All songs written by Dick Farrelly except
track 11 Trad. Arr G. Farrelly/S. Stone.
All Songs published by Andic Songs/MCPS except track 2 Peter
Maurice Music, Track 9 Waltons, Track 11 IMRO/MCPS
Arranged and Produced by: Gerard Farrelly
Engineered and Mixed by: Billy Robinson
Recorded at Sinéad and Gerard's home, Bayview Avenue,
Dublin
The 'Gypsy Maiden' recorded at Spring Recording Studios, Co.
Down
Engineered by: Colum Sands
Additional recording at Billy Robinson's, Ramelton, Co. Donegal
Mastered at: Gateway Recording Studios (Open Ear Productions
Ltd), Oughterard, Co. Galway by Bruno Staehelin
A very special thank you to Mrs Anne Farrelly
Thanks also to:
Billy Robinson, Colum Sands, Richard M Farrelly, Mick McCarney,
Bruno Staehelin, Philip Rennicks, Brian Wynne, The Grand Hotel
Malahide, and not least Michael and Dinah Stone.
This Album is dedicated to Dick Farrelly
Richard Farrelly (1916 - 1990), known to
his family and friends as Dick, was born in Kells, County
Meath. His parents were publicans who owned a bar in the town.
He learned to play piano as a young boy and was writing songs
and poetry by the time he reached his teens. At the age of
twenty-three Dick joined the Irish Police Force, An Garda
Siochana, and served for thirty-eight years in the force.
Dick was a gentle and quiet man, who rarely sought notoriety
or publicity for his musical creations. Hence, our title,
'Legacy Of A Quiet Man', refers to his association with the
film, The Quiet Man, but more so to the unassuming
personality and creativity of Dick, who penned more than two
hundred songs and poems in his lifetime. Songs like Seolta
Bána & Siobhán, were just
two little gems, which we found amongst a bundle of manuscripts
in an old suitcase belonging to him.
In 1948, Dick had his first big success with If You Ever
Fall In Love Again. The song was a hit for Anne Shelton
in the UK, and for Guy Lombardo & His Orchestra in the
US. He had several successful songs during the fifties, amongst
them, his lovely ballad, Cottage by the Lee, popularised
by Joe Lynch and The Rose of Slievenamon, recorded
by Joseph Locke.
However the song for which Dick is best remembered is of course,
The Isle of Innisfree. The inspiration for the song
came to Dick while on a bus journey from his native Kells
to Dublin, and by the time he reached his destination, the
words and music of The Isle of Innisfree were complete.
Before going to bed that night he put the song down safely
on manuscript. In Dick's own words "I used Isle of
Innisfree as another name for Ireland and it was Ireland
I had in mind when I wrote the song" With poignant words
the song expresses the longing of an Irish emigrant for his
native land.
The Isle of Innisfree was a huge international hit
for Bing Crosby in 1952, giving Crosby his biggest chart success
in the UK. Dublin band leaders voted it their number one tune
of the year and it is interesting to note that it sold over
150,000 copies in sheet music format in Ireland and England
alone.
Film director John Ford was so taken by The Isle of Innisfree
that he decided to use it as the principle musical theme for
The Quiet Man. The melody almost totally dominates
the soundtrack, being reprised at least seven times. It is
first heard as the credits roll, with a beautiful scene of
Lough Corrib and Ashford Castle in the background at sunset.
The melody becomes the love theme for Sean Thornton (John
Wayne) and Mary Kate (Maureen O'Hara), and is wonderfully
orchestrated by Victor Young.
To quote author, Prof. Des McHale, in his book, 'The Complete
guide To The Quiet Man', "Its lush tone is fairy music,
released from another world by the genius of Richard Farrelly.
Sadly, he received no mention in the screen credits for the
vital contribution he made to the movie, but The Quiet
Man wouldn't have been half the movie it was without
The Isle of Innisfree".
In 1982, Stephen Spielberg included it in his film ET, when
a scene from The Quiet man is shown, and Innisfree is also
used in the soundtrack of the film, Distant Voices Still
Lives (1988).
The Isle of Innisfree has been recorded hundreds
of times worldwide and continues to enrich the repertoires
of innumerable artists, but above all, it endures in the hearts
of many to this day as one of the great songs of Ireland.
Dick wrote We Dreamed our Dreams just a few years
before he died, and it was one of his personal favourites.
The Fureys & Davey Arthur, made the first recording of
it on an album entitled The Scattering, released in 1988.
We spent many enjoyable hours sifting through Dick's manuscripts
and songs, some of which were jotted down on the backs of
envelopes and bits of notepaper. We actually had difficulty
in choosing eleven of our favourites for this album, some
of which are recorded here for the first time.
