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Written by Paul Blondell and Charlie Roth SESAC Charlie Roth Music
‘Lady of the West’ was brought to the table by our fiddler Paul Blondell at the weekly rehearsal of our Celtic music band in Minnesota called Ring of Kerry. Paul wrote the chorus and the melody for the verse. I wrote all of the verse lyrics by going on YouTube and studying Irish history. The Statue of Liberty must have been a beautiful sight for the Irish immigrants but they were not treated well in America. They took jobs nobody else would do and built a lot of the country pretty much as slave labor. The last verse is a statement of pride about standing along side lady liberty as an equal not a slave. I think if you are Irish American you might feel a sense of pride when you hear that song. I am super proud of it and sang it all over Ireland and on the Noel Casey show on Dublin FM. It took courage to do that.
lyrics
Lady of the West
Chorus
Sail away, sail away, sail away from darkness
Sail away, sail away, sail away from death
Sail away, sail away, sail away from sorrow
Sail away, sail away, sail away to the lady of the west
We had no food on the table, no crops in the ground
no hope for the future, no help from the crown
a mass exodus across a bowl of bitter tears
from the eyes of the Irish those terrible years
Yes Erin remembers An Gorta Mor
still homeless, hungry, tired, and poor
we’ve heard of a lady with a lamp lifted high
beside a golden door on the shore
Chorus
We thought of that lady on the McCorkell Line
that passage meant life and staying was dying
we clung to our rosary beads and prayed
a new life would be made for our families that stayed
and when we arrived just barely alive
just the clothes on our backs more reasons to cry
laid eyes on the help wanted sign there that said
“if you’re Irish you need not apply”
Chorus
And though the lady tried to turn us away
still huddled together in squalor we stayed
in her shanty town and for very low pay
we fought her wars, we worked as her slaves,
we built her cities, and we laid her rails,
we dug her canals, we cut her trails,
we kept our traditions, we clung to our ways,
and we stand beside her today
Chorus
credits
from Oh My Stars,
released April 13, 2015
featuring Ring of Kerry with Paul Ford
The Medicine Show is run by Scots Broadcaster Promoter Rob Ellen. He tends a tour of the Highlands for touring roots
musicians. He helped found Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival.
The Highland tour has become a pilgrimage with American Musicians in particular, wishing to trace the roots of the music.
Rob's particular interest, is supporting House Concerts. Rob maintains the Euro House Concert Hub...more
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