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The Water is Wide
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Another hauntingly beautiful Celtic melody, with a touch of melancholy and a ray of hope.
irish music vietnam social weevils celtic music
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An itinerant bunch of traditional/contemporary Celtic musicians and singers with a loyal following in Hanoi, Vietnam and friends and former members around the w
The Social Weevils are a fluid bunch of musicians and singers who perform sets of traditional and contemporary Celtic tunes and songs from Ireland and Scotland. The band's first CD, "One for the Road," was recorded on January 3, 2000 at the Army Recording Studios in Hanoi, Vietnam, using instruments that were mostly cheap and/or broken. On that CD the Social Weevils were Peter Taylor (button accordion, guitar, mandolin, vocals), Kevin Higgins (tenor banjo, mandolin), Don McIntyre (fiddle), Huub Buise (guitar, vocals), Bob Baulch (guitar, vocals), and Mary O'Keeffe (vocals on one song). On Christmas Eve, 2000, the band recorded another CD, "Live at the R&R," at the R&R Tavern in Hanoi, Vietnam, thanks to owner Jay Ellis his wife and their son, and Ralph Raymond at the 4-track mixing board. The line-up that night was Peter Taylor on all his usual instruments and vocals, Don McIntyre on his fiddle, Ann Russell on recorders, Alec Soucy on tin whistle, Genvieve Thibault on bodhran and accapela vocals, Mary O'Keeffe providing Irish and English vocals, Joe Peters on guitar, mandolin and vocals, and assorted other friends (instruments, vocals, hand claps and foot stomps). The band's second studio CD, "Over the Ocean," was recorded in March 2004 at Kien Quyet Studio in Hanoi. The line-up for that album included Don McIntyre (fiddle, vocals), Anna Russell (recorders), Liz Druitt (bass clarinet), Darryl Rees (guitar, vocals), & Joe Peters (guitar).
Song Info
Charts
Peak #70
Peak in subgenre #8
Author
Traditional
Rights
Copyright-free
Uploaded
September 23, 2004
Track Files
MP3
MP3 2.7 MB 128 kbps 0:00
Story behind the song
This is a traditional song, popular enough to have been performed and recorded by the likes of Bob Dylan, the Indigo Girls and James Taylor. Furthermore, recently found this bit of history on the Internet: "The song was originally Waly, Waly, but in the 19th century came to be known as The Water is Wide. The song was published in 1724. O Waly, Waly is sometimes reported to be part of a longer ballad, Lord Jamie Douglas. However, Douglas was first published by Herd (1776) where it states it is to be sung to the tune of Waly, Waly, so it is fairly certain that Waly, Waly is the earlier tune."
Lyrics
The Water is Wide The water is wide I cannot cross o'er And neither have I wings to fly Give me a boat that can carry two And both shall row my love and I O love is gentle and love is kind The sweetest flower when first it's new But love grows old and waxes cold And fades away like the morning dew There is a ship She sails the sea She's laden deep As deep can be But not as deep as the love I'm in I know not how I sink or swim The water is wide I cannot cross o’er And neither have I wings to fly Give me a boat that can carry two And both shall row My love and I Give me a boat that can carry two And both shall row
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