Far Away Places
- Release date: 2021-04-02
Sammy Horner solo The Good Ship Kelly Jean the days were long and dreadful the landlords were unkind Captain Conal was a Quaker he was good and strong and fair haul away boys haul away Captain Conal ran a tight ship, they were a loyal crew soon the cruel ocean was beating on the bow it was six weeks on the open sea before we saw the shore Linger Here Beside You these days are strange that’s come come lay here in my arms and look into my eyes sure life can make us smile N.I.N.A now listen here me mates I’ve a story to relate but I’ve heard that it's true apparently the French are allowed to use a wrench I’m sure you think I’m rakin' or making stories up he Children Of White Rock we left White Rock behind us two thousand miles behind us, two thousand till we're there they tell me that there's plenty so fair thee well my homeland Annie Glover come all you young Irish lads, lassies as well now Annie was raised on her family’s farm a daughter she bore him then sadly he died as darkness descended for reasons unknown then both made to work, John Goodwin their lord but all Goodwin’s daughters fell sick at one time now Annie praised Jesus in her mother tongue California we are heading to a new land, to Connecticut , New Jersey this new land will have Murphys, O’Donnels, McEvoys there'll be Kellys in Kentucky Skibbereen it was in West Cork I breathed my first for she used to be delightful, it started with a rumour we heard the Murphys’ son had died Hush just close your eyes my gentle wee boy hush now go to sleep your days have been sort I'll tell you a tale, best as I can Immigrant Eyes He stands on the corner a far away look in his eye he stands on the corner like I did decades ago now less and less places remain that were here long ago do I wanna go on, go back or stay in-between I know to go back takes me nowhere however I try The Song Isn't Singing I’m just a poor farmer, an Irishman proud but the blight it has come and ruined our crops they said we'd have hope if we worked hard and prayed those English fat asses just sat on their hands oh the tunes of my country the reels and the jigs No Man Is An island come sit round me table no man is an island there's not much to eat These Days Will Pass It seems too long since life was fine keep your head high, this time will soon be done sure trouble makes or breaks a man we'll make our journey , find our place
Good ship Kelly jean
no home, no food no future, no joy, no peace of mind
they said there was a new world, the likes of us could live
so we headed to the docklands, to see what they could give
he welcomed us aboard and promised he would get us there
he said ‘you’ll have to pull your weight but you will do just fine
I’ve never lost one passenger on any watch of mine’
there’s nothing left here for us anyway
the voyage won’t be easy and there’s nothing in between,
so we settled in the belly of the good ship Kelly Jean
before they would set sail again, he’d tell them what to do
‘treat passengers with deep respect and simple dignity,
any sailor who ignores this will be answerable to me’
Conal smiled and shouted out ‘no going back there now!
I’ve seen the place your headed and it is rich and green
and I swear you’ll get there safely on the good ship Kelly Jean’
it slowly dawned that we would see our homeland nevermore
but Conal shared a meal with us and looked us in the eye
‘work hard now for your children and your people will not die’Linger Here beside You
and you are still so young
but even so I see your worried glances
it all seems so unsure
what lies behind our door
they say that no one should be taking chances
and you will see the love that nothing can disguise
no matter what this day requires us all to do
your mammy will just linger here beside you
and also make us cry
it has been that way far back as we remember
at times you'll think you’re king
and others just a slave
when hope seems nothing but a dying emberN.I.N.A
and you might find it hard to believe
there’s a rumour going round
saying jobs there can be found
If you travel far across the mighty sea
for the likes of me and you
honest labour's hard to find there if you try
it's been whispered here to me
the first sign that you will see
says the irish need not apply
the Germans building houses by the score
and no one’s bothered much, if you’re Danish or you’re Dutch
and Englishmen get offers even more
to find work in a bar is limited by far
if you came from Donegal you'll wonder why
doesn't matter what the season and it makes no sense or reason
the sign says if you’re Irish don't apply
but my sources are reliable be sure
and I wouldn’t tell a lie, cross my heart and hope to die
there’s some work for you there if you endure
you must think a little broader, for you'll be cannon fodder
or laying rails in deserts hot and dry
well all that work is thriving if you don't mind not surviving
and for these jobs the Irish may applyChildren Of White Rock
on a tall ship under sail
took the broad Atlantic with the dolphin and the whale
we're bound for New York City, and opportunity
it's all that’s left for a no chance soul like me
too far out to turn back
too far gone to care
I curse the cur who sold me my ticket at the dock
and tore me from the children of White Rock
and the streets are paved with gold,
but all I feel’s the biting steel of hunger and the cold
so pass around the bottle, I need it's company
It’s all that's left for a no chance soul like me
and my lazy no-good friends
fair thee well my darling
I'll love you to the end
and I won't forget your cheating heart
