E L E A N O R  S H A N L E Y

1.  Road To Glory
2.  Mise Raifteri
3.  In The Ghetto
4.  Raglan Road
5.  Magdalen Laundry
6.  One Too Many Mornings
7.  Maguires Bus Of Broken Dreams
8.  Babies In Blue
9.  Que Lejos Estoy De Mi Suelo
10. I`ll Never Let You Down
11. Don`t Give Up Till It`s Over
12. Kilkelly

Click the title for the lyrics.

road to glory

Don Mescall / Bal Music

Born in the Country where life`s never tiring
Where people from cities they drove down admiring
The mountains and rivers
They always imagined to never have substance at all

I once met an old man he told me a story
Of the great empire living in glory
I sat down beside him and listened intently
I couldn`t find meaning at all

On the road to glory
On the road without a prayer
On the road to nowhere
God I pray that there`s somebody there

I pick up the papers and read the opinions
Of high flying critics who scorn at the millions
Of ordinary people who live in the shadows
And search for a light in the dark

I`m travelling this road and playing in places
To handfulls of people with hope in their faces
There asking me questions and lookong for meanings
In songs I can`t give them at all

Living in the city you know it`s not easy
The cars and the taxis are passing so quickly
I sometimes imagine that nobody`s listening
To songs that I`m singing at all

I`m sitting here writing this song by the river
I`m looking at towers and grey concrete buildings
And dreaming of Ireland and wet summer evenings
And wishing I was home again

On the road to glory
On the road without a prayer
On the road to nowhere
God I pray that there`s somebody there

T O P

mise raiftery

Pauric Stephens / Trad/MCPS

Mise Raifteri an file
Lán dóchais is grá
Le súile gan solas
Le clúnas gan crá
Ag dul siar ar mo aistear
Le solas mo chroí
Fann agus tuirseach
Go deire mo shlí

So let that be an end to the bitter wind
An end to the winter

I go all over Galway
Through village and town
I sing my auld songs
And I make an odd pound
Walking all winter
Through the worst of the snow
When the weather gets better
I`ll head for Mayo

So let that be an end to the bitter wind
An end to the winter

Mayo`s where I`m going
Soon as Spring comes around
I can`t see a stem
But I know from the sound
They`ll be planting potatoes
In the hard stony ground
And praying that there`ll be
Enough to go round


So let that be an end to the bitter wind
An end to the winter

And now comes the springtime
song of before
I`ve been on my travels
And I made up some more
I was there last september
Back Annaghdown
Where the boat bringing people
To Galway went down

So let that be an end to the bitter wind
An end to the winter

Mise Raifteri an file
Lán dóchais is grá
Le súile gan solas
Le clúnas gan crá
Ag dul siar ar mo aistear
Le solas mo chroí
Fann agus tuirseach
Go deire mó shlí
So let that be an end to the bitter wind

T O P

in the ghetto

McDavis/Screen Gems / EMI Music

As the snow flies
On a cold and grey Chicago morn
A poor little baby child is born
In the ghetto

And his mother cries

Cause if there`s one thing
She doesn`t need
Is another hungry mouth to feed
In the ghetto

Now people don`t you understand
The child needs a helping hand
He`s going to be an angry young man some day
Take a look at you and me
Are we too blind to see
Do we simply turn our heads
And look the other way

Well the world turns
And a hungry little boy with a runny nose
Plays in the street as the cold wind blows
In the ghetto

And his hunger burns

So he starts to roam the streets at night
He learns how to steal and he learns how to fight
In the ghetto

Then one night in desperation
The young man breaks away
Buys a gun, steals a car
Tries to run, but he doesn`t get far

And his mother cries

As the crowd gathers round
An angry young man
Face down in the street
With a gun in his hand
In the ghetto

And as her young man dies
On a cold and grey Chicago morn
Another little baby child is born
In the ghetto

And his mother cries

T O P

raglan road

P.Kavanagh / Trad / MCPS

On Raglan Road on an autumn day
I saw her first and knew
That her dark hair would weave a snare
That I might one day rue
I saw the danger and I passed
Along the enchanted way
And I said let grief be a fallen leaf
At the dawning of the day

On Grafton Street in November
We tripped lightly along the ledge
Of a deep ravine where can be seen
The words of passions play
The Queen of Hearts still making tarts
And I`m not making hay
For I`ve loved too much, and by such, by such
Is happiness thrown away

