Get all 10 Cara Dillon releases available on Bandcamp and save 25%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Coming Home, Live At Cooper Hall, Auld Lang Syne, Wanderer, Upon A Winter's Night, A Thousand Hearts, Hill Of Thieves, After The Morning, and 2 more.
1. |
The Tern and the Swallow
03:59
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When the Cuckoo is calling over woodland and valley
And the Tern and the Swallow flies over our bay
Then it’s longing I’ll be for the land of my father
Where Bann and black water sweep down to Lough Neagh
A home I have made in the land of the stranger
And it’s manys a long year since I left Derry quay
Still I dream of the blooming and the glens of old Ireland
Where Bann and black water sweep down to Lough Neagh
And it’s soon I must start and this is my last journey
For my eyes they grow dim and hair sparse and grey
And it’s soon I must follow the Tern and the Swallow
Where Bann and black water sweep down to Lough Neagh
I long for to see the dark waters of Lough Neagh
And I long for to gaze on Slieve Gallion Braes
And I long for to follow the Tern and the Swallow
Where Bann and black water sweep down to Lough Neagh
And when I return to my native land
In the Spring I will hear the Cuckoo sing round Lough Neagh
And I’ll be out there waiting for the Tern and Swallow
Where Bann and black water sweep down to Lough Neagh
And all I ask is a cairn in the land of my father
Where Bann and black water sweep down to Lough Neagh
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2. |
Blackwater Side
04:09
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One morning fair
I took the air
Down by Blackwater side
‘Twas gazing all around me
Was the Irish lad I spied
All through the first part
of that night
We lay in sport and play
Then this young man arose
and gathered his clothes
Saying ‘Fare you well today’
That’s not the promise
you gave to me
When you first lay on my bed
And you made me believe
with your lying tongue
That the sun rose in the west
Then go home, go home,
to your father’s garden
Go home and weep your fill
And think upon your
own misfortune
That you brought with
your wanton will
There’s not one girl in
this whole town
As easily led as I
When the sky does fall
and the seas run dry
Why it’s then you’ll marry I
Why it’s then you’ll marry I
Why it’s then you’ll marry I
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3. |
The Leaving Song
03:22
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Hold out your hand, love
We’ll figure this out
You don’t need to leave and never look back
You take your own time, love
But give it a chance
There’s life in these fields like there’s rhythm in dance
Stay by my side, love
And give up your doubt
Your brother has gone and my time’s running out
The dew’s on the grass
We’ve finished the glass
The dawn’s on it’s way, love
But my son leaves today
They whisper your name, son
Like they’ve put you to rest
They’ve kissed you and blessed you we’ve all done our best
And once I could swear, love
I heard the wind sing
It warned of this day and the cold it would bring
These Northern lights shine, love
Reflect on the Foyle
They’ll light your way back to your own native soil
The dew’s on the grass,
We’ve finished the glass
The dawn’s on it’s way, now
But my son leaves today
My son leaves today, Lord
God help me I pray
God help me I pray
Slip out the door, love
But don’t say goodbye
Just take one last look at this Northwestern sky
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4. |
The Banks of the Foyle
05:39
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Oh, I know a wee spot, ’tis a place of great fame
And it lies to the North, now I’ll tell you it’s name
It’s my own native birthplace, and it’s on Irish soil
And they call it lovely Derry on the banks of the Foyle
Now, I courted a young man, and his age was nineteen
He was the fairest young man that ever you’ve seen
He was tall he was handsome and his hair black as coal
And he came from lovely Derry on the banks of the Foyle
But now cruel misfortune drove me from my own home
’Twas my fate in deep sorrow for to sail o’er the foam
And now from dark strangers, in grief I recoil
And I pine for lovely Derry on the banks of the Foyle
I was fearing another had a place in his heart
And that from me my darling forever would part
That no more he would brighten with his sweet sunny smile
My dear home in lovely Derry on the banks of Foyle
But a wee bird came flying from over the sea
And he brought me a letter from my true love to see
Saying ‘come home, my darling, to your own native soil
And we’ll wed in lovely Derry on the banks of the Foyle’
Now when I make a fortune, then it’s home I will go
To the dear land of my childhood, to the sweetheart I know
And we’ll live in a mansion, and no more will we toil
Far away from lovely Derry on the banks of the Foyle
Far away from lovely Derry on the banks of the Foyle
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5. |
Both Sides The Tweed
03:49
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What’s the spring-breathing Jasmine and Rose?
What’s the summer with all it’s gay train
Or the splendour of Autumn to those
Who’ve bartered their freedom for gain?
Chorus
Let the love of our land’s sacred rights
To the love of our people succeed
Let friendship and honour unite
And flourish on both sides the Tweed.
