Sleeve Notes
Windmills — Thoughts of a bygone era, when man used the elements well. Now with such great emphasis on conservation and ecology, perhaps this might well be a song for the future.
Move Along — Ewan MacColl's great song about the terrible injustices heaped on the gypsies and tinkers by their fellow men.
Fadh Mo Bhuartha — Translated from the Gaelic it means "The cause of my sorrow". A beautiful and desolate love song.
Hares On The Mountain — Philosophical thoughts that have filled the minds of young men since time immemorial. The tune at the end is an old set dance called "The Three Sea Captains."
The Hills Of Isle Au Haut — This little island off the coast of Maine seems to be a favourite spot of singer-songwriter-poet-fisherman Gordon Bok. Long may he continue to write songs such as this one.
The Town Of Rostrevor — Nestling at the foot of the Mourne Mountains in County Down, this lovely little town certainly deserves a song of it's own.
Bread And Fishes — From the pen of Alan Bell, who also wrote "Windmills", this a very melodic retelling of an old story.
The Sally Gardens, When I Was One And Twenty — Irish poet William Butler Yeats would seem to have had the old traditional "The Rambling Boys Of Pleasure" in his mind when he wrote this magnificent song and English poet A.E. Housman was writing about the same subject in "When I Was One And Twenty", the poem used here.
Maggie Pickens — This started out as one verse and chorus of a children's song sung by Paddy Tunney, one of the great Irish traditional singers. A few more verses have been added, and we hope the spirit of nonsense is still intact.
The Band Played Waltzing Matilda — One of the most powerful songs to come along in years. Listen closely.
The Songman
The songman wandered,
Where high heather hills Extended misty arms
To embrace the ever moving sea,
Casting his all-consuming musicmind
On men and maidens,
On sea and sky,
On vale and verdure,
On flower and feather,
Absorbing the tastes and textures Of a quiet land Ravaged by wars,
Haunted by hero hosts,
Softened by rain winds,
Lighted by lovers.
A garden to grow flowers of fancy.
In the solitude of evening
He poured forth a rainbow-coloured
Tapestry of images,
Where dreamers could wander at will,
Picking many-hued threads of song
To soothe world weary souls.
And the singers,
Brothers to the birdful west wind,
Carried the songs to the world's end.
Tommy Makem
In an old converted church that is now the very efficient Sound West Recording Studios, in the Northwestern section of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, we gathered every day at two o'clock. From then until midnight, every night, we had our noses to the grindstone, improvising, playing, creating, working.
Archie Fisher, whose talent and enthusiasm knew no bounds, was tireless. Mansel Davies, a young Welshman now resident in Calgary, played his guitar and bass beautifully, as always. Jackie Dolan from Nenagh, County Tipperary, dropped by one day with her majestic harp to help us out. Liam Clancy and myself sang our heads off through all the work, nervous tension, frustration and joy and engineer Hank Williams proved that the sensitivity of his ears was equalled only by the skill and knowledge he possesses.
Our thanks to all four of them for helping us make this album and a very, very special thanks to Archie Fisher, not only for his considerable instrumental contribution, but also for his tremendous assistance in production and arrangement. Don't know what we'd have done without you Archie.
Tommy Makem