The Wind That Shakes The Barley lyrics
Dolores Keane
I sat within the valley green, I sat me with my true love
My heart it strove me two between, the old love and the new love
The old for her, the new that made me think on Ireland dearly
While soft the wind blew down the glen and shook the golden barley
'Twas hard the woeful words to frame to break the ties that bound us
But harder still to bear the shame of foreign chains around us
And so I said, "The mountain glen I'll seek at morning early
While soft the wind blew down the glen, and shook the golden barley"
While sad I kissed away her tears, my fond arms round her flinging
The foeman's shot burst on our ears from out the wildwood ringing
A bullet pierced my true love's side in life's young spring so early
And on my breast in blood she died while soft winds shook the barley
But blood for blood without remorse I've taken at Oulart Hollow
And laid my true love's clay cold corpse where I full soon must follow
As round her grave I wander drear, noon, night and morning early
With breaking heart when e'er I hear the wind that shakes the barley
The wind that shakes the barley
Song Details
Author: Robert Dwyer Joyce (1836-1883) - a poet and professor of English Literature born in Limerick, Ireland.
Brief: Here is a excerpt from Wikipedia relating to the song:
The song is written from the perspective of a doomed young Wexford rebel who is about to sacrifice his relationship with his loved one and plunge into the cauldron of violence associated with the 1798 rebellion in Ireland. The references to barley in the song derive from the fact that the rebels often carried barley oats in their pockets as provisions for when on the march. This gave rise to the post-rebellion phenomenon of barley growing and marking the "croppy-holes, "mass unmarked graves which slain rebels were thrown into, symbolising the regenerative nature of Irish resistance to British rule... wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wind_That_Shakes_the_Barley
Category: Irish Folk Song
Another Version: The Irish Rovers recorded a version of the song and changed the title to 'The Wind That Shakes The Corn'. The recording is up-beat in nature compared to most versions ... see below.
Covers: The Chieftains, Loreena McKennitt, The Dubliners, Dead Can Dance (Lisa Gerrard), Altan, Solas, The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem, Dick Gaughan, Orthodox Celts, Amanda Palmer, Fire + Ice, Sarah Jezebel Deva, Martin Carthy, Declan de Barra, Belfast Food, Poets of the Fall and Glow...
Album by The Irish Rovers - The Irish Rovers 50 Years, Vol. 1 (March 01, 2014)
Dolores Keane:
Born: Sept 26th, 1953 in Sylane, County Galway, Ireland... more
Occupation: Singer, actress
Music Styles: Celtic, folk
Instruments: Tin Whistle
Associations: Sean Keane, De Dannan
Album by Dolores Keane - Night Owl (March 14, 2000)
The Wind That Shakes the Corn lyrics
The Irish RoversI sat within the valley green,
I sat with my true love
My sad heart had to choose between,
Old Ireland or my love
I looked at her and then I thought,
how Ireland was torn
While soft the wind blew down the glen, and shook the golden corn
T'was hard the woeful words to bring, to break the ties that bound
But harder still to bear the shame
of English chains around
And so I said, the mountain glen, I'll seek in early morn
And join the brave united men while soft wind shook the corn
While sad I kissed away her tears, my fond arms round her clung
A British shot burst on our ears, from out the wild woods round
The bullet pierced my true love's side, a rose pierced by a thorn
And in my arms in blood she died,
while soft wind shook the corn
So blood for blood without remorse,
I've taken in the glen
I placed my true love's clayful corpse,
I joined true Irish men
But around her grave I wander drear,
sometimes in early morn
And with breaking heart sometimes I hear, the wind that shakes the corn
