1. |
Pocketful of Rhymes
03:56
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I've been searching for a quiet place
After skating for so long
'Cross the polished rim of empty space
Trading longing for a song
Now I look out through a backlit veil
Of chlorophyll and rain
And I wonder if my restless soles
Will send me forth again
CHORUS:
Leave the past and weave the path
that leads to brighter times
Sing a song for sixpence and a pocket full of rhymes
Now there's a time and place for wandering
And a time and place to rest
And a time and place for sorting through
The chaos in my breast
Separating straw from gold
Spinning melody and word
But if a tree falls on a city street
Does it matter if it's heard?
CHORUS
Weaving up the raveled threads
to make the fabric whole
Singing for the supper
that might finally feed my hungry soul
For there's so many hearts been broken down
By loneliness and cold
Yet so many greater tragedies
That stories left untold
Seem a smaller thing in the greater world
But when final curtains fall
Perhaps the stories and the sharing are
The reason for it all
CHORUS
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2. |
Rushing River
04:07
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I went walking on a pathway
Upon a mountain high
All around, the shaggy woods,
Above them, cloudless sky
From a glade I hear a voice
A laughter sweet and clear:
From the heavens to the mountaintop
To the stream bed, to my ear
CHORUS:
Rushing river, sparkling water
You share your joy with me
Dancing downward to the ocean
Bringing new life to the sea
There's a slow dance 'cross the emerald lake
Then tango to the burn
Polka step down the rocky rills
Then promenade and turn
Over cascades through canyons deep
Round every winding bend
Swirling, waltzing, then a six-hand reel
Then a two-step to the end
CHORUS
And meantime like the salmon, I
keep struggling 'gainst the flow
Maybe someday I will learn to turn
And tumbling dancing down I'll go
CHORUS
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3. |
The Evening News
03:44
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This day there was a killing
This day there was a storm
There's fighting in the middle east
The earth is getting warm
This day there was an earthquake
And a politician lied
A fire and a broken heart
And someone famous died
CHORUS:
This day I watched the evening news - I saw it all last year
And loaded on my mind and heart a planet's worth of fear
This day I watched the evening news,
Perhaps I'll watch tomorrow
And load upon my mind and heart
A planet's worth of sorrow
I try to be a citizen
Responsible and true
By voting well and keeping up
With all the news that's new
But sometimes now I wonder:
Are we meant to know each day
The details of each tragedy
Ten thousand miles away?
Chorus
So should I shut compassion down
And see just with the mind?
Or let my heart be burdened by
The sorrows of all humankind?
Perhaps I'Il just turn off the box
And walk out in the air
And say hello to Sam next door
And make my garden fair
Chorus
Perhaps lIl just turn off the box and walk out in the air
And say hello to Sam next door and make my garden fair
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4. |
P Stands for Paddy*
04:41
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As I roved out one May morning / To take a pleasant walk
I sat myself down by an old stone wall / To hear two lovers talk
To hear what they might say, my dear
To hear what they might say
That I might know a little more about love / Before I go away
CHORUS:
P stands for Paddy, I suppose, J for my love, John
And the W stands for false William
But Johnny is the fairest man
Johnny is the fairest man, my dear, Johnny is the fairest man
And the W stands for false William
But Johnny is the fairest man
Come sit you down beside me, he said
Together on the green
For it's been three-quarters of a year or more
Since together we have been
Oh I'll not sit beside you, she said
Not now nor at any other time
For I hear you've been with another little girl
And your heart's no longer mine
No, your heart's no longer mine, my dear
Your heart's no longer mine
For it's just three-quarters of a year or more
And your heart's no longer mine
CHORUS
Now, l'Il climb up a tall, tall tree
And find the wild bird's nest
And when I come down, I'll give a little love
To the one that I love best
To the one that I love best, my dear
The one that I love best
And when I come down, I'll give a little love
To the one that I love best
CHORUS
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5. |
If You Had Told Me
02:52
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If you had told me
that the roses bloom in winter
If vou had told me
of the sunlight on the sea
I'd have thought you
were a sweet but crazy wooer
Who'd capture me with dreams
that could not be
I'd have thought you were
a sweet but crazy lover
Who'd paint for me
a scene of summer saved
But the blooms smell sweet
on this January morning
And sunlight drops
like petals on the waves
Yes the blooms smell sweet
on this January morning
And sunlight drops
like petals on the waves
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6. |
When I Go
03:55
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CHORUS:
Where will my spirit flow
When I go, when I go
Where will my spirit flow
I leave this place
Where will my spirit fly
By & by, by & by &
Where will my spirit fly
When I leave this place
Maybe I'll come back to earth
Try another human birth
This time focus on the mirth
When I leave this place
Will I come back as a dog
Or an eagle or a frog
Or a bug upon a log
