A  C O U P L E  M O R E  Y E A R S

1.  A couple more years
2.  Johnny lovely johnny
3.  Ronnie story 1
4.  Boots of spanish leather
5.  Ronnie story 2
6.  What will we tell the children
7.  Dreaming my dreams
8.  Journey`s end
9.  Hard times
10. Ronnie storie 3
11. Viva la quinte brigada
12. The young man who used to be me
13. Ronnie story 5
14. Brian og and mollie ban
15. Restless farewell / parting glass
16. Ronnie story 6
17. We had it all

* click the title for the lyrics / soundclips on the mediapage *

 musicians :
 
 
 guitars : Bill Shanley & Mike Hanrahan

a couple more years

Lacorriere,Silverstein / Screen Gems-EMI Music Ltd.

 
 
 
 I've got a couple more years on you, baby...that's all.
I've had more chances to fly, more places to fall.
It`s not that I'm wiser...
It's just that I've spent more time with my back to the wall.
And I've picked up a couple more years on you, baby.. that's all.

You walked a couple more roads than me baby...that's all.
You`re tired of runnin' while I`m only learning to crawl.
And I`m going somewhere...
I`m not been to somewhere... and found it was nowhere at all.
And you`ve picked up a couple more years on me baby... that's all.

Sayin' goodbye, never come easy at all.
But I've got to fly 'cuz I`m hearin' the young eagles call.
Someday when you're older, you'll smile at a man strong and tall.
You'll say I've got a couple more years on you, baby... that's all.

I've got a couple more years on you baby... that's all.
I've had more chances to fly more places to fall.
It`s not that I'm wiser...
Just that I've spent more time with my back to the wall.
And I've picked up a couple more years on you baby... that's all.
You picked up a couple more years on you baby... that`s all.

T O P

johnny lovely johnny

Trad.arr.: R.Drew,E.Shanley,M.Hanrahan,B.Shanley.

The high walls of Derry look dismal and grey
And so does lovely Johnny, he is now going away
He is going to bonnie Scotland some sweetheart to see
May the high powers above send him safe home to me

Oh Johnny lovely Johnny do you mind the day
you came to my window to steal me away
You promised you would merry me above all female kind
Oh Johnny lovely Johnny what has altered your mind

Oh Annie lovely Annie it was all but a jest
For I never intended to make you my best
I never intended to make you my wife
Oh Annie lovely Annie, all the days of my life

The first time I met you 'tis well I do own
'Twas in my father's garden in the county Tyrone
With my white apron around us to shield out the wind
Lovely Annie we must part for all time

A bunch of blue ribbons I will tie up and wear
And a wreath of forget-me-nots I will twine round my hair
And if ever he returns again I will greet him with joy
And I will kiss the lips of my own Johnny boy

The high walls of Derry look dismal and grey
And so does lovely Johnny, he is now going away
He is going to bonnie Scotland some sweetheart to see
May the high powers above send him safe home to me

T O P

boots of spanish leather

B.Dylan / Sony ATV Music Publishing.

 
 
I'm sailin' away my own true love,
I'm sailin' away in the morning.
Is there something I can send you from across the sea,
From the place that I'll be landing?
 

There's nothin' you can send me, my own true love,
There's nothin' I am wishing to be ownin'.
Just carry yourself back to me unspoiled,
From across that lonesome ocean.
 

I just thought you might want something fine
Made of silver or of golden,
Either from the mountains of Madrid
Or from the coast of Barcelona.

If I had the stars from the darkest night
Or the diamonds from the deepest ocean,
I'd forsake them all for your sweet kiss,
For that's all I'm wishin' to be ownin'.
 

I might be gone a long time
And it's only that I'm askin',
Is there something I can send you to remember me by,
To make your time more easy passin'.
 

How can, how can you ask me again,
When it only brings me sorrow.
The same thing I will want today,
I will want again tomorrow.

I sent a letter on a lonesome day,
It was from my ship a-sailin',
Saying I don't know when I'll be comin' back again,
It depends on how I'm feelin'.

If you, my love, must think that way,
I'm sure your mind is roamin'.
I'm sure your thoughts are not with me,
But on the country to where you're goin'.

