MOONRAKERS Bird on the wing 1. Down by the Lagan Side Written by Tommy Sands at the time of the Good Friday peace agreement in Northern Ireland. A good rousing chorus and fine sentiments! I thought she was a vision when she stopped me with her smile Down by the river we walked along in style She said you’re welcome back again, and won’t you stay awhile Down by the Lagan Side And when we dance, we’ll dance together And when we cry, we’ll hold each other And when we love, we’ll love forever Down by the Lagan Side I said we both have music so full of joy and pain While the pipers and the harpers and the Lambeg drummers play She said we both have teardrops falling in the rain Down by the Lagan Side And do you not remember, we once walked side by side Where the folks of Belfast City sang in harmony and pride The past it has been taken, but the future’s yours and mine Down by the Lagan Side Jon: vocal, guitar, whistle, bass Liz: fiddle Jo: vocal Anna: harp 2. Waulking o’ the Fauld A Scottish strathspey. Traced as far back as the 12th century, waulking is a finishing process that is applied only to woven wool (tweed). Between six and fourteen waulking women, called na mnathan luaidh in Scots Gaelic, would take the cloth, previously soaked in human urine, and pound it against a board or trample it with their feet. Accompanying this work were waulking songs, òrain luiadh. Indeed, waulking was measured by song, not time; it was never said, "it will take another half-hour" but rather, "it will take another song". Anna: harp Jon: whistle, guitar, mandola Liz: fiddle 3. River Song / Planxty Hewlett The original idea came from Pete Seeger’s song ‘Sailin’ Up, Sailin’ Down’ (adapted from Lorre Wyatt/Jimmy Reed), and Jon added some lyrics and a tune, with references to our home town, Oxford. The O’Carolan planxty fitted rather nicely at the end. Going up (going up) Going down (going down) Up (down), down (up) Up and down the river, sailing on Stopping all along the way The river may be flowing but the stories they are growing every day People come (people come) People go (people go) Singing here (singing here) Singing there (singing there) Some are old (some are old) Some are young (some are young) This old river has cast a spell Here in the shadow of a wishing well From Cherwell to Isis, we held our ground And we fought and we loved……. in the merry-go-round Jon: vocal, guitar, mandola, whistle Jo: vocal Rowan: harp 4. Les Poules Houpées / Fine Run Our arrangement of a traditional French tune (‘The Crested Hen’, attributed to Gilles Chabanet), followed by a tune written by Jon. Jon: mandola, bodhran Liz: fiddle 5. Albion Heart Learned from the Albion Band, a song written by Julie Matthews and Chris While. This is a common tale of a young fellow crossing the ocean to find a fortune, then returning to regain his true love. A nice little comment on class politics. Hard times made a gypsy of him Carried away on an emigrant wing Behind him the white cliffs were fading away The unknown horizon was calling With tears in his eyes he said his goodbyes to England Goodbye to my homeland Now we’re apart I’ll keep you in mind, never leave you behind In my Albion heart Though she was born of higher degree And their love they shared secretly In separate circles condemned by his class He left for America’s shore Vowing to come back a gentleman one day to England After seven long years the winds turned around The gentleman now for England was bound No longer a tradesman he came to her door With love in his heart overflowing He swept her away; they married that day there in England Jo: vocal Jon: guitar, vocal Anna: harp Liz: fiddle 6. John Fenwick’s The Flower Amang Them A’ A traditional tune from the north-east of England, learned from Kathryn Tickell. Sir John Fenwick was the Provost of Berwick on Tweed who is supposed to have joined the Jacobites on their march south after their victory at the battle of Prestonpans. A few years later in 1751 a pair of pipers were hanged at Newcastle for daring to play this Jacobite mustering tune. Jon: mandola, accordion Liz: fiddle Anna: harp 7. Carrickfergus Traced to a Gaelic song ‘Do Bhí Bean Uasal’ (There was a noble woman) which is attributed to the poet Cathal Buí Mac Giolla Gonna who died in 1745 in Co. Clare. A mystery here is that there’s no such place as Ballygrand. I wish I was in Carrickfergus Only for nights in Ballygrand I would swim over the deepest ocean The deepest ocean, my love to find But the sea is wide and I can’t swim over And neither have I wings to fly If I could find me a handsome boatman To carry me over to my love and die My childhood days bring back sad reflections Of happy times so long ago My bygone friends and my own relations Have all passed on now like melting snow So I'll spend my days an endless rover Soft is the grass, and my path is free Oh to be back in Carrikfergus On that lonely road, down by the sea In Kilkenny it is reported On marble stones as black as ink With gold and silver I would support her But I'll sing no more now ‘til I get a drink For I'm drunk today and I'm seldom sober A handsome rover from town to town But I'm sick now and my days are numbered Come all ye young men and lay me down. Jon: guitar, vocal, whistle Liz: fiddle Jo: vocal 8. Barefoot / Rowan’s Polka Written by Jon for his daughter Rowan (here playing the second tune on the harp). It was originally written for the Oxford Harp Quartet of young musicians and played at the International Harp Festival in Edinburgh in 2010. Anna/Rowan: harp Jon: guitar, bass Liz: fiddle 9. Carolan’s Draught Turlough O’Carolan was a blind itinerant Irish harper who travelled around Ireland in the late 1600s/early 1700s. Some Italian Renaissance influences here (Corelli was a mentor and friend of O’Carolan). Anna: harp Jon: whistle, mandola Liz: fiddle 10. Rhisiart Annwyl (Sweet Richard) A traditional Welsh tune learned from the prolific collection of Michael Raven, a guitarist and folklorist sadly missed. Jon added the key-change middle section here. Jon: guitar, bodhran, high and low D whistles 11. Child of our Time Written by Liz, a reflection on the lives of children yesterday, today and tomorrow. I am a child of yesterday Free to roam like a bird in flight Chasing the wind through the cornfields of summer Laughing and crying and feeling alive But the birds have deserted the sky I am child of today I stay safe in my bedroom and dream I would love to play out in the street But instead I stare at a screen What of the child of tomorrow, Their hopes and dreams still to come? How to recover the laughter the joy To be playful once again? So the birds they soar in the sky Liz: keyboard Jo: vocal Jon: whistle, vocal 12. All the Tunes in the World A song from Scottish singer and writer Ewan McVicar, with an extra verse by Jon. A splendid chorus to end an evening. Lay down the borrowed guitar Lay down the fiddle and bow You’ve had one more drink at the bar And the manager says you must go All the tunes in the world Are dancing around in your head But the clock on the gantry says playtime is o’er You’ll just have to sing them instead Lay down the jig and the reel Lay down the strathspey and slide Everyone knows how you feel There’s no time to take one more ride You’ve listened to stories and songs And sang in the old-fashioned way Be safe as you’re travelling home Don’t tarry, we’ll see you again Everyone here feels the same Oh yes you deserve one more tune But you know the rules of the game It’s time to go howl at the moon Jon: vocal, guitar, bodhran Anna: harp Jo: vocal Liz: fiddle