Kilkelly, Ireland

I immediately loved this song by Steven and Peter Jones, based on letters, sent from Ireland to the new world, written by their grand-grand father. The letters tell the story of the family from the great famine years to 1892, the distance and the pace of life. The simple, authentic lines have a unique intensity. Here I use my Martin D28 GE, some two part voice harmonies and some synthetic strings in the background.

Kilkelly, Ireland

Kilkelly, Ireland, 18 and 60, my dear and loving son John
Your good friend the schoolmaster Pat McNamara
So good as to write these words down.
Your brothers have all gone to find work in England,
The house is so empty and sad
The crop of potatoes is sorely infected,
A third to a half of them bad.
And your sister Brigid and Patrick O'Donnell
Are going to be married in June.
And your mother says not to work on the railroad
And be sure to come on home soon.

Kilkelly, Ireland, 18 and 70, dear and loving son John
Hello to your Mrs and to your 4 children,
May they grow to be healthy and strong.
Michael has got in a wee bit of trouble,
I guess that he never will learn.
Ah because of the dampness there's no turf to speak of
And now we have nothing to burn.
And Brigid is happy, you named a child for her
And now she's got six of her own.
You say you found work, but you won't say what kind
Or when you will be coming home.

Kilkelly, Ireland, 18 and 80, dear Michael and John, my sons
I'm sorry to give you the very sad news
That your dear old mother passed on.
We buried her down at the church in Kilkelly,
Your brothers and Brigid were there.
Ah you don't have to worry, she died very quickly,
Remember her in your prayers.
And it's so good to hear that Michael's returning,
With money he's sure to buy land
For the crop has been poor and the people are selling
At any price that they can.

Kilkelly, Ireland, 18 and 90, my dear and loving son John
I guess that I might be close on to eighty,
It's thirty years since you're gone.
Because of all of the money you send me,
I'm still living out on my own.
And Michael has built himself a fine house
And Brigid's daughters have grown.
Thank you for sending your family picture,
They're lovely young women and men.
You say that you might even come for a visit,
What a joy to see you again.

Kilkelly, Ireland, 18 and 92, dear brother John
I'm sorry that I didn't write any sooner to tell you that father passed on.
He was living with Brigid, she says he was cheerful
And healthy right down to the end.
Ah, you should have seen him play with the grandchildren
Of Pat McNamara, your friend.
And we buried him alongside of dear mother,
Down at the Kilkelly churchyard.
Oh he was a strong and a feisty old man,
Considering his life was so hard.
And it's funny the way he kept talking about you,
He called for you in the end.
Oh, why don't you think about coming to visit,
We'd all love to see you again.