Take heed, take heed of the western wind,
Take heed of the stormy weather.
And yes, there is something you can send back to me,
Spanish boots of Spanish leather.
And yes, there is something you can send back to me,
Spanish boots of Spanish leather.

T O P

what will we tell the children

I.Dreever / Fair Deal Music Ltd.

 
Which way will the branch bend
When there's no wind left to blow
Which way will the river run
When there's no where left to go
What we tell the children
When they start to ask us why
And where are the keepers
Who bled the whole thing dry.

What kind of air are we to breath
When there's none to take in
What kind of soil do we turn over
Where the fallout's been
What do we tell the children
When they start to ask us why
And where are the keepers
Who bled the whole thing dry.

When do you think they'll tell us
Don't they know that we know too
When do you think they'll listen
To the likes of me and you
What we tell the children
When they start to ask us why
And where are the keepers
Who bled the whole thing dry.

And what kind of rain will fall
On the land that's dead and gone
What kind of flowers
Will look up for the sun
What do we tell the children
When they start to ask us why
And where are the keepers
Who bled the whole thing dry.

What colour will the leaves be
A darker shade of brown
Is this the kind of legacy
To leave to the unborn
What do we tell the children
When they start to ask us why
And where are the keepers
Who bled the whole thing dry.

Which way will the branch bend
When there's no wind left to blow
Which way will the river run
When there's no where left to go
What do we tell the children
When they start to ask us why
And where are the keepers
Who bled the whole thing dry
And where are the keepers
Who bled the whole thing dry.

T O P

dreaming my dreams

O`Riordan / Universal, Island Music Ltd.

 
 
I hope that I won't be that wrong anymore
Maybe I've learned this time
I hope that I find what I'm reachin' for
The way it is in my mind

Someday I'll get over you
I'll live to see it all through
But I'll always miss dreaming my dreams with you.

I won't let it change me, not if I can
I'd rather believe in love
And give it away as much as I can
To those that I'm fondest of.

Someday I'll get over you
I'll live to see it all through
But I'll always miss dreaming my dreams with you.

Someday I'll get over you
I'll live to see it all through
But I'll always miss dreaming my dreams with you.
Someday I'll get over you
I'll live to see it all through
But I'll always miss dreaming my dreams with you.

T O P

journey`s end

JB.Goodenough / Bucks Music Ltd.

 
 
The fire is out, the moon is down
The parting glass is dry and done
And I must go and leave this town
Before the rising of the sun.

For long is the road and far's the mile
Before I rest my soul again
With girls that weep and girls that smile
And all the ways and words of men.

For some there are, who will not bide
But wander to the journey's end
Won`t take a girl to be a bride
Take no man to be a friend.

And when I'm done with wandering
I'll sit beside the road and weep
For all the songs I did not sing
And promises I did not keep.

And when I`m done with wondering
I`ll sit beside the road and weep
For all the songs I did not sing
And promises I did not keep.

Words and music by J.B. Goodenough.

T O P

hard times

Trad.Foster,arr.:R.Drew,E.Shanley,M.Hanrahan,B.Shanley.

 
 
Let us pause in life's pleasures and count its many tears,
While we all sup sorrow with the poor.
There's a song that will linger forever in our ears,
Oh hard times, come again no more.

'Tis the song, a sigh of the weary,
Hard times, hard times, come again no more.
Many days you have lingered around my cabin door.
Oh hard times, come again no more.

Though we seek mirth and beauty and music light and gay,
There are frail forms fainting at the door.
Though their voices are silent, their pleading looks will say
Oh hard times, come again no more.

'Tis the song, a sigh of the weary,
Hard times, hard times, come again no more.
Many days you have lingered around my cabin door.
Oh hard times, come again no more.

There's a pale drooping maiden who toils her life away
With a worn heart whose better days are o'er.
Though her voice should be merry, 'tis sighing all the day -
Oh hard times, come again no more.

'Tis the song, a sigh of the weary,
Hard times, hard times, come again no more.
Many days you have lingered around my cabin door.
Oh hard times, come again no more.

'Tis a sigh that is wafted across the troubled wave,
'Tis a wail that is heard along the shore,
'Tis a dirge that is murmured beside a lowly grave -
Oh hard times, come again no more.

'Tis the song, a sigh of the weary,
Hard times, hard times, come again no more.
Many days you have lingered around my cabin door.
Oh hard times, come again no more
Oh hard times, come again no more.