Sinead Stone & Gerard Farrelly
Track Notes
1. Seolta Bána
Words and Music: Dick Farrelly
Andic Songs/MCPS
Uair amháin chonaic mé bád an chuain
ag fágáil
Is bhí bean óg ag caoineadh is ag guí
Bhí trua agam le gach aon leannan uaigneach
Go mbionn a fear ar'n fharr'ge nach mór i gcónahí.
Seolta bána ar ior na spéire
Bád ag seoladh 'mach ar'n fharr'ge mhór
Ar an trá leanná uaigneach, bhrónach
Is i ag guí 'O fill orm slán, a stór.
Is gach aon uair as chuan imionn bád
I bhrollach éigin bionn guí a mháin
Go mbeidh no seolta bána arís ar ior na spéire
Ag tabhairt mairnealach abhaile slán.
Piano: Gerard Farrelly
2. The Isle of Innisfree
Words and Music: Dick Farrelly
Peter Maurice Music
I've met some folks who say that I'm a dreamer
And I've no doubt there's truth in what they say
But sure a body's bound to be a dreamer
when all the things he loves are far away
And precious things are dreams onto an exile
They take o'er the land across the sea
Especially when it happens he's an exile
From that dear lovely Isle of Innisfree
And when the moonlight peeps across the rooftops
Of this great city wondrous tho' it be
I scarcely feel its wonder or its laughter
I'm once again back home in Innisfree
I wander o'er green hills thro' dreamy valleys
And find a peace no other land could know
I hear the birds make music fit for angels
And watch the rivers laughing as they flow
And then into a humble shack I wander
My dear old home, and tenderly behold
The folks I love around the turf fire gathered
On bended knee their rosary is told
But dreams don't last
Tho' dreams are not forgotten
And soon I'm back to stern reality
But tho' they pave the footways here with gold dust
I still would choose the Isle of Innisfree
Piano: Gerard Farrelly
Acoustic Guitar: Richard M Farrelly
3. Annaghdown
Words and Music: Dick Farrelly
Andic Songs/MCPS
If somewhere there is someone you keep missing
A place that you are wishing you could be
Then you will understand just why I'm pining
And you can share your loneliness with me
Oh there's a road I'm longing so to follow
A road that wanders out from Galway town
I know so well each tree and every byway
Along that road to dreamy Annaghdown
But 'tis alone in fancy I can borrow
My fleeting share of peace and happiness
In far off Annaghdown in Galway county
That place in all the world I love the best
The ivy covered church with walls now crumbled
the little homes and lovely grassy ways
Where every kindly welcome is like music
The music that the fiddlers softly plays
And when once more the cuckoo's in the meadow
And mayflies dance along the Corrib shore
In my beloved Annaghdown you'll find me
and I'll be back to say farewell no more
Keyboards: Gerard Farrelly
4. People Like you and Me
Words and Music: Dick Farrelly
Andic Songs/MCPS
People like you and me
Have our ups and downs
But that's the way it goes
People like you and me
Play the game of love
And everybody knows
There are rules to every game
Sometimes a rule is broken
And there are many tears, many sighs
And angry words are spoken
People like you and me
Know that we're too wise
To throw our dreams away
We are so much in love
And we must make sure
our love won't go astray
We just had a silly quarrel
But it mustn't last
let the clouds go past
Or people like you and me
Could spend our lives
forever regretting
Trying so hard
But never forgetting
That love can be lost
By people like you and me.
Rhodes Piano / Synth Bass & percussion:
Gerard Farrelly
Acoustic Guitar: Mick Mc Carney
5. If You ever Fall in Love Again
Words and Music: Dick Farrelly
Andic Songs/MCPS
If you ever fall in love again
Try not to fall in love with me
Nothing new, just we two
Same old moon above
Same old words of love
If you ever share your charms again
Couldn't I be in your arms again
I love you still
And I always will
If you ever fall in love again
Piano: Gerard Farrelly
Accordion: Shaun Sweeney
6. When Today is Yesterday
Words and Music: Dick Farrelly
Andic Songs/MCPS
You're going your way
I'm going mine
If we must part
Then let it be
I hope the future years
Won't be bringing tears of regret
For you and me
When today is yesterday
And evening's touch is misty grey
We'll reminisce but will we miss
Our times together
When today is yesterday
Will we both sigh and we will say
We should belong
Like in the song our hearts used to sing
Looking back across the years
Will memories bring tears
As too late we realise
That we should be together
Before we say our last goodbye
Should we not make just one more try
To find a way before today is yesterday
Instrumental
Let's find a way before today is yesterday.
