JFK In Ireland 1963 Distant Drums And Promises To Keep

JFK In Ireland 1963 Distant Drums And Promises To Keep



The poem JFK read before he departed Ireland was written by Gerald Griffin. The night before JFK had sat next to the Irish President Éamon de Valera's wife at dinner and she read the poem to him. JFK wrote the words down because " he thought they were beautiful ". The next day JFK took the written poem from his pocket on board the helicopter as it descended to Shannon airport.He tried to commit it to memory. Unfortunately, JFK was unable to decipher his own handwriting so he handed the poem to his advisers who tried to recreate the poem from the notes that JFK had written but they too had trouble reading JFK's writing. The advisers tried frantically as the helicopter neared Shannon to read JFK's script. Basically they cobbled together something that they thought approached what the poem actually said. They gave their version to JFK who read it on the rostrum at Shannon airport.


What JFK read was:

Tis the Shannon's brightly glancing stream,
Brightly gleaming, silent in the morning beam,
Oh, the sight entrancing.
Thus returns from travels long.
Years of exile, years of pain,
To see old Shannon's face again.

What Gerald Griffin, the author, actually wrote was:

Tis, it is the Shannon stream,
Brightly glancing, brightly glancing,
See, oh see the ruddy beam
upon its waters dancing.
Thus returned from travel vain,
Years of exile, years of pain,
To see old Shannon's face again,
Oh, the bliss entrancing,
Hail, our own majestic stream,
flowing ever, flowing ever,
Silent in the morning beam.
Our own beloved river!!


JFK's sentiment was well intentioned and years later Éamon de Valera was to chuckle to himself as he recalled fondly JFK's trying to make out his own handwriting and eventually coming up with ( with the "help" of his advisers ) a poem which was something totally different from the original.

Still, it's the thought that counts.......

Category:

Music

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• JFK
• In
• Ireland
• 1963
• Distant
• Drums
• And
• Promises
• To
• Keep