T O P

viva la quinte brigada

C.Moore / Bal Music Ltd.

              
Around the time I saw the light of morning
A comradeship of heroes was laid
From every corner of the world came sailing
The Fifth International Brigade.
 
They came to stand beside the Spanish people
To try and stem the rising fascist tide
Franco's allies were the powerful and wealthy
Frank Ryan's men came from the other side.
 
Even the olives were bleeding
As the battle for Madrid it thundered on
Truth and love against the force of evil
Brotherhood against the fascist clan.
  
Viva la Quinta Brigada,
No Pasaran, the pledge that made them fight
Adelante was the cry around the hillside
Let us all remember them tonight.               

Bob Hilliard was a Church of Ireland pastor
Form Killarney across the Pyrenees he came
From Derry came a brave young Christian Brother
And side by side they fought and died in Spain.
 
Tommy Woods age seventeen died in Cordoba
With Na Fianna he learned to hold his gun
From Dublin to the Villa del Rio
He fought and died beneath the Spanish sun.
  
Viva la Quinta Brigada,
No Pasaran, the pledge that made them fight
Adelante was the cry around the hillside
Let us all remember them tonight. 
  
Many Irishmen heard the call of Franco
Joined Hitler and Mussolini too
Propaganda from the pulpit and newspapers
Helped O'Duffy to enlist his crew.
 
The call came from Maynooth, "support the facists"
The men of cloth had failed again
When the Bishops blessed the Blueshirts in Dun Laoghaire
As they sailed beneath the swastika to Spain.
  
Viva la Quinta Brigada,
No Pasaran, the pledge that made them fight
Adelante was the cry around the hillside
Let us all remember them tonight.
  
This song is a tribute to Frank Ryan
Kit Conway and Dinny Coady too
Peter Daly, Charlie Regan and Hugh Bonar
Though many died I can but name a few.
 
Danny Boyle, Blaser-Brown and Charlie Donnelly
Liam Tumilson and Jim Straney from the Falls
Jack Nalty, Tommy Patton and Frank Conroy
Jim Foley, Tony Fox and Dick O'Neill.
Viva la Quinta Brigada,
No Pasaran, the pledge that made them fight
Adelante was the cry around the hillside
Let us all remember them tonight.

Viva la Quinta Brigada,
No Pasaran, the pledge that made them fight
Adelante was the cry around the hillside
Let us all remember them tonight.  
 

T O P

the young man who used to be me

J.Nail / Chrysalis Music Ltd.

when i was a young man the skies were so clear,
the sun always shone and we walked without fear
all of the buildings were new and we were the chosen few.
youth was the engine of change, we were told,
to work with your hands was good for your soul.
they pitched us their latest great scheme and we a11 bought into the dream.

then one day i looked out my window.
i knew then nothing would hold me
and i had to leave the young man that used to be me.

the years brought surprises, fortune and fame.
a house on the hill and a change in my name.
dreaming of what i might find i left all my old clothes behind.

then one day i looked in my mirror
and i saw someone that scared me;
a person so blinded by greed he couldn't see.
and i can't believe that young man used to be me.

now i respond to a different command,
i no longer wipe the dirt from my hands.
all of the buildings are gone and we dance to a different drum.
the beggars still beg at the end of our street
but now when we pass our eyes fail to meet.
where do the poor people go? nobody wants to know.

but one day i'll look out my window
and i'll say to hell with your heaven
and i will return to the way my life used to be
and i will retrieve the young man that used to be me

T O P

brian og and mollie ban

Trad.arr.:R.Drew,E.Shanley,M.Hanrahan,B.Shanley.

 
 
 Come listen to my story, Mollie Ban
For I'm bound for death or glory, Mollie Ban,
I've listed in the army, where no more those eyes can harm me,
Faith, they'd kill me 'that they charm me, Mollie Ban.
 

Wisha Brian you've been drinking now you rogue,
I can tell it by your winking, Brian Og,
Go list so, if it please you, ach you villian, do not tease me
You`d drive a callin crazy, Brian Og.

