Rain and Thunder  (1994)

01. 4th Part of Clumsy Lover
02. Back Home In Derry
03. Whistle Set
04. From Clare To Here
05. Uillean Pipe Set
06. Faithful Departed
07. 4th Part of Pipe Major George Allen
08. For James
09. Talk To Me
10. Rain and Thunder
11. Si Beg Si Mohr
12. Nothing
13. Amazing Grace

4th Part of Clumsy Lover
(Neil Dickie)


Back Home In Derry
(Traditional melody; lyrics by B Sands)

In 1803 we sailed out to sea
Out from the sweet town of Derry
For Australia bound if we didn't all drown
And the marks of our fetters we carried
And rusty iron chains we sighed for our wanes 
As our good wives we left home in sorrow
As the main sails unfurled our curses we hurled
On the English and thought of tomorrow

Woah-oh-oh-oh
I wish I was back home in Derry
Woah-oh-oh-oh
I wish I was back home in Derry

I cursed them to hell as our bough fought the swell
Our ship danced like a moth in the firelight
White horses rode high as the Devil passed by
Taking souls to Hades by twilight
Five weeks out to sea we were now forty-three
Our comrades we buried each morning
And in our own slime we were lost and on time
Endless nights without dawning

Van Diemen's land is a hell for a man
To live out his life in slavery
Where climate is raw and the gun makes the law
Neither wind or rain cares for bravery
In the years've gone by an' I've ended my bond
And comrade's ghosts are behind me
A rebel I came and I'll die just the same
On the cold winds of night you will find me


Whistle Set
(Arranged by Neil Anderson)
The Mingulay Boat Song (Traditional)
Frank Mors' Hornpipe (Traditional)
Garret Barry's (Traditional)


From Clare To Here
(Ralph McTell)

There's four who share this room
And we work hard for the craic
Sleepin' late on Sunday's well I
Never get to mass

It's a long, long way from Clare to here
It's a long way-ay from Clare to here
It's a long, long way; it gets further day-by-day
It's a long, long way from Clare to here

When Friday comes around
Well we're only into fighting
Mum would like a letter home, but
I'm too tired for writing

It almost breaks my heart
When I think of Josephine
I told I'd be coming home
With pockets full of green

The only time that I feel alright
Is when I'm into drinking
It'll sort of ease the pain
And level out my thinking

Sometimes hear a 'piper playing
Maybe it's a notion
I dream I see white horses dancing
On that other ocean


Uillean Pipe Set
(Arranged by Neil Anderson)
The Blarney Pilgrim (Traditional)
My Darling Asleep (Traditional)


Faithful Departed
(Phil Chevron)

This graveyard hides a million secrets
And the trees know more than they can tell
The ghosts of the saints and scholars will haunt you
In heaven and in hell
Rattled by the glimmer man, the boogieman, holy man
Livin' in the shadows and the shadows of a gunman
Rattle like the coppers in your greasy till
Rattle til the time stood still
Look over your shoulder; hear the school bell ring
Another day of made-to-measure history
I don't care if your heroes have wings
Your terrible beauty's been torn

Faithful departed
We fickle hearted
As you are now
So once were we
Faithful departed
We the meek hearted 
With graces imparted
Bring flowers to thee

The girls in the kips proclaim their love for you
When you stumbled in they knew you for a shilling or two
They curse you on Sundays and holy days
When you all stayed away
You slept there naked; light bulb hid your shame
The shadows on the wall they took all the blame
The sacred hearts picture compassion in his eyes
Drowned out the river of sighs
The grass grow green on the brewery tonight
Never come between the darkness and the light
There is no pain that can't be eased
By the devil's holy water and the rosary beads

You're a history book, I never could write
Poetry in paralysis too deep to recite
Bless yourself and dress yourself; you've won the fight
We're going to celebrate tonight
We'll even climbed the pillar like we always meant to
Watch the sun rise over the strand
Close our eyes and we'll pretend
It could somehow be the same again
I'll bury you upright so the sun doesn't blind you
You won't have to gaze at the rain and the stars
Sleep and dreams of chapels and bars
And whiskey in the jar

