And now for some Killing Fairies

To save trees and a bit of money, you will find the song list, the explanation of my choices, and the lyrics for the songs (in that order) in this blog entry.

First, the song list:

1. City Of Blinding Lights–U2, How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb
2. What's Left of the Flag–Flogging Molly, Drunken Lullabies
3. Pavement Cracks –Annie Lennox, Bare
4. In A Lifetime–Clannad, Anam
5. All Souls Night–Loreena McKennitt, The Visit
6. The First of Autumn–Enya, May It Be - EP
7. Orinoco Flow–Taliesin Orchestra/Charles Sayre, Orinoco Flow-Music Of Enya
8. Post-Conscious Modernisation Of Space / The Candlelight Reel / The Jar O' Lentils–Burach, The Music & Song Of Greentrax
   
9. Puirt A Beul–Sileas, Celtic Odyssey
10. The Gaelic Reels–Capercaillie, Celtic Moods
11. Lukey/Lukaloney–Great Big Sea, Fire In The Kitchen
12. Black Is The Color Of My True Love's Hair–Fiddlesticks, Favorites
13. Clueless–Wolfstone, Piping Hot-A Celtic Bagpipe Collection
14. The Gypsy Rover–The Irish Rovers, The Irish Rovers Collection
15. A Bridge (That Carries Us Over)–Clannad, Lore
16. Highland Cathedral–Phil Coulter, Highland Cathedral
17. On My Way Home–Enya, Paint The Sky With Stars: The Best Of Enya
18. Long Journey Home (w/ Elvis Costello)–The Chieftains, The Wide World Over
    
19. Take Me Home–Phil Coulter, Lake Of Shadows
20. The Old Ways–Loreena McKennitt, The Visit

And a little rambling: This is the most perfect mix I have ever put together. I was giddy when I finished it and I love listening to it. I am so THRILLED with it! [/rambling]

Song Explanations
First of all, the title of the CD, ars celtica, was a stroke of luck. I don't know much Latin, but this phrase entered my head and stayed and it actually means Celtic arts! Yay for that. By Celtic arts (please be pronouncing 'Celtic' with the k sound in your head, thankyouverymuch), I mean one of three things:

a) music performed by people of Celtic origins
b) Celtic music performed by people of Celtic origins
c) Celtic music performed by people who admire the Celtic culture, but aren't Celtic themselves

I'll identify which ones are which next to their title.

• City Of Blinding Lights–U2, How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb (a-Irish)

At the moment, this is my most favorite U2 song. Bono says he was inspired to write it after giving a concert in Manhatten just after 9/11. The "You are so beautiful" line came from looking at the people of New York singing along with him, finding what joy they could after the attacks.

The way the song starts, "The more you see the less you know/The less you find out as you go/I knew much more then than I do now," feels especially poignant. Now that I have children I feel rather unqualified to assert any facts, as my assertions are often followed by the question "Why?" I used to know so much!

• What's Left of the Flag–Flogging Molly, Drunken Lullabies (a-Irish)
  

My husband heard this on the radio and determined that I must hear it too. It's the perfect blend of Irish folk and rock. I prefer to think of one line as a prayer instead of an exclamation, by the way.

• Pavement Cracks –Annie Lennox, Bare (a-Scottish)

I love Annie Lennox's haunting vocals and admire her range. This melody tends to stick in my head long after I've turned the music off.

• In A Lifetime–Clannad, Anam (a-Irish)
  

Clannad's non-Gaelic lyrics tend towards cheesiness, but I still love their melodies. This one is a duet with Bono.

• All Souls Night–Loreena McKennitt, The Visit (c)

Loreena McKennitt is known by some as "Our Lady of the Harp." She got her start remaking traditional Celtic melodies, but her musical geography has expanded. The Celts were traders and conquerers, so it is possible to find their influences all over Europe and the Middle East. McKennitt says that this song is inspired by both the Japanese ancestor celebrations, in which small lanterns are lit and set to sail on a river, and Celtic holyday celebrations, which generally involve large bonfires and lots of dancing.

• The First of Autumn–Enya, May It Be - EP (a-Irish)

This is Enya at her best, in my opinion: lots of strong bass topped with ethereal melodies.

• Orinoco Flow–Taliesin Orchestra/Charles Sayre, Orinoco Flow-Music Of Enya (c)

I love this remake of the Enya classic.

• Post-Conscious Modernisation Of Space / The Candlelight Reel / The Jar O' Lentils–Burach, The Music & Song Of Greentrax (b-Scottish)

And now we get into the "real" stuff. Greentrax is a compilation of Scottish music, most traditional, some not. This set of reels (reels are dancing songs and tend to come in threes) starts slowly and imaginatively, but that doesn't last long.