When I leave this place
CHORUS
Or maybe I will be a tree
Rooted deep but waving free
On a mountain by the sea
When I leave this place
Maybe I will travel far
Look back from a distant star
How I'II wonder what you are
When I leave this place
CHORUS
Maybe there'll be nothing there
Earth nor water, fire nor air -
I won't know, so I won't care
When I leave this place
Maybe l'Il see heaven's light
Shining bright, shining bright
Joy and chocolate day and night
When I leave this place
CHORUS
By & by & by & by, By & by & by & by
CHORUS
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7. |
Ferry Me Home
05:49
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CHORUS:
Ferry me home across the ocean
Ferry me home across the sea
Ferry me - safe, though wild the wind blows
To the place I long to be
On the horizon, clouds are gathering
Crumpling high, grumbling low
Feel the swell of steel grey water
See the last light's lowering glow
Chorus
Currents and storms can change our courses
Taking us far from where we planned
Waking in fog to find we're drifting
Far from home, far from land
Chorus
Deepening dark but clouds are lifting
Indigo silk reveals a star
Patterns of light unfurl in silence:
We are here, there you are.
Chorus
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8. |
Song of the Ferrishyn
02:23
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CHORUS:
What if the Ferrishyn came
Whirling & swirling to take you away?
Would you go willingly dancingly singingly
Off in the forest for ever astray?
What if the pot-hook leapt up in anger
Challenged the hanger and started a brawl?
With all of the pans and all of the dishes
Smashing and crashing up into the wall
Cressad and basin, goggan and platter,
Take up the matter and add to the roar
Table and pot stick fighting and biting
And finally flinging you down on the floor
Chorus
What if the Taroo-ushtey grabbed thee
Nabbed ye the Glashtyn with terrible teeth
Or the Finoderee, hairy and odor-y
Made you his bolster and crushed you beneath
Fionn mac Cumhaill and the Fianna,
Glen-dwelling Ferrish and ogre Buggane
Find you and bind you while you are slumbering
Carry you off in a twisted suggane.
Chorus
And what if the Ferrishyn came?
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9. |
How Many Wars?
04:53
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Take a field of ignorance, plant it full of fear
Water it with semi-truths
and watch hate grow from year to year
Watch it spread from field to field by seed and hidden root
And then we gaze, so sad, amazed
To harvest bitter fruit
CHORUS:
How many wars based on how many lies
How many times can we justify our tightly closed eyes
And turn away again until the soul of us dies
How many turns, how many wars, how many lies
I do believe they do not know that Christ was not a CEO
Who never drilled for oil, boys, and never killed for gain
A convict's death, a humble birth, a carpenter of no net worth
Do you think they'd listen for a minute if he came again?
Chorus
I do believe they cannot name
The price we pay to play this game
Not imaginary money, or another nation's child
But every innocent that's lost exacts a universal cost
With every soul diminished, every blade of grass defiled
Chorus
Find a heart with openness, plant a seed of peace
Water it with wisdom and then listen for the sweet release
If one by one we shift the field in which our leaders stand
Perhaps someday we'll find a way to peace in every land
Chorus
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10. |
I Wish My Love*
02:55
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I wish my love was a red, red rose
growing in yon garden fair
And me to be the gardener, of her I would take care
There's never a month in all the year, but my love I'd renew
I'd garnish her with flowers fine, sweet William, Thyme
and Rue
I wish I was a butterfly, I'd light on my love's breast
And if I was a blue cuckoo, I'd sing my love to rest
And if I was a nightingale, I'd sing 'til daylight clear
l'd sit and sing for you Molly, for that I love you dear
I wish I was in Dublin town, and seated on the grass
In my right hand a jug of punch and on my knee my lass
l'd call for liquor freely and I'd pay before I'd go
And l'd roll my darling in my arms, let the wind blow high
or low
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11. |
Bonnie Banks of Fordie*
07:09
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There were three sisters lived in a bower
And they went out for to pull a flower
And they went out for to pull a flower
Down bv the bonnie banks of Fordie-o
An they had not pulled a flower but one
When up there stepped a banished man
And he's taken the eldest by the hand
And he's turned her round and he's made her stand
Saying will ye be a robber's wife
Or will ye die by my penknife
Oh I will not be a robber's wife
But I will die by your penknife
So he's taen out his wee penknife
And there he's twined her of her life
And he's taken the second by the hand
He's turned her round and he's made her stand
Saying will ye be a robber's wife
Or will ye die by my penknife
Oh I will not be a robber's wife
l'd rather die by your penknife
So he's taen out his wee penknife
An there he's twined her of her life
And he's taken the youngest by the hand
And he's turned her round and he's made her stand
Saying will ye be a robber's wife
Or will ye die by my penknife
Oh I will not be a robber's wife
But I will not die by your penknife
For I have a brother lives in yon trees
And if ye kill me then it's he'll kill thee
Come tell to me your brother's name
Mv brother's name 'tis Babylon
Oh sister dear what have I done?
