Disk 1
Shoals Of Herring
The Maid In The Calico Dress
Come By The Hills
Charlie's Landing
The Road To The Isles
A Scottish Soldier
Raglan Road
Hey Johnnie Cope
If My Memory Serves Me Well
White Squall
Tramps & Hawkers
My Cavan Girl
Pipes In The Glen
Jamie Raeburn
River
Disk 2
Mary Ellen Carter
Rare Auld Times
I Have Seen The Highlands
Uist Tramping Song
The Water Is Wide
The Massacre Of Glencoe
Twa Recruiting Sergeants
Lover's Heart
Loch Tay Boat Song
The Battle's O'er
Take Her In Your Arms
Caledonia
Sally Gardens
Peggy And The Soldier
These Are My Mountains
She went down last October in a pouring driving rain
The skipper he’d been drinking and the mate he felt no pain
Too close to three mile rock and she was dealt her mortal blow
And the Mary Ellen Carter settled low
There were just us five aboard her when she finally was awash
We worked like hell to save her all heedless of the cost
And the groan she gave as she west down it caused us to proclaim
That the Mary Ellen Carter would rise again
Well the owners wrote her off, not a nickel would they spend
She gave twenty years of service, boys, then met her sorry end
But insurance paid the loss to us, so let her rest below
Then they laughed at us and said we had to go
But we talked of her all winter, some days around the clock
She’s worth a quarter million, afloat and at the dock
And with every jar that hit the bar, we swore we would remain
And make the Mary Ellen Carter rise again
Chorus:
Rise again rise again
That her name not be lost to the knowledge of men
All those who loved her best and were with her ‘til the end
Will make the Mary Ellen Carter rise again
All spring now we’ve been with her on a barge lent by a friend
Three dives a day in a hardhat suit and twice I’ve had the bends
Thank God it’s only sixty feet and the currents here are slow
Or I’d never have the strength to go below
But we’ve patched her rents, stopped her vents. dogged hatch and porthole down
Put cables to her, ‘fore and aft and girded her around
Tomorrow, noon, we hit the air and then take up the strain
And make the Mary Ellen Carter rise again
Chorus
For we couldn’t leave her there, you see, to crumble into scale
She’d saved our lives so many times, living through the gale
And the laughing, drunken rats who left her to a sorry grave
They won’t be laughing in another day
And you, to whom adversity has dealt the final blow
With smiling bastards, lying to you everywhere you go
Turn to, and put Out all your strength of arm and heart and brain
And, like the Mary Ellen Carter rise again!
Chorus
By Pete St. John
Chorus:Ring a ring a rosey, as the light declines
I remember Dublin City in the rare ould times
Raised on songs and stories, heroes of renown
The passing tales and glories that once was Dublin Town
The hallowed halls and houses, the haunting childrens rhymes
That once was part of Dublin in the rare ould times
Chorus
My name it is Sean Dempsey, as Dublin as can be
Born hard and late in Pimlico, in a house that ceased to be
By trade I was a cooper, lost out to redundancy
Like my house that fell to progress, my trade's a memory
And I courted Peggy Dignam, as pretty as you please
Oh, a rogue and child of Mary, from the rebel Liberties
When he took her off to Birmingham, she took away my soul
Chorus
The years have made me bitter, the gargle dims me brain
Cause Dublin keeps on changing, and nothing seems the same
The Pillar and the Met have gone, the Royal long since pulled down
As the grey unyielding concrete, makes a city of my town
Chorus
Fare thee well sweet Anna Liffey, I can no longer stay
And watch the new glass cages, that spring up along the quay
My mind's too full of memories, too old to hear new chimes
I'm a part of what was Dublin, in the rare ould times
Chorus
Chorus
I was born and bred in Glasgow
In a Gallowgate tenement
When people spoke of my bonny land
I didn’t know what they meant
But when I took to travel
I moved far and wide
And now when 1 speak of my native land
I speak with love and pride.
Chorus
Oh I have seen the highlands
1 have seen the low
And I will sing of my native land
wherever 1 may go.
Auld nature took a tantrum
Many an age gone by
To outdo all of her wondrous works
She thought she’d have a try
She toiled and she thundered,
She rumbled and she rolled
She made the highlands o’ Scotland
Then she threw away the mould.
Chorus
Come rambling up by Oban
Strolling down by Perth
In the rugged. hills of Argyllshire
Find the sweetest place on earth
Go rambling by the Cullins
See the Lomond in the mist
On the lovely islands of Mulla,
Hear the songbird at his best.
