This is my first collection of contemporary songs for quite a while. I’ve been collecting songs along the way and there were loads that I just wanted to have on record. Plus I had the added good fortune of (finally) persuading Tom to sing a song or two on this album. There are a couple of our own songs and several by my favourite Irish writers.

MusiciansFil Campbell – vocals, guitar, pianoTom McFarland – vocals, percussionJames Blennerhassett – bassSeamus Brett – accordion Nuala Curran – celloJohn Fitzpatrick – fiddle, viola - string arrangement on Best WishesDanny McGreevy - uilleann pipes, whistle on EmilyBrendan Monaghan – whistles Gerard Thompson – guitar

Songs

Back There (Kerr) (3:42) Come Rain or Come Shine (Francey) (3:34) The Brightest Sky Blue (Cullen, Smith) (4:01) Best Wishes (Ashley) (3:06) Quiet Me (Jeff Barbra & Sarah Pirkle) (3:38) Shine You Diamonds (McGettigan, McCoub) (2:59) Alana on the Lane (Lee, Moore) (3:47) A Wish for Emily (Campbell, Cullen) (3:57) Make the Morning Shine (Goss, Rhodes) (3:31) My Cavan Girl (Moore) (3:44) The White Beach (Campbell, McFarland) (4:07)

Recorded at Ballyneddan Studio, Rostrevor, Co. Down – Spring 2015Engineered, mixed and mastered by Tom McFarlandCover photo by Bobbie HanveyDesign by Noel at Apex Print and Media, Newry.

Back There (Tony Kerr)This song brings me back to the innocent days of childhood.How’d be lose the knack of simple wonderJumping up and down for no reasonRolling like a pair of marblesLaughing on the floorLong before the world grew around usHow’d we do without a bedtime storyHow’d be get so strongThat we don’t need one anymore

ChorusIt’s in you, it’s in meIt’s the way we used to beFull of innocence and glory running wildSo alive we would screamFinding diamonds in the streamAnd we can make it back thereIn a heartbeat if we try.

In the days when time moved so slowlyHow we used to stare out the windowHow we wished the rain would stopSo we could see the sunIt doesn’t seem impossible to go thereDoesn’t seem so long ago at thatI just caught a glimpse of someoneYou when we were young.Chorus

Close your eyes, it’s light rushing down a hillYou think you might forget but …You never will

ChorusWe used to laugh at tomorrowAnd every time we laughed we criedAnd we can make it back thereIn a heartbeat if we try.

Come Rain or Come Shine(David Francey)Tom sings this gorgeous love song.

Long road, dark nightNothing but headlightsBut I’ll see some bright lightsWhen I get home to youFramed in your doorwayWith your arms open wideI’ll hold you in my arms, enfold you inside

ChorusAnd I want to tell youCome rain or come shineThat I'll always be your loveIf you'll always be mine

Sometimes I wonder what you see in meIs it someone you're wishing or hoping I'll be?Sometimes I wonder, I can't help myselfWill your love go someplace, with somebody else?

Sometimes you wonder what I see in youJust picture the sun on an ocean of blueJust picture that ocean so deep and so wideFeel the sun on the water, feel the pull of the tide

The Brightest Sky Blue(Enda Cullen/Ian Smith)This story song caught my ear the first time I heard it – a tale of misconceptions and the consequences.

The graveyard is silent his neighbours long goneThere’s no one to sit by his sideThough he hardly noticed, he’s left on his ownSean’s been that way most of his lifeBut once he was young with a heart that was lightHe ‘d hopes and intentions a fewAt that time in his life he’d a beautiful wifeAnd her eyes smiled the brightest sky blue

Now Briege was the girl from the end of the laneSeemed time couldn’t keep them apartHe told her he loved her and she felt the sameThey’d each lost and stolen a heartHer father agreed and the match it was doneSean’s hands made her wishes come trueHe built her cottage of white, with a thatch of pure goldAnd a door of the brightest sky blue

Now they lived a fine life for the early few yearsTil he saw a strange man leave their placeShe told him no lie, twas a man of the roadHis hand left its mark on her faceThough his jealousy scared her, what hurt her the mostWere the simple conclusions he drewAnd she never looked back as she lowered the latchOn her door of the brightest sky blue

Sean saw she was goneand he knew he was wrongHis heart bore more pain that his prideHe nailed open the door as a signal to herThat he needed his love by his sideAutumn and spring, winters, Summers the sameHe kept hoping his dream would come true And for long years in vain he sat watching the laneThrough her door of the brightest sky blue.