Put yourself that drove me to it, Mollie Ban,
When you read my death you'll rue it, Mollie Ban,
When I die mid' foemen wrestin', where the balls like hail are whistlin'
And a bloody bayonets bristlin', Mollie Ban
The last words I'll be speakin', Mollie Ban
when my soul its leave is takin', Mollie Ban
An' grádh mo chroidh mo stoirín your own sweet-heart Brian Oigín
All for you his blood is pouring, Mollie Ban.
 

Sure I done it all to prove you, Brian Og
For I hate - oh no, I love you, Brian Og,
But keep your heart a chara, for I'll buy you out tomorrow
To die of shame and sorrow Brian Og.
And to think that you could doubt me, Brian Og.
And meself so wild about you, Brian Og,
Would you let that thief Phil Dornan come and wed me in the morning
Faith you might have given me warnin', Brian Og
 

I'm strong and hale and hearty, Mollie Ban
I'm one like Bonaparty, Mollie Ban
For the devil a list I listed, for the sergeant tried but missed it
And your mine now you've confessed it, Mollie Ban.
 

Sure I'm killed right out with schemin', Brian Og
It's meself that thinks it shamin', Brian Og
Since you didn't take the shillin, just to save your life I'm willin',
To get wed ..... behave you villain, Brian Og.

T O P

restless farewell / parting glass

B.Dylan / Sony Atv Music Publishing.

 
 
 Oh all the money that in my whole life I did spend,
Be it mine right or wrongfully,
I let it slip gladly to my friends
To tie up the time most forcefully.
Well the bottles are done,
We've killed each one
And the table's full and overflowed.
And the corner sign
Says it's closing time,
So I'll bid farewell and be down the road.

Of all the money that ever I had,
I spent it in good company.
And of all the harm that ever I done,
Alas it was to none but me.
And all I've done for want of width
To memory now I can't recall,
So fill to me the parting glass,
Good night and joy be with you all.

Oh ev'ry boy that ever l've touched,
I did not do it harmfully.
And ev'ry boy that ever I've hurt,
I did not do it knowin'ly.
But to remain as friends
You need the time to make a man and stay behind.
And since my feet are now fast
And point away from the past,
I'll bid farewell and be down the line.

If I had money enough to spend
And leisure time to sit a while,
There is a fair maid in this town
That sorely has my heart beguiled,
Her rosy cheeks, her ruby lips,
By own she has my heart enthralled.
So fill to me the parting glass,
Good night and joy be with you all.

Oh a false clock tries to tick out my time
To disgrace, distract, and bother me.
And the dirt of gossip blows into my face,
And the dust of rumor covers me.
But if the arrow is straight
And the point is slick,
It can pierce through dust no matter how thick.
So I'll make my stand
And remain as I am
And bid farewell and not give a damn.

Of all the comrades that ever I had,
They are sorry at my going away.
And of all the sweethearts that ever I had,
They would wish me one more day to stay.
But since it falls unto my lot
That I should rise and you should not,
I gently rise and softly call,
Good night and joy be with you all

Of all the money that ever I had
I spent it in good company,
And of all the harm that I've ever done
Alas it was to none but me.
And all I've done for want of width
To memory now I can't recall.
So fill to me the parting glass,
Good night and joy be with you all.

T O P

we had it all

words/music : Mike Hanrahan - Hannah Music

There's a sailor gone to sea only he knows how it feels
as he bids a fond farewell to all his kin
as he walks along the shore to his love he throws a rose
I'll return again in winter or in spring.

We had it all we had the best of times
we had a life that dreams are made of.

Where the sun meets the sky
that a soldier standing by
his eyes they cannot hide that lonesome tale
threre's a photograph of home the smell of sweet cologne
and words of love for ever and a day.

We had it all we had the best of times
we had a life that dreams are made of.

At the station she boards a train wet with tears and rain
and a father holds a mothers empty hand
all the things you need to know, she whispers as she goes
what I have I hold forever in my heart.

We had it all we had the best of times
we had a life that dreams are made of.

On an old country lane
where the wilderness still reigns
an old man takes a flower in his hand
Well I've watched you bloom and fade and the beauty you create
And I'll take this pleasure with me as we part.

We had it all we had the best of times
we had a life that dreams are made of.

We had it all we had the best of times
we had a life that dreams are made of.

We had it all we had the best of times
we had a life that dreams are made of.

T O P

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