Shanagolden
Shanagolden Echoes: Love, Loss, and Longing in Irish Hills
Lyrics
Oh the cold winds from the mountains is calling soft to me,
Reference to the cold winds from the mountains beckoning the speaker.
The smell of scented heather brings bitter memories:
The scent of heather triggers painful memories for the speaker.
A wild and lonely eagle is in the summer sky,
An eagle flying in the sky symbolizes the wild and solitary nature of the surroundings.
Oh the fields of Shanagolden, where my love Willie lies.
Refers to the fields of Shanagolden where the speaker's beloved, Willie, is buried.
I met him in the winter time when the snow was on the ground
The speaker met Willie during winter when the landscape was covered in snow.
And the Irish hills were peaceful then and love was all around.
Describes a peaceful time in the Irish hills where love was abundant.
And scarcely twenty one years old, a young man in his prime.
Willie was young, merely twenty-one, in the prime of his life.
We were married, darling Willie by the eve of Christmas time.
The speaker and Willie got married on Christmas Eve.
Oh do you remember darlin when we walked the moonlit road
Recollection of walking together on a moonlit road, emphasizing the intimacy and promise of eternal connection.
Our hands they were entwined then, I'll never let you go.
Symbolizes the commitment to never letting go of each other.
I held you in my arms my love beneath the pale moonlight,
Depicts a tender moment between the speaker and Willie under the moonlight.
Near fields of Shanagolden on a lonely winter's night.
Connects a poignant memory to the fields of Shanagolden during a lonely winter's night.
And then came the call to arms my love and the hills, they were aflame.
Refers to the call to join the war, causing upheaval in their lives.
Down from the silent mountains, a Saxon stranger came.
Describes the arrival of an unfamiliar enemy, causing disturbance.
I held you in my arms then, my young heart wild with fear,
Expresses fear while holding Willie, facing the unknown during springtime.
In fields by Shanagolden, in springtime of the year.
Relates to a specific time and place in the fields of Shanagolden.
You fought them, darling Willie, all through the summer days.
Commends Willie's bravery and resilience during the summer's battles.
I heard the rifles firing in the mountains far away
Describes hearing gunfire from a distance, signifying the ongoing conflict.
I held you in my arms my love, your blood ran free and bright,
Expresses a heartbreaking moment of holding Willie as he bleeds, perhaps indicating his death is imminent.
And you died in Shanagolden, on a lonely summer's night.
Notes Willie's death in Shanagolden during a poignant summer's night.
Ah but that was long ago my love, now our son was fine and tall
The speaker reminisces about the past, mentioning their son and the peaceful present.
And the hills, they are at peace again and the Saxon stranger gone.
Highlights the return of peace after the departure of the enemy.
I'll place a rose upon your grave, beneath the pale moonlight,
Expresses the intent to honor Willie's memory by placing a rose on his grave under the moonlight.
And we'll think of Shanagolden on a lonely winters night.
Connects back to Shanagolden on a lonely winter's night, invoking nostalgia and longing.
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