The Land You Love the Best

(cop. con. John Spillane)
When angels with wings come to collect you
And carry you over the stormy sea
Whispering things as they caress you
Gently they’ll press you with sweet words undress you
Will you fly to the land that holds and keeps you
Or the land you love the best

The land you love the best, the land you love the best
Will you lie in the garden of peace and of order
Or the cold wild field in the west

When night and her shadows come to surround you
And touch you with fingers of cold, cold fear
When the voice of the stranger echoes around you
When strange words confound you, strange accents drown you
Will you fly to the land that fed you or found you
Or the land you love the best
The land……

The Browne Girl and Fair Ellen

(trad. arr. Noel Shine & Mary Greene)

Father O father come riddle to me, come riddle it all as one
And tell me whether to marry fair Ellen or bring the Browne girl home
The Browne girl she has house and land, fair Ellen she has none
And therefore I charge you with my blessing to bring the Browne girl home

He got on his horse and he rode and he rode, he rode till he came to her home
And none so ready as fair Ellen herself for to rise and welcome him in
What news have you brought onto me Lord Thomas, what news have you brought onto me?
I’ve come to ask you to my wedding, a sorrowful wedding to be

O mother o mother will I go or stay? Fair child do as you please
But I fear if you go you’ll never return to see your dear mother any more
She turned around all dressed in white, her sisters dressed in green
And every town that she rode through they took her to be some queen

She rode and she rode till she came to his hall, she pulled on the bell and it rang
And none so ready as Lord Thomas himself for to rise and welcome her in
Then taking her by the lily white hand and leading her through the hall
Saying fifty gay ladies are here this day but here is the fairest of all

The Browne girl she was standing by with knife ground keen and sharp
And between the long ribs and the short she pierced fair Ellen’s heart
Lord Thomas he was standing by with knife ground keen and sharp
And between the long ribs and the short he pierced his own bride’s heart
Then placing the handle against the wall and the point against his chest
Saying: “This is the ending of three true lovers may god send us all to rest.”

O father, o father go dig my grave, go dig it wide and deep
And place fair Ellen in my arms and the Browne girl at my feet

Angel Of Love

(cop. con. Noel Shine & Mary Greene)

Some people spend a life lamenting things that might have been
And draw down a curtain on their heart
But a hermit’s life is a lonely life, everybody needs a friend
Someone to walk with arm in arm
So when storm clouds are gathering and the wind comes from the North
I turn my eyes towards you and I see

A benediction in my life dear, a blessing from above
You guard me like an angel of love
You guard me like an angel of love

On the eve of St. Agnes when I looked into the glass
It was you that I saw there looking back
A lighthouse to guide me, a hand to lead me home
A whispering to soothe away my fears
When the fog of uncertainty is descending all around
You shine like a firefly in the night

A benediction in my life dear, a blessing from above
You guard me like an angel of love
You guard me like an angel of love

You’re a world that has no ending, a life that’s just begun
A circle that can never be undone

A benediction in my life dear, a blessing from above
You guard me like an angel of love
You guard me like an angel of love.

Note on song: Traditional English custom on the Eve of St. Agnes it was said if you sat at a mirror with two lighted candles on either side you would see the face of your true love

Billy Gray

(cop. con. Norman Blake)

Billy Gray rode into Gantry back in ’83, there he did meet young Sarah McCray
The wild rose of morning, that pale flower of dawning, herald of springtime in his young life that day
Sarah she could not see the daylight of reality, in her young eyes Billy bore not a flaw
Knowing not her chosen one was a hired gun wanted in Kansas City by the law

Then one day a tall man came riding ‘cross the Badlands lying to the North of New Mexico
He was overheard to say he was looking for Bill Gray, a ruthless man and a dangerous outlaw
The deadly news came creeping to Billy fast sleeping there in the Clarendon Bar and Hotel
He fled towards the old church there on the outskirts thinking he’d climb to that old steeple bell
But a rifle ball came flying, face down he lay dying there in the dust of the road where he fell
Sarah she ran to him just cursing that lawman, accepting no reason knowing he was killed