Chorus
Come along come along let us step it out together
Come along come along be it fair or stormy weather
With the hills of home before us and the purple of the heather
Let us sing a happy chorus come along come along
O now gaily sings the lark and the sky is awake
With the promise of the day for the road we glady take
For it’s heel and toe and forward bidding farewell to the town
And the welcome that awaits us ere the sun goes down
It’s the smell of sea and shore, it’s the tong of bog and peat
It’s the secnt of briar and myrfie that puts magic in your feet
So on we go rejoicing over bracken over style
And soon we will be tramping out that last long mile
The water is wide I can’t cross o’er
And neither have I wings to fly
Build me a boat that can carry two
And both shall row my love and I
For love is gentle and love is kind
Just like a flower when first it’s new
But love grows old and waxes cold
And fades away like morning dew
There is a ship and she sails the sea
She’s loaded deep as deep can be
But not as deep as the love I’m in
I know not if I sink or swim
I leaned my back up against an oak
Thinking it was a trusted tree
But first it bent and then it broke
And so did love prove false to me
Chorus:
Oh, cruel is the snow that sweeps Glencoe
And covers the grave o’ Donald
Oh, cruel was the foe that raped Glencoe
And murdered the house of Mac Donald.
They came in a blizzard; we offered them heat,
A roof o’er their head, and shoes for their feet.
We wined them and dined them,
they ate of our meat,
And they slept in the house of MacDonald.
Chorus
They came from Fort William with murder in mind.
The Campbell had orders King William had signed;
‘Put all to the sword”, these words underlined,
“Leave no one alive called MacDonald.”
Chorus
They came in the night while our men were asleep,
This band of Argyll’s through snow soft and deep.
Like murdering foxes amoung helpless sheep,
They slaughtered the house of MacDonald.
Chorus
Some died in their beds at the hands of the foe,
Some fled in the night and were lost in the snow,
Some lived to accuse him who struck the first blow,
But gone was the house of MacDonald.
Chorus
Twa recruiting sergeants cam’ frae the Black Watch
To markets and fairs some recruits for to catch
And a’ that they listed was forty an’ twa
So list bonnie laddie an come awa’
Chorus:
It is over the mountains and over the main
Through Gibraltar to France and Spain
Put a feather to your bonnet and kilt abeen your knee
An’ list my bonnie laddie an’ come awa’ wi me
Laddie, ya dinna ken the danger that you’re in
If your horses wis to gleg an’ your ousen wis to rin
This greedy auld fairmer winna pay your fee
So list bonnie laddie an’ come awa’ wi me
Chorus
It is in tae the barn and oot o’ the byre
This auld fairmer thinks yell never tire
It’s a slavery job of low degree
So list my bonnie laddie an’ come awa’ wi me
Chorus
Laddie, if you’ve got a sweetheart an’ bairn
Yell easily get rid o’ that ill-spun yarn
Twa rattles o’ the drum and that’ll pay it a’
So list my bonnie laddie an’ come awa’
Chorus
(Cunnigham/Stewart)
She was in a flowery garden when first she caught my eye And I just a marching sold ter she smiled as I passed by
The flowers she held were fresh and fair her lips were full and red
And as I passed that shady bower these words to me she said
Last night we spoke of love now we’re forced to part
You leave to the sound of the marching drum and the beat of a lover’s heart
She was by the shore tn the evening when next I saw my dear
Running barefoot by the waterside she called as I drew near
The sunlight glanced at the water’s edge making fire of her auburn hair
My young heart danced to her parting words that hung in the evening air
And as we slipped our ropes away I watched her from the rail
She threw me a rose which fell between us it floated on the bay
And as our ship pulled from the shore I heard her call and say
Now the soldier’s life won’t suit me sweet music is my trade
For I’d rather melt the hardest heart than pierce it with a blade
Let the time be short ‘tit I return to my home on the Isle of Skye
And the loving girl who stole my heart with these words as I passed by
When I’ve done the work of day
And I row my boat away,
Down the waters of Loch Tay
When the evening light is fading.
And I look upon Ben Lawers
Where she after glory glows.
And I think on two bright eyes,
And the merry mouth below.
She’s my beauteous Nighean ruadh,
My joy and sorrow too,
And although she is untrue,
I cannot live without her,
For my heart’s a boat in tow
And I’d give the wor ld to know,
Why she means to let me go
As I sing haree haroo.
Nighean ruadh, your lovely hair
Holds more glamour I declare,
Than all the tresses rare,
From Killin to Aberfeldy,
Be they lint-white, brown or gold,
Be they blacker than the sloe,
They are no more worth to me
Than a melting flake of snow.
Her eyes are like the gleam, -
Of the sun’s dance on the stream,
And the songs the fairies sing,
Are but songs she sings at milking,
But my heart is foil of woe,
For last night she bade me go,
And the tears begin to flow
As I sing haree haro.
(Andy Stewart)
I return to the fields of glory
Where the green grass and flowers grow
And the wind softly sings the story
Of the brave lads of long ago
In the Great Glen they lie a sleeping
Where the cool waters gently flow
And the grey mist is sadly weeping
For the brave lads of long ago
Chorus:
Sleep in peace now the battle’s o’er
March no more my soldier laddieThere is peace where there once was war
Sleep in peace my soldier laddie
See the tall grass is there a waving
As their flags were so long ago
With their heads high were forward braving
Marching onwards to meet the foe
Some returned from the fields of glory
To their loved ones who held them dear
But some fell in their hour of glory.
