Siúil a Rún Lyrics

Song Details

🎶 Songwriter: Traditional - early 18th century - a time when the cream of the Catholic youth of Ireland were drawn away to recruit the ranks of the Brigade.

The song is also titled 'Shule Aroon' which is referenced in the following book along with literal and versified translations:

Book: Irish Minstrelsy: Being a Selection of Irish Songs, Lyrics, and Ballads
Author: H. Halliday Sparling
Publication Date: 1888 - (page 302)
Publisher: New York, White and Allen

📝 Song Brief:
“Siúil a Rún” (“Walk, My Love”) is one of the most enduring love‑laments in the Irish tradition, blending English verses with a haunting Irish Gaelic chorus. The young man in the song is widely understood to be one of the Wild Geese — Irishmen who left home to serve in the armies of continental Europe, most famously the Irish Brigade in France. After the Williamite Wars and the Treaty of Limerick in 1691, thousands of Irish soldiers departed for France, where they fought in campaigns across the early eighteenth century.

The narrative is voiced by a young woman whose lover has taken up a military life abroad. She mourns his absence with deep devotion, expressing her grief in vivid, symbolic imagery: she will cry until “every tear would turn a mill,” sell her spinning wheel to buy him a sword, and wander the world begging for bread until he returns.

• Wild Geese
  A term for the Irish soldiers who left Ireland after the Treaty of Limerick in 1691 to serve in continental European armies, especially France. Their departure became a symbol of exile, loyalty, and the long sorrow of families left behind.
• Irish Brigade
  A celebrated unit of the French Army composed of Irish exiles who fought in major European conflicts during the 17th and 18th centuries. Many young Irishmen joined the Brigade after fleeing political and religious persecution at home.
• Jacobite Era
  The period from the late 17th to mid‑18th century marked by attempts to restore the exiled Stuart kings to the thrones of England, Scotland, and Ireland. Many Irish Catholics supported the Jacobite cause, and the upheaval led to widespread emigration of soldiers — the backdrop for songs like “Siúil a Rún.”
• Williamite Wars
  The series of conflicts in Ireland from 1689 to 1691 between the supporters of the Catholic King James II (the Jacobites) and the Protestant King William III (the Williamites). The wars ended with William’s victory and led to harsh political and social restrictions on Irish Catholics. The aftermath forced many Irish soldiers into exile — the beginning of the Wild Geese tradition.

🍀 Genre: Irish Folk Song, Brigade Ballad

👥 Covers: Clannad, Mary Black, Lisa Kelly, Reeltime, Leah, Sheherazade and Ice, Siobhan Owen, Saoirse, Maggie Ryan, Kokia, Sissel & The Chieftans, Enya, Anuna.

📝 Translation:

Siúil, siúil, siúil a rún	
Siúil go sochair agus siúil go ciúin	
Siúil go doras agus éalaigh liom	
Is go dté tú mo mhúirnín slán

Walk, walk, walk on, oh love
Walk steadily and walk softly
Walk to the door and flee with me
And may you go safely, my darling

🎤 Featured Artists: Celtic Woman feat. Orla Fallon

💿 Album: Celtic Woman
Recorded: September 2004
Released: 1 March 2005
Country: US
Format: CD, Album
Label: Manhattan Records

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