My Lagan Love
Encyclopedia
"My Lagan Love" is a song to a traditional Irish
air collected in 1903 in northern Donegal
.
The English lyrics have been credited to Joseph Campbell
(1879–1944, AKA Seosamh MacCathmhaoil and Joseph McCahill, among others). Campbell was a Belfast man whose grand-parents came from the Irish-speaking area of Flurrybridge, South Armagh. He started collecting songs in County Antrim. In 1904 he began a collaboration with composer Herbert Hughes
. Together, they collected traditional airs from the remote parts of County Donegal. While on holidays in Donegal Hughes had learned the air from Proinseas mac Suibhne, who had learned it from his father Seaghan mac Suibhne, who in turn had learned it fifty years previously.
The Lagan
is the river that runs through Belfast
. However, some argue that the Lagan in the song refers to a stream that empties into Lough Swilly
in County Donegal, not far from where Herbert Hughes collected the song.A Song for Ireland.
It was arranged in a classical style by Hamilton Harty
, which was used by Mary O'Hara
and Charlotte Church
.
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
air collected in 1903 in northern Donegal
County Donegal
County Donegal is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Ulster. It is named after the town of Donegal. Donegal County Council is the local authority for the county...
.
The English lyrics have been credited to Joseph Campbell
Joseph Campbell (poet)
Joseph Campbell was an Irish poet and lyricist. He wrote under the Gaelicised version of his name Seosamh Mac Cathmhaoil...
(1879–1944, AKA Seosamh MacCathmhaoil and Joseph McCahill, among others). Campbell was a Belfast man whose grand-parents came from the Irish-speaking area of Flurrybridge, South Armagh. He started collecting songs in County Antrim. In 1904 he began a collaboration with composer Herbert Hughes
Herbert Hughes (musicologist)
Herbert Hughes was an Irish composer, music critic and collector of folk songs.He was born and brought up in Belfast, Ireland, but completed his formal music education at the Royal College of Music, London, graduating in 1901...
. Together, they collected traditional airs from the remote parts of County Donegal. While on holidays in Donegal Hughes had learned the air from Proinseas mac Suibhne, who had learned it from his father Seaghan mac Suibhne, who in turn had learned it fifty years previously.
The Lagan
River Lagan
The River Lagan is a major river in Northern Ireland which runs 40 miles from the Slieve Croob mountain in County Down to Belfast where it enters Belfast Lough, an inlet of the Irish Sea. The River Lagan forms much of the border between County Antrim and County Down. It rises as a tiny fast...
is the river that runs through Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
. However, some argue that the Lagan in the song refers to a stream that empties into Lough Swilly
Lough Swilly
Lough Swilly in Ireland is a glacial fjord or sea inlet lying between the western side of the Inishowen Peninsula and the Fanad Peninsula, in County Donegal. Along with Carlingford Lough and Killary Harbour it is one of three known glacial fjords in Ireland....
in County Donegal, not far from where Herbert Hughes collected the song.A Song for Ireland.
It was arranged in a classical style by Hamilton Harty
Hamilton Harty
Sir Hamilton Harty was an Irish and British composer, conductor, pianist and organist. In his capacity as a conductor, he was particularly noted as an interpreter of the music of Berlioz and he was much respected as a piano accompanist of exceptional prowess...
, which was used by Mary O'Hara
Mary O'Hara
Mary O'Hara is an Irish soprano and harpist from County Sligo. O'Hara achieved fame on both sides of the Atlantic in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Her recordings of that period influenced a generation of Irish female singers who credit O'Hara with influencing their style, among them Carmel...
and Charlotte Church
Charlotte Church
Charlotte Maria Church is a Welsh singer-songwriter, actress and television presenter. She rose to fame in childhood as a classical singer before branching into pop music in 2005. By 2007, she had sold more than 10 million records worldwide including over 5 million in the United States...
.