And were left to their testing here
Chorus
(Andy M Stewart)
Have you seen him on the corner?
And his lip would reach the pavement
He's been hiding from his razor
Is he not an awful sight?
In love, he was the purist
Now he's frightening our tourists
If he'd gone and asked his father
Oh, I'm sure he'd set him right
Chorus:
Sayin' "Take her in your arms
And tell her that you love her
Take her in your arms
And hold that woman tight
Won't you take her in your arms
And tell her that you love her
If you're going to love a woman
Then be sure and do it right"
Now he met her at a disco
In a dive in San Francisco
And it all might have been different
Had he seen her in daylight
She was painted, she was scented
But she drove your man demented
If he'd gone and asked his father
Oh, I'm sure he'd set him right
Chorus
Here's a pub with fun and laughter
The landlord's buying bevy
There's a session in the corner
And the craic is grand tonight
But your man who's lost his woman
He's still at home lamenting
If he'd gone and asked his father
Oh, I'm sure he'd set him right
Chorus
Now, depression's not a million laughs
But suicide's too dang'rous
Don't go leapin' out of buildin's
In the middle of the night
It's not the fall but landin'
That'll alter social standin'
So go first and ask your father
And I'm sure he'll set you right
Chorus
Here's a health to all true lovers
Their sisters and their brothers
And their uncles and their grannies
For this thing is black and white
If you're keen to start romancin'
With its leppin' and its dancin'
Then go first and ask your father
And I'm sure he'll set you right
Chorus
(Dougie McLean)
I don’t know if you can see the changes that have come over me
These last few days I’ve been afraid that I might drift away
I’ve been telling old stories and singing old songsThat make me think of where I come from
And that’s the reason why I seem so far away today
Chorus:
Let me tell you that I love you and I think about you all the time
Caledonia you’re calling me, I’m coming home
And if I should become a stranger
You know that would make me more than sad
Caledonia you’ve been everything I’ve ever had
I have roved and kept on moving, proved the point that I needed proving
Lost the friends that I needed losin’, found others on the way
I’ve kissed the ladies, left them crying, stolen dreams, there’s no denying
I have travelled hard with my conscience flying somewhere in the wind
Now I’m sitting here before the fire, the empty room and the forest choir
The flames that couldn’t get any higher, well they’re withered now, they’re gone
But I’m steady thinkin’ my way is dear, and I know what I’ll do tomorrow
My hands are shaking and the kisses flow, but I will disappear
Chorus
(Traditional)
It was down by the Sally Gardens my love and I did meet
She passed the Sally Gardens with little snow-white feet
She bid me take love easy as the leaves grow on the tree
But I being young and foolish with her I did not agree
In a field down by the river my love and I did stand
And on my leaning shoulder she laid her snow-white hand
She bid me take life easy as the grass grows on the weirs
But I was young and foolish and now I am full of tears
Down by the Sally Gardens my love and I did meet
She passed the Sally Gardens with little snow-white feet
She bid me take love easy as the leaves grow on the tree
But I was young and foolish and with here I did not agree
(traditional)
Come all ye lads of high renown, let me tell of a fair young maiden
As she arose one summer’s morn just to watch the soldiers parading
They looked so bold and they marched so gay their banners flying as the band did play
It caused lovely Peggy to smile and say, I wilt go with my gallant soldierShe watched the soldiers to and fro as they were at their leisure
Then Peggy to herself did say at last I’ve found my treasure
But oh how cruel my parents can be to banish my darling so far from me
I will leave them all and I’ll go with thee my brave undaunted soldier
Oh Peggy dear the soldier said I pray don’t act so unruly
For when I’m in some foreign land believe me you’ll rue it surely
What if in battle I should fall from the shot of an angry cannon ball
And you so far from your daddy’s hail are you wise with your gallant soldier
I have fifty guinea’s in safe store likewise a heart that’s bolder
I wilt give it all to the lad I adore my brave undaunted soldier
So don’t say no but let me go and together we’ll face the fiercest foe
And pray kind providence should know of Peggy and her gallant soldier
And when he saw she was so true he could not stay hard hearted
He said my darling I’ll marry you and none but death shall part us
And when we’re in some foreign land I’ll guard you my darling with my right hand
And pray that God a friend might stand to Peggy and her gallant soldier
Chorus:
For these are my mountains and this is my glen
The bran of my childhood will know me again
No land’s ever claimed me tho’ far I did roam
For these are my mountains and I’m going home
For fame and for fortune I wander’d the earth
And now I’ve come back to this land of my birth
I’ve brought back my treasures but only to find
They’re less than the pleasures I first left behind
Chorus
Kind faces will meet me and welcome me in
And how they will greet me my ain kith and kin
This night by the fireside old songs will be sung
At last I’ll be hearing my am mother tongue
Chorus
(for Miss Ruth)
To Beaton's Personal Favorites (Disk 1)
