She Moved Thro' The Fair
Click here for an mp3 sample
--------------------------------------------------------
My young love said to me,
”My mother won't mind
And my father won't slight you
For your lack of kind”
And she stepped away from me
And this she did say,
"It will not be long love
Till our wedding day”

She stepped away from me
And she went through the fair
And fondly I watched her
Move here and move there
And then she went homeward
With one star awake
As the swan in the evening
Moves over the lake

Last night she came to me
She came softly in
So softly she came then
Her feet made no din
And she laid her hand on me
And this she did say,
"It will not be long love
Till our wedding day"

Behind The Song / Traditional arrangement by Denise Kelly
This song was collected by Herbert Hughes in Co. Donegal. The words were re-written by the poet Padraic Colum. This song is considered to be one of a group of airs known as ‘night visiting songs’ in which a parting couple promise that should misfortunate (death) befall either one, the departed will return to the other. It is more likely however that the song is a form of Aisling, where the loved one appears in a dream.

[ back to the music ]