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Ois​ì​n

from Singing on the Wind by Anne Lister

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about

Fionn Mac Cumhaill's son Oisin was taken off to the Land of Youth (Tir na Nog) by Niamh of the Golden Hair. Manannan is the god of the sea. I started wondering about all those others who left Ireland after the Famine, as well as those who are still leaving, and all those deserted homes which look so much older than they are in reality. Beara, February 1999.

lyrics

Manannan's white horses ride wild and ride high
The day was like this when we said goodbye
He left with a fine song of joy in his heart
And it's been so long now since we've been apart.

She came like a princess with long golden hair
With stories of plenty and love over there
He'd eyes for no one but her once they met
He left us without a word of regret.

And is his life good now, and is his life sweet
Soft grass or fine tapestries under his feet
Coins in his pocket, and peace in his soul
In a land where nothing decays or grows old?

Here we've sunshine and showers and roses with thorns
And darkness before the first light of dawn
Time alters and changes, it can't stay the same
Nothing eases the hurt when I think of his name.

Could there be a world where the sun always shines
No one suffers or worries or thinks of the time
Does he think about us or remember the day
When Manannan's white horses rode high in the bay?

And if he came back now, what would he see?
An old pile of stones where his home used to be
His old childhood friends now old women and men
Nothing the same for him as it was then.

The storm clouds are lifting, the sunshine breaks through
I'm wondering what I would say or would do
If he came back to us now and asked us to come
East of the moon, and west of the sun?

credits

from Singing on the Wind, released August 5, 2021
Julia Lane - harp. Mike O'Connor - fiddle. Steafan Hannigan - uillean pipes.

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Anne Lister Wales, UK

Anne is best known for her song "Icarus", recorded and performed by a number of different singers, including Martin Simpson and Nic Jones. "Astrolabe" is her ninth solo album.

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