No sweetness the senses can cheer
Which corruption and bribery bind
No brightness the gloom can e’er clear
For honour’s the sum of the mind
Chorus
Let virtue distinguish the brave
Place riches in lowest degree
Think them poorest who can be a slave
Them richest who dare to be free
Chorus x 2
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6. |
Sailor Boy
03:44
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It was early, early all in the spring
When my love Willy went to serve the king
The night being dark and the wind blew high
Which parted me from my sailor boy
Oh father, father build me a boat
For on the ocean I mean to float
To watch the big ships as they pass by
For I might inquire of my sailor boy
She had not sailed there for a week or two
When she spied the Captain and all his crew
O Captain, Captain come tell me true
Does my love Willy sail on board with you?
O fair maid, fair maid he is not here
He’s lost or drowned that I am afraid
On yon green island as we passed by
‘Twas there we lost a fine sailor boy
She wrung her hands and she tore her hair
Just like a lady in deep despair
She called for paper, both pen and ink
And every night she did drop a tear
And every word she calls Willy here
O father, father dig me a grave
Go dig it long and go dig it wide
Place marble stone on my head and feet
That the world may know that I died in grief
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7. |
The Faughan Side
05:11
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A stream like crystal it flows down
It’s clear for to be seen
And it’s there you’ll find the Irish Oak
Trimmed with the Ivy green
Where the Shamrock and the Thistle grow
The Lily too beside
And they flourish all together, boys
Along the Faughan side
Well it’s about three miles from Derry to
The bridge of Drumahoe
And it’s there I spent some happy days
I’ll have you all to know
Where the lambs do sport, fair maids do court
And the small fish gently glide
There’s a blooming spring on a May morning
Along the Faughan side
Well if you could see this lovely place
All in the summer time
Each bush and tree, they look so gay
Each meadows in its prime
The Blackbird and the golden Thrush
Sing there the live long day
But now I have a notion of Going to Americay
Oh, the leaving of this lovely place
It grieves my heart full sore
And the leaving of my own true love
Sure, it grieves me ten times more
But if ever I return again
Well it’s her i’d make my bride
And I’d roll her in my arms, boys
Along the Faughan side
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8. |
The Banks of the Bann
03:30
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When first to this country a stranger I came
I placed my affection on a maid that was young
She being fair and tender, her waist small and slender
Kind nature that formed her for my overthrow
On the banks of the Bann, when first I beheld her
She appeared like great Juno the fair Grecian Queen
Her eyes shone like diamonds or stars brightly gleaming Her cheeks were like Roses or blood drops on snow
’Twas her cruel parents that first caused our variance
All because she was rich and above my degree
But I’ll do my whole endeavour for to gain my love’s favour
There is no other fair one on Earth I adore
Had I all the wealth that’s in the West Indies
I’d put rings on her fingers and gold in her ears
And there on the lovely banks of the lovely Bann River
In all kinds of splendour I’d live with my dear
In all kinds of splendour I’d live with my dear
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9. |
Lakeside Swans
04:56
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Some have roots and want to stay
Others wings that have to fly
It matters not the time of year
Nor if they hold their lovers near
Chorus
Some swear the valley is their home
Some on the mountains need to roam
But in this narrow place in time
I watch the lakeside swans go by
Into what they might have seen
The stirring of forgotten dreams
I cannot break his deep sound sleep
This gentle calm that runs so deep
Chorus
Some they’ll say they tried to help
Some left before the snows did melt
But poor is he who cannot choose
Between the lies and the honest truth
Chorus
Just before the break of day
Forgotten words they’ve longed to say
An honest heart it knows no bounds
Like the lakeside waters sweetest sounds
Chorus x 2
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10. |
Dubhdara
05:18
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Dubhdara, he’s a-sailing
Far out in the blue ocean
Far beyond the misty mountain
On the sun stream he’s riding with the wind
Lost in a million dips and hollows
Swallowed in the racing horses
Dubhdara will always return
To take me up in his arms
Angels hasten into the daylight
As the shadows fade away
And the rainclouds move among the islands
Far down in Clew Bay
I am waiting, waiting on the white shell sand
In the sea garden drifting far out to sea
I’m sailing far out to sea
Dubhdara, he’s a-sailing
Far out in the blue ocean
Flying canvas with the seagulls
In the freedom of a kind and gentle wind
Angels hasten into the daylight
As the shadows fade away
And the rainclouds move among the islands
Far down in Clew Bay
I am waiting, waiting on the white shell sand
In the sea garden drifting far out to sea
I’m sailing far out to sea
I’m sailing far out to sea
Sailing far out to sea
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Cara Dillon
Born in Dungiven in 1975, surrounded and infused with the rich cultural heritage of her native County Derry, Cara has risen to become one of the finest exponents of traditional Irish song anywhere in the world.
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