as flimsy as your frock
I will always miss you, the children of White RockAnnie Glover
I’ll spin you a yarn that one day you’ll tell
don’t make it a whisper make sure that you yell
the ballad of poor Annie Glover
they worked on the land, they did no one harm
like many a girl, fell for a man’s charm
his wife she became Annie Glover
now young mother Annie had nothing beside
for a husband and father sweet Annie now cried
the heartbroken poor Annie Glover
the roundhead came into dear Annie’s home
and shipped her and daughter across briny foam
she never knew why Annie Glover
no wages were given except food and board
the Irish were free so they all could afford
the likes of sweet old Annie Glover
The doctors were helpless to make them feel fine
'It’s witch craft' they said, ‘a hex is the crime’
and blamed it on old Annie Glover
and also in Latin to her faith she clung
but she couldn’t in English and so she was hung
As a witch she died poor Annie GloverCalifornia
like nothing we have seen
one part is a desert
the other emerald green
it's hard now to imagine it
but one day we might say
there's less of us in Ireland than in California
New York and Ohio,
Illinois & Massachusetts
to Iowa we'll go
we'll bring our music with us
and we will dance and say
there's less of us in Ireland than in California
there'll be Connors and Fitzgeralds,
and them McCarthy Boys
the Ryans and the Foleys pick their fiddles up and play
there's less of us in Ireland than in California
the Byrnes in Baltimore
the San Francisco Sullivans
O'Briens by the score
Saint Patrick's Christian Brothers
who also when they pray
say there’s less of us in Ireland than in CaliforniaSkibbereen
it was there that I grew tall
my father a strong cottier
my mother quaint and small,
we worked the land, it paid the rent
put food upon our plate
we never starved till ‘46
t’was when we felt it’s weight.
the finest place you’d seen
she used to be magnificent
in her forty shades of green
you’d never want to leave her
not if ever you’d ever been
to our town before the hunger came
and it starved poor Skibbereen.
that the praties had turned bad
the land was giving nothing back
the worst crops that we’d had.
but we’d been thru hard times before
community was strong
but we’d never seen the likes before
we couldn’t be more wrong
their daughter close behind
the sadness, oh the sadness
almost made us lose our minds.
they told us we were lucky
how thankful we should be
as they sealed us in a coffin boat
and pushed us out to seaHush
today has been a long with nought to enjoy
I know that you're belly is empty and sore
hush go to sleep my wee darling
wake in that place were you'll no longer weep
your mammy is there, soon I will come
hush go to sleep my wee darling
upon this green land
why it's so hard you can’t understand
so close your dear eyes your Da has your hand
hush go to sleep my wee darling
they say that the good Lord has promised a land
there’s food on each table as much as you want
so hush go to sleep my wee darlingImmigrant Eyes
what is he seeing, somewhere that's not here or now
is it bright, is it sunny or noisy and teaming with life
or grey as this corner dull with the shadows of strife?
with a far away look and a dream that some day I'd go
see far away faces and places you just see in dreams
and the memory returns and cuts through all that I’ve seen
and old Rainbow Corner's a drop in for strangers, y'know
and the Fair Green's all grey its not been green for many a year
and the sound of the fair is just a buzz in my ear
much here has changed or remained, but seen thru times screen
and he on the corner who's dark eyes see some other place
who'll be here tomorrow filling the same empty space?
there’s places and spaces alive and yet time still flies by
I just can't go back to a memory that often is flat
but here in this moment of time is just where it's at Song Isn't Singing
we sang songs to the hearts of our women
and we danced in the fields like we owned the whole land
when the land of the song was still singing
and the songs from our throats have been driven
to the grave like our mothers and fathers before
when the land of the song was still singing
but they lied in the tidings they're bringing
my wife died to hunger my child of disease
in the land were the song wasn't singing
and the church lied beyond my forgiving
for what’s there to say as they send me away
from a land where the song isn't singing
everyday in my head are still ringing
will I hear them one day, on a shore far away
from the land where the song isn't singing No Man Is An island
and share in a meal
let’s tell all our stories together
for it's in community each of us thrive
its how we survive wind and weather
no woman can live
without kindly neighbours
and others who give
a hand when we're helpless
so come let us live and
give thanks for our our friends and relations
but there’s plenty to share
the poems and songs you're recalling
will help feed our spirits
until there's a time
when things will not be so appallingThese Days Will Pass
pain goes by in slower time
we shared the little that we had
where things had never been that bad
just believe that, the best is yet to come
for even hard times will wither like the grass
these days will pass, these days will pass
some give in while others stand
and somewhere in the midst the fear
they know these days will disappear
some day soon in God's good grace
and we'll be glad for what we've done
for our daughters for our sons
"This album is now available"
"You can purchase this album from"
https://sammyhorner.bandcamp.com/album/far-away-places