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12 Nov 20 - 03:15 AM (#4079319) Subject: Lyr Add: The Tern and the Swallow From: GUEST,Rory "The Tern and the Swallow" Written by Neilly Coney (1918-1988) 1974. An eel fisherman from Killygonland County Tyrone Neilly Coney was featured in a documentery series: LOOK NORTH. A Four-part documentary series looking at well known places and traditional ways of life in Northern Ireland. Episode: The Tern And The Swallow. A report on Lough Neagh by fisherman Neilly Coney Production company: BBC Northern Ireland Producer: David Hammond Date: 05/04/1974 The song is about an Irish emigrant reaching old age and longing to return home to County Armagh on the banks of Lough Neagh, where he wishes to be buried. 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 Artist recordings Cara Dillon Album: Wanderer (2017) (above lyrics) Maurice Leyden Album: The Tern and the Swallow (2016) . |
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12 Nov 20 - 12:09 PM (#4079374) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Tern and the Swallow From: leeneia Thank you, Rory. That's a good song. |
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12 Nov 20 - 12:21 PM (#4079376) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Tern and the Swallow From: leeneia You can hear Mr. Coney himself sing it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSQEJZqaaig At 1:11 he sings a verse not in the OP. I like it because it mentions rivers I know. There's grand is the Rio [pronounced Rye-oh] and fair's the Ohio. And wide the Missouri, of mention I make. Still an urge makes me follow the tern and the swallow as bonnie black waters weave down to Lough Neagh. |
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12 Nov 20 - 03:57 PM (#4079399) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Tern and the Swallow From: Phil Edwards Cara Dillon's version uses two verses added by Maurice Leyden (he says as much in the notes to his CD The Tern and the Swallow). I love Maurice's singing, but as a writer he's not a patch on Nailly himself. There are also a couple of slips in the transcription above - the Blackwater is the name of a river, for instance. The original lyrics are as follows. THE TERN AND THE SWALLOW (Nailly Coney) When the cuckoo is calling o'er 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 fathers Where Bann and Blackwater sweep down to Lough Neagh A home I have made in this land of the stranger 'Tis many's the long year since I left Derry Quay Still I dream of the bloom in the glens of old Ireland Where Bann and Blackwater sweep down to Lough Neagh 'Tis grand is the Rio and fair the Ohio And wide the Missouri of mention I make. Still an urge makes me follow the tern and the swallow Where Bann and Blackwater sweep down to Lough Neagh It’s soon I must start and this is my last journey For my eyes they grow dim and my hair sparse and grey And soon I must follow the tern and the swallow Where Bann and Blackwater sweep down to Lough Neagh So adieu to the Rio, goodbye the Ohio, And farewell Missouri so far, far away. All I ask is a cairn in the land of my fathers Where Bann and Blackwater sweep down to Lough Neagh |
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13 Nov 20 - 01:59 PM (#4079506) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Tern and the Swallow From: leeneia Thanks, Phil. |
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25 Jun 21 - 08:27 PM (#4111405) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Tern and the Swallow From: GUEST,Daniel Kelly This seems to be the same tune as ‘bold Fenian men’ or ‘down by the glenside”, maybe a common gaelic origin? |
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26 Jun 21 - 07:56 AM (#4111440) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Tern and the Swallow From: Reinhard Of course there must be another song with the same tune: One good tern deserves another! |
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26 Jun 21 - 12:21 PM (#4111477) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Tern and the Swallow From: leeneia Brilliant, Reinhard. |
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29 Jun 21 - 02:09 PM (#4111833) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Tern and the Swallow From: leeneia I've listened to 'Bold Fenian Men' and 'The Tern and the Swallow.' The tunes are quite a bit alike for the first half, but they end differently. Me, I think that the lyrics are so different, and the images they bring to mind are so different, that I never noticed the similar tunes. |