Hi, Alan -

Yes, it has been a long time since we've had a new version of the Digital Tradition Database. I forget which version we have online at Mudcat - I think it's maybe 2008, but that's only a guess. Dick and Susan have kept updating information, but a new edition hasn't been distributed because of technical problems.

So, if you want the best information, it's here in the Forum. "Dark Island" is a particular problem because there are so many songs with the same title. Some share the same tune, and some don't.

I've tried to make sure we have the most accurate information on songs in our edited DT Study threads.

Here's what's currently in the Digital Tradition for Dark Island Version 1. Please post any corrections below.

THE DARK ISLAND
(Stewart Ross)

In the years long gone by
When I first left my home
I was young and I wanted
The wide world to roam;
But now I am older
And wiser, you see,
For that lovely dark island
Is calling to me.

cho: Though I've wandered away
From the land of my birth,
And been roaming around
To the ends of the earth,
Still my heart is at home
In that land far away
That lovely dark island
Where memories stray.
With a sorrowful heart
I look back through the years
When I think of that island
My eyes fill with tears
Once again then I long
For the land I adore
That lovely dark island
I long for once more

One day I'll return
To that far-distant shore,
And from that dark island
I'll wander no more.
'Til the day that I die
I will no longer roam
For that lovely dark island
Will be my last home.

copyright Stewart Ross
@home @travel
filename[ DARKISLE
TUNE FILE: DARKISLE
CLICK TO PLAY
RG