• Puirt A Beul–Sileas, Celtic Odyssey (b-Scottish)

I'll let the fine folks from Narada do the explaining here:

"The three rolling segments of unaccompanied Gaelic mouth music, or puirt a beul, sung by Sileas’ Patsy Seddon and Mary MacMaster, show the resourcefulness of rural Scots who did not always have instruments to accompany dancing. The tightly intricate yet highly danceable rhythm of their two intertwining voices is simply extraordinary. These song snippets contain intentionally repetitive, slightly varied references to everyday farm life, such as milking cows and churning butter. Patsy and Mary, together known as Sileas, are two native Scots singers and harpers who learned many of their Gaelic songs as Edinburgh’s School of Scottish Studies."

• The Gaelic Reels–Capercaillie, Celtic Moods (b)
  

I believe this is only one reel, but Capercaillie should be standard in any Celtic music collection for their reels alone.

• Lukey/Lukaloney–Great Big Sea, Fire In The Kitchen (b)
  

This song is on a Chieftains collection, but the Chieftains are widely known for their collaborations. The song is a sea shanty from the Newfoundland area. If you're really curious about the lyrics or context of the song, you can look it up by the song title on Wikipedia.

• Black Is The Color Of My True Love's Hair–Fiddlesticks, Favorites (c)

Fiddlesticks is a group I originally encountered in Utah. I love this ballad, even though I didn't know all the words until recently. My own husband is blond, but in one of those odd twists of life, the lead singer actually did end up marrying a man with black hair.

• Clueless–Wolfstone, Piping Hot-A Celtic Bagpipe Collection (b)
  

BAGPIPES! I'm one of the few and the proud who love them. A set of bagpipes, played well, can be a joy to listen to, or a subtle way of driving off unwanted visitors. It's my belief that those with a few more Celtic genes running through them are the ones who are drawn to Celtic music. My husband, who is fourth generation Irish AND Scottish, is determined to prove this theory wrong.

• The Gypsy Rover–The Irish Rovers, The Irish Rovers Collection (b)

This song was actually a last-minute addition–the night before I finalized the mix, I just couldn't stop singing it, until it finally dawned on me that I ought to add it in. I encountered the original song while taking piano lessons, and then had it sung to me at a Renaissance Festival while still a very impressionable teenager. I love the traditional sound the Irish Rovers give it.

• A Bridge (That Carries Us Over)–Clannad, Lore (a)
  

Again with the cheesy-ish lyrics, but I like the chorus: "We all speak well of a bridge that carries us over, over safe." That, and I'm just a big Clannad fan. Did I mention that Enya got her start with Clannad as a back-up singer? She did. She's related to all of them–the lead singer is her sister and most of the instrumentalists are her uncles.

• Highland Cathedral–Phil Coulter, Highland Cathedral (b-Irish)
  

Piano and bagpipes. Phil Coulter=love!

• On My Way Home–Enya, Paint The Sky With Stars: The Best Of Enya (a)

And now we begin the going home section. Interestingly, this is a frequent theme in all the Celtic music I have. I picked out the best/my favorites for the end of this CD.

• Long Journey Home (w/Elvis Costello)–The Chieftains, The Wide World Over (a-Irish)
  

I love the men's chorus on the refrain of this one.

• Take Me Home–Phil Coulter, Lake Of Shadows (a)

More men's chorus! And like the movie version of Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, this mix takes its own sweet time to actually end.

• The Old Ways–Loreena McKennitt, The Visit (c)

And we end with my other most favoritest song in the world. It's a crossroads sort of song, which appeals to me for obvious reasons if you peruse the rest of this blog. It also makes me think of connecting with my ancestors and understanding them better, so it's reminiscent of family history…in a very obscure way.


LYRICS
City of Blinding Lights
The more you see the less you know
The less you find out as you go
I knew much more then than I do now

Neon heart dayglo eyes
A city lit by fireflies
They’re advertising in the skies
For people like us

And I miss you when you’re not around
I’m getting ready to leave the ground-…
Ooh ooh ooh
Ooh ooh ooh

Oh you look so beautiful tonight
In the city of blinding lights

Don’t look before you laugh
Look ugly in a photograph
Flash bulbs purple irises
The camera can’t see

I’ve seen you walk unafraid
I’ve seen you in the clothes you made
Can you see the beauty inside of me?
What happened to the beauty I had inside of me?