I've killed my sisters, all but one
So he's taen out his wee penknife
And there he's taken his own life ...
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12. |
Snow Shanty
04:21
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Woke up on a frozen morn Heave away, haul away
Radio says there's been a storm I'm bound for work this morning
CHORUS:
Heave away you frozen things Heave away…
All the way you'll hear me sing I'm bound…
Try to open up the door/Snow's piled up five feet or more/
Got a shovelling job ahead/Except the shovel's in the shed
Heave away you frozen things...
Shove the door and make a gap/
One step out I'm on my back/
It's down my collar, up my nose/
Down my boots, between my toes/
Heave away you frozen things…
Struggle through the drifts and piles/
Shed seems like it's twenty miles/
It's time to shovel out the cars /
If we can find out where they are
Heave away the ice and snow/ Heave away…
Cursing, swearing as you go /I'm bound…
The drive is done, the car is clear/
What's that rumbling noise I hear?
I look up at the dreadful sound/
The city plough is bearing down
Heave away the ice and snow…
The city plough goes thund'ring by/
Leaving snow banks ten feet high /
The car is buried, there's no way/
I'll make it into work today
I'll hitch the dog up to the sled/
It's time this dachshund earned his bread/
Heave away the ice and snow…
The car is lost, the dog has fled/
It's time I headed back to bed!
Heave away the ice and snow…
Heave away you frozen things…
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13. |
All Shall Be Well
04:26
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CHORUS:
All shall be well and all shall be well
And all things are now and ever well
All things are well and all shall be well
And all things are now and ever well
Let nothing alarm you let nothing dismay you
For all shall be joy in the end
And at the day's close you'll find yourself held
In the comforting arms of a friend
For nothing can take you away from my heart
Though your steps lead away from my door
And you'll carry within you an unchanging part
Of the love that is yours evermore
Chorus
When troubles abound & seem to confound you
Remember that all this shall pass
And though all the sorrows and woes fade away
Still all that is beautiful lasts
Yes all that is beautiful, all that is good
All that is loving and fine
Is carefully folded, eternally pressed
In the love that is yours, that is mine
Chorus
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Eileen McGann Victoria, British Columbia
• one of North America's finest contemporary songwriters
• outstanding singer of the
traditional music of Ireland, Scotland, England and Canada
• Irish Canadian, born in Canada to Irish parents
• resident of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada
• seasoned touring performer, and workshop leader
• Juno and CFMA-nominated recording artist
• award-winning visual artist
... more
Eileen McGann recommends:
Dance & Celebrate
by Bourne & MacLeod
A bit reggae, a bit skiffle, and more, this album still resonates after 30+ years, highlighting Bill's talent. (Juno winner)
go to album
With his own unique style, and with echoes of Stan Rogers, James writes and sings about the Canadian experience. (Juno winner)
go to album
What more can I say? A classic! (Stan Rogers)
go to albumIf you like Eileen McGann, you may also like:
Wealth of Sorrow
by Cahalen Morrison
Bright and skipping songs that foreground the sound of the banjo and fingerstyle guitar in music that feels timeless.
go to album
Sweet Old Religion
by Pharis & Jason Romero
Sweet harmonies & strummed melodies; the duo delve into decades-old folk, jazz, and country to find a timeless kind of love and connection.
go to album
The haunting new record from Canadian folk artist Avi C. Engel bridges old and new traditions with a minimalist approach.
go to album