Covers
- 1910 - John McCormack
- 1967 - Dusty SpringfieldDusty SpringfieldMary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'BrienSources use both Isabel and Isobel as the spelling of her second name. OBE , known professionally as Dusty Springfield and dubbed The White Queen of Soul, was a British pop singer whose career extended from the late 1950s to the 1990s...
live on her TV show - 1968 - Emmet SpicelandEmmet SpicelandEmmet Spiceland was a band formed when brothers Brian and Michael Byrne of The Spiceland Folk Group joined forces with Donal Lunny, Brian Bolger and Mick Moloney's Emmet Folk Group around 1968, after Mick left the group, forming a quartet....
on The First - 1969 - Esther Ofarim live on the Dieter Finnern Show
- 1972 - Sandy DennySandy DennySandy Denny , born Alexandra Elene Maclean Denny, was an English singer and songwriter, perhaps best known as the lead singer for the folk rock band Fairport Convention...
on SandySandy (Sandy Denny album)Sandy is the second solo album by Sandy Denny, and is generally considered to be her best. The album was released in 1972 and begun just a fortnight after her UK tour promoting her debut solo album The North Star Grassman and the Ravens ended in early November 1971.The first song recorded for the...
as "The Quiet Joys of Brotherhood", with lyrics by Richard FarinaRichard FariñaRichard George Fariña was an American writer and folksinger.-Early years and education:Richard Fariña was born in Brooklyn, New York, of Cuban and Irish descent. He grew up in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn and attended Brooklyn Technical High School... - 1976 - HorslipsHorslipsHorslips are an Irish Celtic rock band that compose, arrange and perform songs based on traditional Irish jigs and reels. The group are regarded as 'founding fathers of Celtic rock' for their fusion of traditional Irish music with rock music and went on to inspire many local and international acts....
on The Book of Invasions: A Celtic Symphony" (instrumental) - 1977 - Bob McGrathBob McGrathRobert Emmet "Bob" McGrath is an American singer and actor best known for playing the human character Bob on Sesame Street. He was born in Ottawa, Illinois. McGrath was named for Irish patriot Robert Emmet....
on Sleepytime BirdSesame Street discographyThis is a list of recordings released by the TV series Sesame Street. Many of the early Columbia and CTW releases have been re-released on the Sony Wonder label.-1970s:*1970 - The Sesame Street Book & Record: Original Cast This is a list of recordings released by the TV series Sesame Street. Many... - 1985 - Kate BushKate BushKate Bush is an English singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Her eclectic musical style and idiosyncratic vocal style have made her one of the United Kingdom's most successful solo female performers of the past 30 years.In 1978, at the age of 19, Bush topped the UK Singles Chart...
on Hounds of LoveHounds of LoveHounds of Love is a 1985 album by the British singer Kate Bush. It was Bush's fifth studio album, and her second no. 1. It has since been certified Double Platinum in the UK...
re-mastered edition. - 1988 - Van MorrisonVan MorrisonVan Morrison, OBE is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician. His live performances at their best are regarded as transcendental and inspired; while some of his recordings, such as the studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance, and the live album It's Too Late to Stop Now, are widely...
and The ChieftainsThe ChieftainsThe Chieftains are a Grammy-winning Irish musical group founded in 1962, best known for being one of the first bands to make Irish traditional music popular around the world.-Name:...
on Irish HeartbeatIrish HeartbeatIrish Heartbeat is the eighteenth album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison and is a collaboration with the traditional Irish musical group The Chieftains, released in 1988...
. - 1989 - Sarah McLachlanSarah McLachlanSarah Ann McLachlan, OC, OBC is a Canadian musician, singer and songwriter. Known for her emotional ballads and mezzo-soprano vocal range, as of 2006, she has sold over 40 million albums worldwide. McLachlan's best-selling album to date is Surfacing, for which she won two Grammy Awards and four...
- 1998 - Charlotte ChurchCharlotte ChurchCharlotte Maria Church is a Welsh singer-songwriter, actress and television presenter. She rose to fame in childhood as a classical singer before branching into pop music in 2005. By 2007, she had sold more than 10 million records worldwide including over 5 million in the United States...
on Voice of an AngelVoice of an AngelVoice of an Angel is the title of the debut music recording/album featuring the voice of 12-year-old soprano Charlotte Church, released in 1998.-Track listing:#"Pie Jesu" #"Panis Angelicus" #"In Trutina"... - 1998 - PentanglePentanglePentangle may refer to:*another word for a pentagram, a five-pointed star drawn with five straight strokes*Pentangle , a British folk-rock band*The Pentangle, the 1968 album by the band Pentangle...
on Passe Avant - 2001 - Roger McGuinnRoger McGuinnJames Roger McGuinn is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is best known for being the lead singer and lead guitarist on many of The Byrds' records...
on Treasures from the Folk DenFolk DenFolk Den is a folk music website founded in 1995 by Roger McGuinn, former front man of The Byrds. Hosted at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's ibiblio, the site is intended to preserve and promote folk music and offers a new folk song on a monthly basis...
