sun peeps in,
And lengthy shadows tall and slim.
A silent ballet, singing, lows,
Enchanting my divine repose.
Where songs from distant woodlands played,
Resound at once, then quickly fade.
And bathing, scenting, cooling chimes,
Anoint these jewelled quiet times.
Enlaced the netted veils enshroud,
And hush the light, and sight, and sound.
A pearly essence tempts a breeze,
And lulls my soul with subtle ease;
Where honeyed murmurs glist and quiver,
And mirrored whispers hum and shiver.
As wild flowers, flickering through the haze,
Adorn this loveliest of days…
|
||||
Islander France
Hello Folks! I'm Islander, singer, songwriter, guitarist. As a professional tenor, (Alexander Anderson-Hall) I have enjoyed more than 25 years travelling around the world performing operas, operettas, musicals, oratorios, concerts and recitals. Now I am a folk artist. I have two albums, my debut folk ballads album 'Turning the tide' (2018) and a brand new album, 'My murmur laden shells (2022). ... more
If you like Islander, you may also like:
From Cork, Ireland, Lewis Barfoot writes mystic, majestic songs derived from regional folk, with an ambient music aura.
go to album
The latest from the UK’s Chris Brain is a gorgeously wrought album of tender acoustic folk music.
go to album
Ruth's sophomore release explores sacred signs against a backdrop of folk melodies and acoustic guitar.
go to album
We are only Sound
by Lucy Farrell
The long-time composer's debut folk album has exuberant and meditative moments.
go to album
I Need to Start a Garden
by Haley Heynderickx
featured on Bandcamp Radio Apr 10, 2018
go to album
dickhead blues / brain
by Kara Jackson
These two tracks by the Chicago folk singer were produced by Jackson and her frequent collaborators KAINA, Sen Morimoto, and Nnamdi.
go to album
Into the Depths of Hell
by Joshua Burnside
Joshua Burnside uses field recordings, drone, delay and spoken-word sample to modernize traditional Irish music.
go to album