Faithful departed
Look what you started
An underdog's wounds
Aren't so easy to mend
Faithful departed
There's no broken hearted
And no more distress
In your world without end


4th Part of Pipe Major George Allen
(P/M Donald MacLeod)


For James
(Kirk McLeod)

And this is for James
A guy I thought would be ahead of everyone else
And this is for James
Now I'm so surprised he's blown it for all but himself
And it seems impossible to imagine 
And I scream when he's doing things he knows are wrong
He says it's all just circumstantial pieces
To a puzzle that was meant to make us
Crazy and not quite mislead us
To the point of sacrificing
Everything we love

This is for James
This is for James

And this is for James
I still can hear him say that everything's black or it's white
And this is for James
Now I wonder if he still believes he was right
And I see him talking to his reflection
And it seems so strange to me to see him cry
Says we're all just isolated cases
With an ocean full of lost emotion 
That drowns our souls in their confusion
So pardon him for his intrusion
Into our daily lives

Cause I don't know
And I can't see
And I'm not sure 
Just where this all will lead

And this is for James
A guy I used to think he was a little bit better than me
And this is for James
Now I wonder if he's really no different than me
And this is for James
A guy I used to think he'd be a little bit better than me
And this is for James
Now I'm sure of it he's really no different than me

And this is for James
And this is for James
And this is for James
And this is for James
Wah-ah-oh, Wah-ah-oh, Wah-ah-oh, Wah-ah-oh-hah
Hah-ah-oh, Hah-ah-oh, Hah-ah-oh, Hah-ah-oh
Hah-ah-oh, Hah-ah-oh, Hah-ah-oh, Hah-ah-hey-ay-ay


Talk To Me
(Kirk McLeod, whistle arrangement by Neil Anderson)


Rain and Thunder
(Kirk McLeod)

Some twenty days ago I left my family and my home
I buried everything I knew and swam an ocean here to you
Said goodbye to my old friends, swore our friendships wouldn't end
But nothing anyone could do could ever bring me back again

And I've got to make it to the river
And I've got to make it to the sea
And I need to do whatever
It takes to, to be free

A couple nights ago I had a dream I didn't know
People, places, and the scenes all of which I'd yet to see
We were running through a field of grasses high up to the knee
Men on horseback shouting with their guns out pointing straight at me

And I've got to make it to the river
And I've got to make it to the sea
I need to do whatever
It takes to, to be free

And I wake at night an' wonder
How to, how to break out of this dream, yeah-ah
Just like rain and thunder
The morning comes to me

So many nights have passed me since I heard a thunder's blast
Or felt the rain and winter running at the wrap around my back
Still these dreams they keep returning sifting through this midnight's mask
Of silence deafening my ears, a meaning which I've yet to ask

And I've got to make it to the river
And I've got to make it to the sea
And I need to do whatever
It takes to, to be free

And I wake at night an' wonder
How to, how to break out of this dream, yeah-ah
Just like rain and thunder
The morning comes to me


Si Beg Si Mohr
(Traditional)


Nothing
(Kirk McLeod/Bob Marley)

I don't want to wait in vain for you love
I don't want to wait in vain
I don't want to wait in vain for you love
I don't want to wait in vain

You lit a fire so high it burned my darkest hour
I know, I know, I know if it were in my power
I'd use my voice to make you see down from this tower 
I know, I know, I know that more than just an hour
Is so long, ooo-ooo, you mean nothing to me, yeah-yeah

This time I spend with you is worth the risk to steal
The more I see and feel with you the more I heal
And if I could be better than the time before
I'd wring my body dry and crumble to the floor
Ooo you-oo-oo it means nothing to me 
Ooo-ooo it means nothing to me
Ooo-ooo it means nothing to me, ooo- ooo

I don't want to wait in vain for you love
I don't want to wait in vain for you love
I don't want to wait in vain for you love
I don't want to wait in vain for you love

I don't want to wait in vain for you love
I don't want to wait in vain
(Repeat)


Amazing Grace
(Traditional)