Altan -- The Wind and Rain

Howdy, folks!

This is Altan. They're a wondifferous folk group led by the amazing fiddler/vocalist Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh. Quite the mouthful, hm? She's got an amazing voice & she's one of the best fiddlers I've heard. Her voice makes me miss Tarja. Sad face...

This is the song "The Wind and Rain." I don't know how to feel when I listen to this song, but I always feel good.. I hope I'm not evil... Anyhoo, it comes off the album Local Ground.

Hope ya like it!

--Lyrics--

There were two sisters of County Clare
Oh, the wind and rain
One was dark and the other was fair
Oh, the dreadful wind and rain

And they both had the love of the miller's son
Oh, the wind and rain
But he was fond of the fairer one
Oh, the dreadful wind and rain

So she pushed her into the river to drown
Oh, the wind and rain
And watched her as she floated out
Oh, the dreadful wind and rain

She floated 'til she came to the miller's pond
Oh, the wind and rain
Dead on the water like a golden swan
Oh, the dreadful wind and rain

And she came to rest on the riverside
Oh, the wind and rain
And her bones were washed by the rolling tide
Oh, the dreadful wind and rain

And along the road came a fiddler fair
Oh, the wind and rain
And found her bones just lying there
Oh, the dreadful wind and rain

So he made a fiddle peg of her long finger bone
Oh, the wind and rain
He made a fiddle peg of her long finger bone
Crying, oh, the dreadful wind and rain

And he strung his fiddle bow with her long yellow hair
Oh, the wind and rain
He strung his fiddle bow with her long yellow hair
Crying, oh, the dreadful wind and rain

And he made a little fiddle of her little breast bone
Oh, the wind and rain
He made a fiddle of her little breast bone
Crying, oh, the dreadful wind and rain

But the only tune that the fiddle would play
Was oh, the wind and rain
The only tune that the fiddle would play
Was oh, the dreadful wind and rain

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Altan
• Folk
• Irish
• Traditional
• The
• Wind
• and
• Rain
• Local
• Ground
• Fiddle

[ralfemmelius]

Well, on this sort of real handmade soft folk music shines the all the epic starlight of the norhtern hemnisphere. This Rock & Roll could never reach the border of this gentle and very fine tunes.

[BarbaricGoose]

@ralfemmelius I wouldn't sell rock & roll short. Lot of great musicians play rock & roll. Warren Zevon is, in my eyes, one of the greatest artists to ever live, and he played rock & roll.

In fact, you might check out his song Macgillicuddy's Reeks. The tune sounds like something that would come out of a Dubliners album, but the lyrics are... not what you'd traditionally find in an Irish folk song. And therein lies the joke. I implore you to give him a listen.

[ralfemmelius]

@BarbaricGoose

I realy gave him a short listen. There is no compare to Altan and I miss the fearless optimistical clear message of love in the countryside, like I feal it here in underfranconia.

[BarbaricGoose]

@ralfemmelius Well that is a damn shame, but to each their own.

[kofemord]

wich is the language that altan sing??

[BarbaricGoose]

@kofemord Well this is sung in English, but they also do Gaelic.

[marlesimms]

wondifferous indeed! thanks for sharing ^_^

[ArcticWolf003]

This makes me think of me and my sister, she's tan with dark hair, I'm fair with light hair, and I hate to say it, but she would be cruel enough to push me into a river for any reason if I got her mad enough.

[tbladon1]

Used to hear someone sing this one in a session.  Great song!! Just realized that this is the same song as "Bonnie, bonnie bows of London", done by Martin Carthy and Dave Swarbrick.

[tbladon1]

Used to hear someone sing this one in a session. Great song!!