Piano: Gerard Farrelly
Acoustic Guitar: Richard M Farrelly
7. Shores of Loch Leven
Words and Music: Dick Farrelly
Andic Songs/MCPS
The wind is in the heather
The mist on the highland
The bagpipes a' playin'
The sent of the morn
I dream of it always
That land that is my land
Where my heart is ever
And where I was born
Shores of Loch Leven
In dreams I can hear you
As softly you call me
From over the sea
Shores of Loch Leven
I long to be near you
And near to my loved ones
Awaiting for me
The sweet piper's music
That echoes O're the glen
In my dreams of homeland
It echoes again
Shores of Loch Leven
'Tis soon I'll be coming
To great you my own land
And leave you no more
Piano & Keyboards: Gerard Farrelly
Uilleann Pipes: Brendan Monaghan
8. We Dreamed Our Dreams
Words and Music: Dick Farrelly
Andic Songs/MCPS
We dreamed our dreams
As we walked in the Wicklow byways
Your promise came like a lark refrain
Warm and true
And I gave my promise too
We dreamed our dreams
As we kissed in the summer gladness
Yet soon I'd cry
It would be goodbye
Then you'd be gone
Like the swallows you'd be gone
In Autumn's chill on our hill
I stood alone
I called your name
And heard the silence
Where are you now
As I linger where vows were whispered
Another Spring but as sweet birds sing
I feel the pain
Did we dream our dreams in van.
Piano: Gerard Farrelly
9. Cottage by the Lee
Words and Music: Dick Farrelly
Walton's Music Publishing
'Tis well I know that often folks keep wond'ring
When in my eyes a far off look the see
What can it be the cause of all my dreaming
What is this dream so very dear to me
And truth to tell 'tis often I go roaming
In dreams along the road of memory
To where my heart will find its consolation
Within that lovely cottage by the Lee
My home sweet home that I so fondly cherish
The dear ones that mean everything to me
In all this world if there can be a heaven
I'm sure it's in that cottage by the Lee
'Tis grand to stand outside that cottage doorway
And gaze across the cornfields rich and gold
To hear the stream go rippling by the meadow
or watch the shepard calling to his fold
From down the lane that winds behind the garden
The blackbird greets the smiling summer morn
And as his music echoes o'er the valley
You smile and bless the day that you were born
Yes that's my dream
My lovely dream of homeland
And tho' I thought a rover I could be
'Tis soon I found I left my heart behind me
Within that lovely cottage by the Lee.
Acoustic Guitar: Mick McCarney
Piano: Gerard Farrelly
10. The Gypsy Maiden
Words and Music: Dick Farrelly
Andic Songs/MCPS
She was young she was fair
And her long flowing hair
With the wild tints of Autumn laden
And the joy of her tribe is how I could describe
T his beautiful gypsy maiden
Now the fine country squire
Found his heart all afire
On the day that he met her in the borean
I will give you command of my riches and my lands
If you'll wed me my pretty astoreen
Oh I don't care a straw for your lands my good sir
Or your mansion with gold truly laden
Oh I care a straw for your lands my good sir
Said the beautiful gypsy maiden
Still he showed her his lands
And the wedding was planned
And he showed her his mansion all over
But the young gypsy maiden was nervous and dismayed
For at heart she wa still a gypsy rover
Oh I don't care a straw for your lands my good sir
Or your mansion with gold truly laden
Oh I care a straw for your lands my good sir
but we'll wed said the gypsy maiden
Came the wonderful day she was lovely and gay
To the church cane all the tribes all paradin'
Our fair prize you can't win
For she's not your kith and kin
Stay away from the gypsy maiden.
New chorus
Oh we don't care a straw for your lands my good sir
Or your mansion with gold truly laden
Oh we care a straw for your lands my good sir
And you'll ne'er wed the gypsy maiden
Keyboards / Synth Bass: Gerard Farrelly
Bodhran / Whistle & Percussion: Brendan Monaghan
Acoustic Guitar: Colm Sands
Bonus Track
11. Black is the Colour
Trad Arr. Gerard Farrelly / Sinead Stone
IMRO/MCPS
Piano: Gerard Farrelly
12. Siobhán
Words and Music: Dick Farrelly
Andic Songs/MCPS
Tháinig tú is bhí deire le bhrón
is uaigneas
Tháinig tú is aris bui amhrán i mo chroí
Tháinig tú bhí mo chruinne go lonnrach
go glé geal
Cuir geall dom
G bhfánfhaigh to liom i gcónaí
Chailfeadh me gach rud dá gcaillfeadh mé tú
Riamh Siobhán
Mo neart is mo shólás an grá a dtuggan
tú Siobhán
Fuair me thú is bhí crioch le fánacht
le faireacht
Is ón noiméad alainn bhios fior beo
O creid mé acht gur leatsa mo gra is mo chaifeacht
Leatsa mé inniu, is amarach, go deo
Chailfeadh me gach rud dá gcaillfeadh mé tú
Riamh Siobhán
Mo neart is mo shólás an grá a dtuggan
tú Siobhán
Chailfeadh me gach rud dá gcaillfeadh mé tú
Riamh Siobhán
Mo neart is mo shólás an grá a dtuggan
tú Siobhán
Rhodes Piano: Gerard Farrelly