As we gather in the chapel here in old Kilmainham Jail
I think about these past few weeks, oh will they say we've failed?
From our school days they have told us we must yearn for liberty
Yet all I want in this dark place is to have you here with me
Oh Grace just hold me in your arms and let this moment linger
They'll take me out at dawn and I will die
With all my love I place this wedding ring upon your finger
There won't be time to share our love for we must say goodbye
Now I know it's hard for you my love to ever understand
The love I bare for these brave men, the love for my dear land
But when Pádraic called me to his side down in the GPO
I had to leave my own sick bed, to him I had to go
Now as the dawn is breaking, my heart is breaking too
On this May morn as I walk out, my thoughts will be of you
And I'll write some words upon the wall so everyone will know
I loved so much that I could see his blood upon the rose.
Now, I realize this is supposed to be touching, and that I'm probably supposed to swoon while I think something like, "Oh, isn't this so sad, he loves her so very much, but must leave her for a higher calling from which he will never return." A lot of Celtic music, which I enjoy a great deal, is written on the theme of the couple tragically parted when the man marches off to kill the English. (I don't truly know if that is what this song is about, but I can make a reasonable assumption based on the fact that the song is Irish).
Well. I can be as sappy as the next girl from time to time, but please. How many songs do there need to be in which a man avidly declares his love in one breath, and in the next announces that he loves his country/his honor/his friend Padraic more? There is always something the 'hero' loves more, that keeps him from sticking around and being reliable for this woman he's tied down with his declarations and promises and rings. How is that romantic? Having actual obligations and deciding to stick it out even though you can't be in the same place is one thing. "I love you....but now I'm going to demonstrate the higher value that I have for adventure and impressing my friends by ditching you, and hope that you find it manly and honorable" is another.
No, I'm not feeling cynical or bitter today, why do you ask?
I am pondering a song declaring a long list of things that I love more than any person, which I will somehow make out to be a love song - except that it won't work, because somehow it's not so romantic when it's a woman who is more committed to her work, friends, country, whatever. Bah. Until that song gets written, listen to this:
3 comments:
I was searching for the lyrics of this song and found your blog. Sorry. It was written about a guy who was in jail after the Easter Rising, and was given special permission to marry his fiancee Grace before being executed. True story. They probably said she was pregnant, since normally permission to marry would have been denied.
I doubt the point of the song was romance, and rather suspect that it was aimed at getting sympathy for the easter rising and support in the fight for freedom.
I too was searching for the lyrics to this song when I came across this blog, otherwise I would never have dreamed of reading such indulgent, gratutious and pretentious drivel. You see, that's the one huge draw back of this marvel that is the internet- blogging. It suddenly gives the idea to everyone in the world that its their responsibility to communicate and have an opinion on matters that they have no comprehension of whatsoever. As an Irish citizen I'm sure you can understand my enjoyment of how you belittle our history and the men who fought for our freedom. Although you apparently have this great appreciation for Celtic music, what you seem to fail to appreciate is that this man would have witnessed English soldiers burning down the homes of his family and neighbours, humiliating grown men by making them parade up and down the streets in their underwear for mere sport and watched children as they died from starvation as the army and aristocracy watched on and laughed. This is only the tip of the iceberg, but I feel you understand where I'm going with this. Without these men today I would still be a second class citizen and, although I am not a republican, I thank him for that. And why do we have so many songs about men writing to their beloved from their cells before they meet the Firing Squad in the morning? It is because hundreds of men were in that exact position and each and every one of them should be remembered for what they sacrificed. As I said I am not a republican nor do I advocate violence as a means of achieving anything, but to demean a dying man aching for his love is unforgivable in my opinion. I have wathced grown men cry listening to this song, and yet all you can do is make a sarcastic comment. What I find most delighful of all is that you are a "Minister". As a practising Catholic who attends mass three times a week I have been taught of Jesus' compassion all my life and how this was possibly his greatest teaching of all. Now tell me please Stacey, where is the compassion in this "blog"?
But like Jesus, I will forgive you, because as I said before, you must simply be another mindless victim of the internet, flaunting an unedcuated opinion on a subject of which they have no clue.
Well, I didn't intend it to be a commentary on Irish history, and apologize if it was in any way offensive. I was having a fairly awful day, with personal circumstances of my own that made me unsympathetic to the point of view of the song, in case that wasn't clear from the post - and this is one of my outlets, read mostly by friends who understand the need to vent. But thanks for your compassion, although apparently your forgiveness comes only after the verbal whipping post.
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