And I miss you when you’re not around
I’m getting ready to leave the ground

Ooh ooh ooh
Ooh ooh ooh

Oh you look so beautiful tonight
Oh you look so beautiful tonight
Oh you look so beautiful tonight
In the city of blinding lights

The more you know the less you feel
Some pray for others steal
Blessings are not just for the ones who kneel…luckily

What's Left Of The Flag
His eyes they closed and his last breath spoke
he had seen all to be seen
A life once full, now an empty vase
Wilt the blossoms on his early grave

Walk away me boy, walk away me boy
And by mornin' we'll be free
Wipe that golden tear from your mother dear
And raise what's left of the flag for me

Then the rosary beads count them one, two, three
Fell apart as they hit the floor
In our garb of black we must pay respect
To the color we're born to mourn

Walk away me boys, walk away me boys
And by morning we'll be free
Wipe that golden tear from your mother dear
And raise what's left of the flag for me

In his place there grew an angry festered wound
Filled with hatred and remorse
Where I'd pick and scratch till the blood it matched
The silent rage not that fills my lungs
For there are many ways to kill a man they say
With bayonet, axe, or sword
But son a bullet fired from a shapeless guise
Leaves but the shell of a Thompson gun

Walk away me boys, walk away me boys
And by morning we'll be free
Wipe that golden tear from your mother dear
And raise what's left of the flag for me

From the East out to the Western shore
Where many men and many more will fall
But no angel flies with me tonight
Till freedom reigns on all
And curse the name for which we slaved our days
Till every man shall his kingdom come
But sure as night turns day
Ends the passion play
Oh my god what have they done
With madman's rage, well they dug our graves
But the dead rise again you fools

Walk away me boys, walk away me boys
And by morning we'll be free
Wipe that golden tear from your mother dear
And raise what's left of the flag for me

Walk away me boys, walk away me boys
And by morning we'll be free
Wipe that golden tear from your mother dear
And raise what's left of the flag for me

Pavement Cracks
The city streets are wet again with rain
But I'm walkin' just the same
Skies turn to the usual grey
When you turn to face the day
And love don't show up in the pavement cracks
All my water colors fade to black
I'm goin' nowhere and I'm ten steps back
All my dreams have fallen flat

(Love don't show in the pavement cracks
There will be no turning back)

Time and space will pass us by and by
When we don't see eye to eye
I would have done anything
For happiness to bring ...
But it don't show up in the pavement cracks
I can't even cover up my tracks
I'm goin' nowhere and I'm light years back
Ooh I wish you well

How come
Every day
I'm still waiting for the change?
How come
I still say
Give me strength to live?

Where is my comfort zone?
A simple place to call my own
'Cause everything I wanna be
Comes crashing down on me
And it don't show up in the pavement cracks
I can't even recognize my tracks
You and I can't turn the whole thing back
Ooh I wish you well

In a Lifetime
Hard to tell
Or recognize a sign
To see me through
A warning sign
First the thunder
Satisfied, if the past it will not lie
Then the storm
Torn asunder
The future you and I get blown away
In the storm
In a lifetime
And as the rain it falls
Begin again, as the storm breaks through
Heavy in my heart
Believe the light in you
So the light shines in you
Without color, faded and worn
Torn asunder in the storm
Unless the sound has faded from you soul
Unless it disappears
First the thunder
Selfish storm
Then the storm
Hold on the inside
Torn asunder
One life
In the storm
In a lifetime
In a lifetime

All Souls Night
Bonfires dot the rolling hillsides
Figures dance around and around
To drums that pulse out echoes of darkness
Moving to the pagan sound.

Somewhere in a hidden memory
Images float before my eyes
Of fragrant nights of straw and of bonfires
And dancing till the next sunrise.

Chorus:
I can see lights in the distance
Trembling in the dark cloak of night
Candles and lanterns are dancing, dancing
A waltz on all souls night.

Figures of cornstalks bend in the shadows
Held up tall as the flames leap high
The green knight holds the holly bush
To mark where the old years passes by.

Chorus

Bonfires dot the rolling hillsides
Figures dance around and around
To drums that pulse out echoes of darkness
And moving to the pagan sound.

Standing on the bridge that crosses
The river that goes out to the sea
The wind is full of a thousand voices
They pass by the bridge and me.

Chorus

LUKEY'S BOAT (taken from Wikipedia)
Lukey's boat is painted green,
Aha, my boys,
Lukey's boat is painted green,
The prettiest boat you ever seen.
Aha me boys a-riddle-I-day.

Lukey's boat got a fine fore cutty,
And every seam is chinked with putty.

Lukey's boat got high stop sails,
And she was planched with copper nails.

Oh, Lukey's boat got a high stopped jib
And a patent block to her foremast head,

I think, says Lukey, I'll make her bigger,
I'll load her down with a one claw jigger.

Lukey's rolling out his grub,
One split pea in a ten pound tub.

Oh, Lukey he sailed down the shore,
To catch some fish from Labrador,

Aha, says Lukey, the blinds are down,
My wife is dead and underground.