There’s a letter for Briege if one day she returnsHe wrote out just what I should doIn his last will and test he’d one simple requestHave the door of the cottage removedI ordered the best men the town could provideI’d the planks stripped and painted anewSean his past he regrets now he’ll go to his restIn a box of the brightest sky blue.

Best Wishes (Steve Ashley)I learned this from the singing of Grace Notes in Yorkshire and fell in love with it.

Long may the sun shineOn your bones and on your skinLong may good fortune shineUpon your kith and kinLong may the laughter lines Grow into your faceAnd long may you mastermind A perfect state of graceMay you always love and season wellAnd keep good companyMay you always act and reason wellWherever you may beAnd long may the music keep you Gentle and in thrallAnd long may its beauty shineTo pleasure one and all

Long may your passion Take a stand against all wrongsAnd long may the fashion lastThat welcomes all your songsLong may your journey take you Down a friendly road And long may you learn the waysThat lighten up your loadMay you always keep good melodyAnd never lose your keyMay you always keep your memoryAnd keep your spirit freeAnd long may the music keep youUnderneath its spell

And long may you keep it liveAnd always play it well

Quiet Me(Jeff Barbra & Sarah Pirkle)Life as a song, and a bit of Irish blues.

There’s a song in my soulThat begs to be freeIt lies there a waitingSometimes whispers to meIt’s the perfect combinationOf love, fear and sinThe song being writtenWill come from within.

It’s best when kept secretNever rehearsedEach day a new chorusEach moment a verseIt may never be finishedIt may never beginThe song being writtenWill come from within

Quiet me, so I don’t miss itKeep me still oh myQuiet me, so I can hear itThe sweet song of my life

My head’s full of staticFrom the noise of the dayI’m drowning in detailsAnd the choices to makeBut I face my responsibilitiesHey I walk the lineDoing strained casting rhythmsOn the passing of time

And each numbered heartbeat,Each precious breathEach fleeting momentWe’re closer to deathSo I count my many blessings,Let the choir beginThe song being writtenWill come from within

Chorus

Shine You Diamonds (Mc Gettigan/ Mc Coubrey)Here’s to you the silent heroes

ChorusHere’s to you the silent heroes, Ever there if we should call. Left unsung, you merit haloes. We salute you one and all.

Build our homes, our streets and highways, Light us in the dark of night,Buses, trains and planes and skyways, Rarely found in the limelight.Keep our families from danger, Grow your crops out on the farm,Help the lost and greet the stranger. Take the weak ones by the arm

Chorus

To the hand that rocks the cradle To the best four legged friendto the helpful hands of healing to the love that never endsTo the search and rescue angels Bring us home from stormy seasTo the early morning risers Keeping watch while we're asleep

BridgeWe live our own story line in every step we takeSometimes we forget to shine a light on the things you make.Chorus

Checkout girls and window cleaners, Sparks that fly and plumbers too,Butchers, bakers, football trainers. Where would we be without you?You guide us on you give us wisdom, take us gently through it all,In the war you bring us freedom, Pick us up if we should fall.Chorus.

Alana in the Lane(Paul Lee / Thom Moore)Remembering a day with a much loved little girl 

Alana goes her way,down Ballybrooney Lane,and back again.She walks me slowly now,always the same thing:my mind is on the day,and Alana in the lane. To the Manor House we go:a field of cows up thereall stop and stare.They scare this tiny thingwho clings so close to me –all hides and horns and eyes!– but Alana doesn't cry. The future's full of questions now,all of them with rain.The farmer and his famous cows,and Ballybrooney Lane. No need to cast around:a grown-up holds her hand,she's safe and sound.To make her feel at easeI laugh out loud, so proudto be the one to standwith Alana by the hand. Then somehow comes the daythat nothing in the worldcan keep away.And all that's left to do,as much for me as you,is to hold the mem'ry plainof Alana in the lane.