Sarah lives in that same old white frame house where she first met Billy some forty years ago
And the wild rose of morning has faded with the dawning of each day of sorrow the long years have sown
And written on a stone where the dusty winds have long blown eighteen words to a passing world say
“True love knows no season, no rhyme or no reason. Justice is as cold as the Granger County clay

Wheels Of Love

(cop. con. Marjy Plant)

Oh the wheels of love turn around and around
They keep on rolling till you’ve found the perfect partner
Somebody just right to have and to hold, every day and every night
So she’s half way to Texas with all of your dreams, the world’s not as bad as it might seem
There’s still a whole lot of living, honey, left to do. You’ve got a whole lotta love inside of you

The wheels of love turn around and around, take you for a ride like a merry-go-round
Don’t let the heartache hold you down when there’s plenty of love left to be found
On the wheels, riding on the wheels of love

Catch you a ride imagine what you might find…just the right girl, just the right time
Ready and waiting, she’ll look you in the eyes. But the wheels of love will never compromise
So she broke your heart, honey don’t look back. You gotta keep on rolling down the track
And maybe the next time you’ll keep your feet on the ground when the wheels of love spin you around

The Seagull Song

(cop. con. Ger Shine)

You’ve heard of how the seagulls take their nestlings to the wing
Through some disillusion there they are not allowed to sing
But still they’re free, you know they’re free. They’re not like you, they’re not like me
They are so free they’re not like anybody

If I had time to live again I think I’d be the snow
You’d come with your fiery heart and melt me down I know
You think you’re free you know you do. You’re not like me, you’re not like you
You think you’re free but you’re not anybody

The poker that you played last night ended up the same old way
The joker ‘cross the table laughed and then went on his way
He is the king, he knows he’s right. He laughs at you when he wants to fight
You are the ace of your very own plight

I fell in love with a girl one time but it’s hard to realise
The holes you see burned in the walls, she left there with her eyes
She’s gone away to be so free, walked out on you, walked out on me
And now she’s free she’s not like anybody

The rustling of her curling hair in the breeze overpowered me
The shadows are no longer there, nothing left but eternity
I’ll go away to be so free, walk out on you, walk out on me
I’ll be so free I won’t be anybody

Sliabh Geal gCua

(trad arr. Noel Shine & Mary Greene)

O a shliabh geal gcua na feile is fada uait i gcein me
Im shui cois cuain i m’aonair go treithlag faoi bhron
An tsuile bui ar thaobh diom idir me ‘gus tir mo chleibhe
O a shliabh geal gcua na feile nach gear e mo sceoil?
Da mbeinnse imeasc mo ghaoilte i sceithin ghlas na seimhfhear
Nuair a scaipeann teas na greine on speirghil gan smal
No da mbeinnse ansiud faoin realteann nuair a thiteann drucht ar fhear ann
O a shliabh geal gcua nar dheirc sin nach mbhfeidir e a fhaill

Se mo lean nach Bhfuaireas togaint le lean is morchuid eolais
I ngaelinn uasail cheolmhar. Ba sheolta mo bheal
O threabhfainn cuairt thar saile is thabharfainn bua thar barr chugat
Mar a shliabh geal gcua ba bhrea liom thu ardu fe reim
Mo ghrasa thall na Deise idir bannta, gleannta is shleibhte.
O shnas anall thar treinmhuir taim treithlag gan bhri
Ach, o bfhail le Dia me ghlaoch as, mo shlansa siar go hEirinn
Agus slan le sliabh na feile le saor ghean om chroi

Walk Away

(cop. con. Noel Shine & Mary Greene)

Walk away my sweetheart from my mind
Cause it’s too hard to leave the past behind
Say you never saw me love, you’ll be better off in time
You go your way and I’ll go mine

I broke inside your heart just for a while
I’d like to think just once or twice I almost saw you smile
I hope I made you happy love, I knew it wouldn’t last
I could never win you over from the past

We had some times together you and I
And babe you know I hate to see you cry
So go and leave me right away, don’t wait for morning light
Don’t worry if it’s wrong or if it’s right

And maybe someday when you’re feeling blue
Or some time when you’ve little else to do
Call and see me, I’ll be there, you know I’ll understand
I’ll remember how you used to hold my hand