The Foggy Dew!

Ok, so this is the only song so far that I don't actually have compltely memorized, I am still having trouble with two of the middle verses, but I should have it down pretty soon!

A superb version of the song played by the Dubliners here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjnOp3IBqMI&feature=related

An interesting fact I have noticed about this song is that many bands omit the last verses, ending the song with "Bore the fight, that Freedom's light, might shine through the foggy dew."

I do not understand this in the least, my favorite verse of the entire song is the last one, "But to and fro in my dreams I go and I'd kneel and pray for you, For slavery fled, O glorious dead, When you fell in the foggy dew."


Ah well, plenty of bands sing it the way I like, and although the Dubliners sing it wonderfully, I would have to say that my favorite version would be the one done by Celtic Cross, it's use of the the banjo and fiddle to liven the song up is simply phenomenal. Buy it from iTunes if you have a spare buck and like that sort of music, you won't regret it!

Here are the lyrics.

As down the glen one Easter morn to a city fair rode I
There Armed lines of marching men in squadrons passed me by
No fife did hum nor battle drum did sound it's dread tatoo
But the Angelus bell o'er the Liffey swell rang out through the foggy dew

Right proudly high over Dublin Town they hung out the flag of war
'Twas better to die 'neath an Irish sky than at Sulva or Sud El Bar
And from the plains of Royal Meath strong men came hurrying through
While Britannia's Huns, with their long range guns sailed in through the foggy dew

'Twas Britannia bade our Wild Geese go that small nations might be free
But their lonely graves are by Sulva's waves or the shore of the Great North Sea
Oh, had they died by Pearse's side or fought with Cathal Brugha
Their names we will keep where the fenians sleep 'neath the shroud of the foggy dew

But the bravest fell, and the requiem bell rang mournfully and clear
For those who died that Eastertide in the springing of the year
And the world did gaze, in deep amaze, at those fearless men, but few
Who bore the fight that freedom's light might shine through the foggy dew

Ah, back through the glen I rode again and my heart with grief was sore
For I parted then with valiant men whom I never shall see more
But to and fro in my dreams I go and I'd kneel and pray for you,
For slavery fled, O glorious dead, When you fell in the foggy dew.


Next up, The Rocky Road to Dublin, another that I have only partly memorized, in part due to the speed with which one must shout out the unfamiliar words, then we will try some more obscure songs that while not as well known, are just as fun!