A Wish for Emily (Fil Campbell & Enda Patrick Cullen)

A second generation emigrating with a battered suitcase to America.

The battered suitcase sits in placeBehind our kitchen door it waitsFor another generation’s waifTo take it to AmericaSame words my mother said to meI’ll whisper to you EmilyJust know that you will always beMo leanbh - gra mo chroi

Chorus Remember love, when music fadesAnd light dissolves to darker shadesWhenever you may feel the needI’ll be with you and you with me

Oh Emily, enjoy the sightsOf Central Park and Broadway’s lightsI remember all of her delightsBrooklyn Heights was homeWhen New York City’s winter leavesWhen Northern snows begin to easeWhen you smell her cherry-blossom-breezeYou’ll feel how loving she can beChorus

Oh Emily don’t be afraidIt’s just our ‘parting of the ways’But soon as we find better daysThis road will draw you homeThe tears that hide behind my smileMake little of 3,000 milesThey’ll separate me from my childAbout to prove she’s grownChorus

Your battered suitcase sits in placeBeside our kitchen door it waitsNow another generation’s waif….Takes it to America

Make the Morning Shine (Kieran Goss/Kimmie Rhodes)

Don’t we all have these mornings when all we wish for is some sunshine!

Storm clouds gather under troubled skiesLost and lonely in the dark nightI’m out here looking for a place to hideGive me shelter from the rain

Send me flowers all around my doorSing me songs like you’ve always sung beforeAnd lead me by the light of love shining on my lifeMake the morning sun shineMake the morning shine

Like the grass beneath neath the winter snowWaiting for a summer daygive me shelter from the wind and coldAnd make the winter go away

Chorus

My Cavan Girl (Thom Moore)

Thom Moore’s lyrics are so beautiful, sung here by Tom.

As I walk the road from Killeshandra weary I sit downFor it's 12 long miles around the lake to get to Cavan TownThough Oughter and the road I go once seemed beyond compareNow I curse the time it takes to reach my Cavan girl so fair

The autumn shades are on the leaves, the trees will soon be bareEach red-coat leaf around me seems the colours of her hairMy gaze retreats defies my feet and once again I sighFor the broken pool of sky reminds me, the colour of her eyes

At the Cavan cross each Sunday morning, there she can be foundAnd she seems to have the eye of every boy in Cavan TownIf my luck will hold I'll have the golden summer of her smileAnd to break the hearts of Cavan men she'll walk with me awhile

So next Sunday evening finds me homeward – Killeshandra Bound To work the week till I return and court in Cavan TownWhen asked if she would be my bride, at least she'd not say noSo next Sunday morning 'rouse myself and back to her I'll go

The White Beach (Campbell/McFarland)The story of an event that happened near us, where people were up in arms that the local landlord had closed off access to a favourite beach

Walking by the sea todayI wandered back in time

I can still recall my father’s handHolding on to mineAnd the first time that he took meTo a hidden piece of shoreThat his own father showed to himMany years before

He told me lots of stories from the time he was a ladAbout family summer Sundays with the picnics on the strandAnd about the Yankee soldiers that stayed there in the warWho danced at Ballyedmond and walked with sweethearts on the shore

ChorusAnd he said “Walk with me to the white beachAnd we'll walk there one more timeCome and walk with me to the white beachAnd I'll take your hand in mineCome and walk with me to the white beachPast the Pond Field on the wayWe'll cross the moat togetherCome and walk with me today”

Then he told me of the anger when the landlord closed the wayAnd a fence was built around the Moat and the Pond Field drained awayHe couldn’t understand just how they failed to seeWhat the lovely White Beach meant to you and meChorus

Now I’m thinking of the white beachIn my mind’s eye I can seeThat lonely stretch of strandThat holds such memories for mAnd when I’m on a foreign shoreWith children of my ownI’ll tell them of the White BeachClose to my Rostrevor home. And I’ll say Chorus