I gave her gifts of the mind
I gave her the secret sign
That`s known to artists who have known
The true Gods of sound and stone
And words and tint I did not stint
I gave her poems to say
With her own name there and her long dark hair
Like clouds over fields of May

On a quiet street where old ghosts meet
I see her walking now
Away from me so hurriedly
My reason must allow
That I had loved not as I should
A creature made of clay
When the angel woos the day he`d loose
His wings at the dawn of day

T O P

magdalen laundry

Johnny Mulhern / Con Cop

For seventeen years I`ve been
scrubbing this washboard
Ever since the fellas started in after me
My mother poor soul didn`t know what to do
The Canon said " Child there`s a place for you"
Now I`m serving my time at the Magdalen Laundry
I`m towing the line at the Magdalen Laundry

There`s girls from the country,girls from the town
Their bony white elbows going up and down
The reverend mother as she glides through the place
A tight little smile on the side of her face
She`s running the show at the Magdalen Laundry
She`s got nowhere to go but the Magdalen Laundry

Oh Lord won`t you let me
Don`t you let me
Won`t you let me wash away the stain
Oh Lord won`t you let me wash away the stain

I`m washing altar linen and cassocks and stoles
I`m scrubbing long johns for these holy joes
We know where they`ve been when
they`re not saving souls
What the red wine split what the
smooth hand poured
We`re squeezing it out at the Magdalen Laundry
We`re scrubbing it out at the Magdalen Laundry

Oh Lord won`t you let me
Don`t you let me
Won`t you let me wash away the stain
Oh Lord won`t you let me wash away the stain

Sunday afternoon when the Lord`s at rest
It`s off to the prom watch the waves roll by
We`re chewing on our toffees hear
the seagulls squawk
There go the maggies the children talk
Through our faces they stare at
the Magdalen Laundry
In our eyes see the glare of the Magdalen Laundry

Oh Lord won`t you let me
Don`t you let me
Won`t you let me wash the stain
Oh Lord won`t you let me wash away the stain

Oh Lord won`t you let me
Don`t you let me
Won`t you let me wash away the stain
Oh Lord won`t you let me wash away the stain

Oh Lord won`t you let me
Don`t you let me
Won`t you let me wash away the stain
Oh Lord won`t you let me wash away the stain

T O P

one too many mornings

Bob Dylan / Sony Music

Down the street the dogs are barking
The day is getting dark
As the night comes in a falling
The dogs lose their bark
And the silent night is shattered
From the sounds inside my mind
This is one too many mornings
And a thousand miles behind

From the crossroads of my doorstep
My eyes start to fade
And I turn my head back in the room
Where my love and I have laid
I gaze back to the street
The sidewalk and the sign
And I`m one too many mornings
And a thousand miles behind

It`s a restless hungry feeling
That means no one no good
And everything I`m saying
You can say it just as good
You are right from your side
I am right from mine
We`re both just one too many mornings
And a thousand miles behind

Down the street the dogs are barking
Day is getting dark
 

T O P

maguires bus of broken dreams

Paul Doran / MCPS

In the early spring I left Mayo
Following the golden stream
I`ve been out in the rain and snow
England isn`t all it seemed

In London nights are col as steel
The wind it shills you to the bone
It`s hard to know just how you feel
Whan you`re on the way back home

On the bus of broken dreams
On the bus of broken dreams
On the bus of broken dreams
Maguires bus of broken dreams

There`s people here from all around
Disillusioned drinkers all
From Dublin and from Galway town
From the south to Donegal

In early spring I left Mayo
Following the golden stream
I`ve been out in the rain and snow
England isn`t all it seemed

On the bus of broken dreams
On the bus of broken dreams
On the bus of broken dreams
Maguires bus of broken dreams

T O P

babies in blue

Wally Page / Bal Music

 Babies in blue
Loosing up on your Daddy`s
Babies in blue,go easy now
Babies in blue
Make believe with the sweetest song
Pony rider go chase the sun
Go easy now

Babies in blue loosen up your Daddy`s hand
Babies in blue go easy now
Babies in blue make believe with the sweetest song
Pony rider go chase the sun
Go easy now

Baby blue tears on my shoulder
I never meant to make you cry
Go easy now

Babies in blue loosen up your Daddy`s hand
Babies in blue go easy now
Babies in blue by the moon and the lights go down
Adios amigo see you round
Go easy now

Baby blue tears on my shoulder
I never meant to make you cry
So nightie night,nightie night
Go easy now