, as "Pete's Song", with lyrics by Pete SeegerPete SeegerPeter "Pete" Seeger is an American folk singer and was an iconic figure in the mid-twentieth century American folk music revival. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, he also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of The Weavers, most notably their recording of Lead... - 2002 - Sinéad O'ConnorSinéad O'ConnorSinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor is an Irish singer-songwriter. She rose to fame in the late 1980s with her debut album The Lion and the Cobra and achieved worldwide success in 1990 with a cover of the song "Nothing Compares 2 U"....
on Sean-Nós NuaSean-Nós NuaSean-Nós Nua is the sixth full-length album by Irish singer Sinéad O'Connor. It consists of traditional Irish songs, the title meaning "new old-style".The album sold 225,000 copies worldwide.-Track listing:#"Peggy Gordon" – 5:45... - 2003 - AnunaAnúnaAnúna is an Irish choral group. In 1987 Dublin composer Michael McGlynn founded An Uaithne, a name which describes the three ancient types of Celtic music, Suantraí , Geantraí and Goltraí . One of the group's stated aims is to explore and redefine this music...
on InvocationInvocationAn invocation may take the form of:*Supplication or prayer.*A form of possession.*Command or conjuration.*Self-identification with certain spirits.... - 2005 - The CorrsThe CorrsThe Corrs are an Irish band which combine pop rock with traditional Celtic folk music. The brother and sisters are from Dundalk, Ireland. The group consists of the Corr siblings: Andrea ; Sharon ; Caroline ; and Jim .The Corrs came to international prominence with their performance at the...
on HomeHome (The Corrs album)Home is The Corrs' fifth studio album. An Irish-themed album, it includes covers of old Irish songs and traditionals, but also covers of non-Irish songs such as "Heart Like A Wheel". It includes two tracks in Irish, "Buachaill Ón Éirne" and "Bríd Óg Ní Mháille"; and three instrumentals, "Old Hag ",... - 2009 - Celtic WomanCeltic WomanCeltic Woman is an all-female musical ensemble conceived and assembled by Sharon Browne and David Downes, a former musical director of the Irish stage show Riverdance...
on Celtic Woman: Songs from the HeartCeltic Woman: Songs from the HeartCeltic Woman: Songs from the Heart is the fifth studio album by the group Celtic Woman released on 26 January 2010.Performers in Songs from the Heart are vocalists Chloë Agnew, Lynn Hilary, Lisa Kelly, Alex Sharpe and fiddler Máiréad Nesbitt... - 2010 - Fionnuala SherryFionnuala SherryFionnuala Sherry is an Irish violinist and vocalist. She makes up the female part of the New Instrumental duo Secret Garden, which won the Eurovision Song Contest 1995 with the predominantly instrumental piece "Nocturne".-Background:...
on Songs From BeforeSongs from BeforeSongs From Before is the solo debut from Fionnuala Sherry of the New Instrumental duo Secret Garden. The album was self released in Ireland in November 2010. and was released in June 2011 in North America by Hearts of Space Records, an independent record label owned by Valley Entertainment... - 2011 - Celtic ThunderCeltic ThunderCeltic Thunder is a singing group composed of male soloists who perform both solo and ensemble numbers. Celtic Thunder debuted in August 2007 at The Helix in Dublin, Ireland...
on StormCeltic Thunder: Storm (DVD)Celtic Thunder: Storm is the title of both a CD album and DVD which was released on September 20, 2011, by the musical group Celtic Thunder. This article relates mostly to the DVD, which is worthy of mention because unlike Celtic Thunder's other DVDs, which are filmed versions of their touring...
External links
- http://anthonykearns.net/irishrepertoire.html
- http://www.traditionalmusic.co.uk/folk-song-lyrics/My_Lagan_Love.htm