Aha, says Lukey, I don't care.
Aha my boys,
Aha, says Lukey, I don't care,
I'll get me another in the spring of the year.
Aha me boys a-riddle-I-day.

Black is the color of my true love’s hair
(these lyrics aren't exact, but the best I could find online)
But Black is the colour of my true love's hair.
His face is like some rosy fair,
The prettiest face and the neatest hands,
I love the ground whereon he stands.

I love my love and well he knows,
I love the ground whereon he goes,
If you no more on earth I see,
I can't serve you as you have me.

The winter's passed and the leaves are green,
The time is passed that we have seen,
But still I hope the time will come
When you and I shall be as one.

I go to the Clyde for to mourn and weep,
But satisfied I never could sleep.
I'll write to you a few short lines,
I'll suffer death ten thousand times.

So fare you well, my own true love
The time has passed, but I wish you well.
But still I hope the time will come
When you and I will be as one.

I love my love and well he knows,
I love the ground whereon he goes.
The prettiest face, the neatest hands,
I love the ground whereon he stands.

Gypsy Rover
(these lyrics aren't exact, but the best I could find online)
The gypsy rover came over the hill
Down through the valley so shady
He whistled and he sang 'til the green woods rang
And he won the heart of a lady.

Chorus:
Auh-de-doo-auh-de-doo-dah-day
Auh-de-doo-auh-de-day-dee
He whistled and he sang 'til the green woods rang
And he won the heart of a lady.

She left her father's castle gate
She left her own true lover
She left her servants and her estate
To follow her gypsy rover

Chorus

Her father mounted his fastest steed
And ranged the valley over
He sought his daughter at great speed
And her whistling gypsy rover

Chorus

At last he came to a mansion fine
Down by the River Clady
And there was music and there was wine
For the gypsy and his lady.

Chorus

"He is no gypsy, my father" she said
"But Lord of these lands all over
And here I'll stay 'til my dying day
With my whistling gypsy rover."

Chorus

A Bridge That Carries Us Over
Time came around, and I was in need
You came by my side, all my troubles to ease
You collected my heart, healing the past
You'll never lay down and i can count on you

We all speak well of a bridge that carries us over
...over safe
The art of compromise has surely been our greatest strength
...our greatest strength.

When someone pretends, to circle your friends
And finds he's betraying you 'fore it all ends
A bittersweet chain, that'll always remain
So don't let illusions get the better of you

We all speak well of a bridge that carries us over
...over safe
The art of compromise has surely been our greatest strength
...our greatest strength.Love is to share, where words can't compare
Love is desire, so full of fire

We all speak well of a bridge that carries us over
...over safe
The art of compromise has surely been our greatest strength
...our greatest strength.

We all speak well of a bridge that carries us over
...over safe
The art of compromise has surely been our greatest strength
...our greatest strength.

On My Way Home
I have been given
One moment from heaven
As I am walking
Surrounded by night.
Stars high above me
Make a wish under moonlight.

On my way home
I remember
Only good days.
On my way home
I remember all the best days.
I’m on my way home
I can remember
Every new day.

I move in silence
With each step taken,
Snow falling round me
Like angels in flight.
Far in the distance
Is my wish under moonlight.

Long Journey Home
If on every ocean the ship is a throne
And for each mast cut down anther sapling is grown
Then I could believe that I’m bound to find
A better life than I left behind

But as you ascend the ladder
Look out below where you tread
For the colors bled as they overflowed
Red, white and blue
Green, white and gold

So I had to leave from my country of birth
As for each child grown tall
Another lies in the earth
And for every rail we laid in the loam
There’s a thousand miles of the long journey home

But as you ascend the ladder
Look out below where you tread
For the colors bled as they overflowed
Red, white and blue
Green, white and gold

Take Me Home
I sit here thinking, as the sun is sinking,
Of long winter evenings by my own fireside.
So far away now, but any day now,
I’ll sail on the morning tide.

Chorus:
Home, oh take me home
Home to the people I left behind
Home to the love I know I’ll find
Oh, take me home.

The Old Ways
The thundering waves are calling me home to you
The pounding sea is calling me home to you.

On a dark new year’s night
On the west coast of Clare
I heard your voice singing
Your eyes danced the song
Your hands played the tune
T’was a vision before me.

We left the music behind and the dance carried on
As we stole away to the seashore
We smelt the brine, felt the wind in our hair
And with sadness you paused.

Suddenly I knew that you’d have to go
My world was not yours, your eyes told me so
Yet it was there I felt the crossroads of time
And I wondered why.

As we cast our gaze on the tumbling sea
A vision came o’er me
Of thundering hooves and beating wings
In clouds above.

As you turned to go I heard you call my name.
You were like a bird in a cage, spreading its
Wings to fly
“The old ways are lost,” you sang as you flew
and I wondered why.