T O P

que leyos estoy de mi suelo

Trad / Page / Warner Chappell

Que lejos estoy del suelo donde naciro
Intessamo y en bar y mi pensamiento
Al verme tan solo y triste juanro haul viento
Quisieran borrar quisieran morir de sentimiento

Podieran del sol suspiro y jornerte
Ahora que lejos yo vivo sin luz sin honor
Al verme tan solo y triste cualo cual viento
Quisteran llorar quisieran morir de sentimiento

I`m so far away from our home and
I`m longing to see you
I don`t have the strenght to carry
the load I was meant to
My spirit lies broken somewhere
in the fields of Cuero
I fell I will die, I need you tonight, I`m lost in sorrow

Podieran del sol suspiro y jornerte
Ahora que lejos yo vivo sin luz sin honor
Al verme tan solo y triste cualo cual viento
Quisieran llorar quisieran morir de sentimiento

T O P

i`ll never let you down

Don Baker / MCPS

I`ll shield you from the winter winds
Stand and fight to help you win
Put you on before me and I`ll
Never let you down

Trouble comes, I`ll take the blame
If you get hurt I`ll feel the pain
Always be around you and I`ll
Never let you down

And if your role in life
Should get you down and seem unfair
If you try and just don`t make the grade
If all your clouds should darken
And you feel in dispair
Turn your head around and I`ll be there

And I`ll never, never, never ever
I`ll never let you down

And if your role in life
Should get you down and seem unfair
If you try and you just don`t make the grade
If all your clouds should darken
And you feel in dispair
Turn your head around and I`ll be there

And I`ll never, never, never ever
I`ll never let you down

T O P

don`t give up till it`s over

Johnny Duhan / MCPS

Don`t give up till it`s over
Don`t quit if you can
The weight upon your shoulder
Will make you a stronger man

Grasp your nettle tightly
Though it will burn
Treat your failures lightly
Your luck is bound to turn

Don`t give up till it`s over
Don`t quit if you can
The weight upon your shoulder
Will make you a stronger man

Look at the autumn flowers
How they wither and fade
With natures hidden powers
Next year they`ll be remade

Watch the full moon rising
Like a ghost of the sun
Dawn will be more surprising
When a new day`s begun

Don`t give up till it`s over
Don`t quit if you can
The weight upon your shoulder
Will make you a stronger man

T O P

kilkelly

Peter Jones

 Kilkelly, Ireland eighteen and sixty
my dear and loving son John
Your good friend the schoolmaster
Pat McNamara`s so good as
To write these words down
Your brothers have all gone to find work in England
The house is so empty and sad
The crop of potatoes is sorely infected
A third to a half of them bad
And your sister Brigid and Patrick O`Donnell
Are going to be married in June
Your mother says not to work on the railroad
And be sure to come on home soon

Kilkelly, Ireland eighteen and seventy
my dear and loving son John
Hello to your missus and to your four children
May they grow healthy and strong
Michael has got in a wee bit of trouble
I suppose that he never will learn
Because of the dampness there`s no turf to speak of
And now we have nothing to burn
Brigid is happy you named a child for her
Although she`s got six of her own
You say you found work but you don`t say what kind
Or when you`ll be coming home

Kilkelly, Ireland eighteen and eighty
Dear Michael and John my sons
I`m sorry to give you the sad news
That your dear mother has gone
We buried her down at the church in Kilkelly
Your brothers and Brigid were there
You don`t have to worry she died very quickly
Remember her in your prayers
And it`s so good to hear that Michael`s returning
With money he`s sure to buy land
For the crop has been poor
and the people are selling
At any price they can

Kilkelly, Ireland eighteen and ninety
my dear and loving son John
I suppose that I must be close on eighty
It`s thirty years since you`ve gone
Because of all of the money you sent me
I`m still living out on my own
Michael has build himself a fine house
Ans Brigid`s daughters have grown
And thank you for sending your family picture
They`re lovely young woman and men
You say that you might even come for a visit
What joy to see you again

Kilkelly, Ireland eighteen and ninety
to my dear brother John
I`m sorry I didn`t write sooner to tell you
That father passed on
He was living with Brigid she says he was cheerful
And healthy right down to the end
Ah, you should have seen him
playing with the grandchildren
Of Pat McNamara your friend
And we buried him alongside of mother
Down at Kilkelly churchyard
He was a strong and feisty old man
Considering his life was so hard
And it`s funny the way he kept talking about you
He called for you at the end
Oh why don`t you think about coming to visit
We`d love to see you again

T O P