GHOSTS

"There came a knocking on my door. The landlord dressed in black."

I lived alone without you
Shadows on my wall
Ghosts in my looking glass
Voices in the hall
At first I didn't understand
I had nothing left to sell
And although I played with fire
My life was cold as hell,
My life was cold as hell.

There came a knocking on my door
The landlord dressed in black
Said "pack your bags and move on out
We don't ever want you back"
And who was I to question
The logic of his schemes
When they proved there can be hope
Wherever there are dreams,
Wherever there are dreams.

Mine was just a foolish heart
Couldn't fake a smile
Thought I'd find deliverance
Down another mile
And I remember being in love
So long ago it seems
The love that drives me ever on
Is the love I find in dreams,
The love I find in dreams.

Recorded On:

1. Aliens
2. Horslips, The Best of

Source Tune:

An Culfhionn, An Chuilfhionn, Though The Last Glimpse Of Erin, An Cúilfhionn, An Chúileann, An Chúilfionn, An Chuileann, An Chuilfhionn, An Chuilin, An Coolin, An Coulin, An Cuilfhoinn, An Cuilfion Le Atrugad, An Cuilrionn, Coolin, The Coolin', The Coolin, Coolun, The Coolun, Coulin, The Coulin, Cuilin, The Cuilin, The Fair-Haired Beauty, The Fair-Haired One, Had You Seen My Sweet Coolin, In This Calm Sheltered Villa, Lady Of The Desert, The Lady Of The Desert, My Fair-Haired Beauty, Oh! Hush The Soft Sigh, Oh! The Hours I Have Passed.

Recordings (Before Horslips):

1. The Bunch of Keys, Johnny Doran (pipes)
2. Irlande, various
3. The King of the Pipers, Leo Rowsome (pipes)
4. The Rowsome Tradition, Kevin Rowsome (pipes)
5. The Floating Bow, John Doherty (fiddle)
6. O Riada's Farewell, Sean Ó Riada
7. In the Smoke, Various

Recordings (After Horslips):

1. The Tailor's Choice, Joe Burke (flute, whistle, accordion)
2. Tiomnacht, Handed On. Eoin Ó Riabhaigh (pipes)
3. The Merry Love to Play. Peter Horan (flute), Gerry Harrington (fiddle)
4. A Tribute to Andy McGann. Joe Burke (accordion), Brian Conway (fiddle), Felix Dolan (piano)
5. Other recordings, unsorted

General Notes on Source Tune:

Lyrics for The Coolin (with translations)

An bhfaca tú an chúilfhionn 's í ag siúl ar na bóithre
Maidin gheal drúchta 's gan smúit ar a bróga?
Is iomaí ógánach súilghlass ag tnúth lena pósadh
Ach ní bhfaigheann siad mo rúnsa
.....ar an gcuntas is dóigh leo.

An bhfaca tú mo spéirbhean lá breá is í ina haonar
A cúl dualach drisleanach go slinneán síos léi?
Mil ar an ógbhean is rós breá ina héadan
'S is dóigh le gach spreasán gur leannán leis féin í.
An bhfaca tú mo bhábán 's í taobh leis an toinn
Fáinní óir ar a méara sí ag réiteach a cinn?
'Sé dúirt an Paorach a bhí ina mhaor ar an loing
Go mb'fhearr leis aige féin í ná Éire gan roinn.

Cranford Publications, "The Coolin", CranfordPub.com

"And yet more on the Culfhionn from a piping site:

"The Queen of Irish Airs" maintains Francis O'Neill (1913). There are many versions of this ancient and celebrated air "of which Bunting's and Moore's are not among the best: they are both wanting in simplicity," states Joyce (1909), who prints the tune as collected by Forde from Hugh O'Beirne (a Munster fiddler from whom a great many tunes were collected). He considers Forde's version "beautiful...(and) probably the original unadulterated melody," and adds that it is similar to the version he heard the old Limerick people sing in his youth during the 1820's. Flood (1906) states it is probable the air dates from the year 1296 or 1297, believing it must have been composed not long after the Statute, 24th of Edward I, in 1295, which forbade those English in Ireland (who were becoming assimilated into the majority Gaelic culture) to affect the Irish hair style by allowing their locks to grow in 'coolins.' The original song, told from a young maiden's point of view, berates those Anglo‑Irish who conformed to the edit by cutting their hair, and praises the proud Irishman who remained true to ancestral custom (the Gaelic title "An Chuilfhionn," means 'the fair-haired one'). The Irish Parliament passed another law in 1539 forbidding any male, Irish or Anglo‑Irish, from wearing long or flowing locks of hair‑‑this enactment, relates Flood, is the source of the claim printed by Walker in 1786 in Historical Memoirs of the Irish Bards as the impetus for the song.

Donnacha Kavanagh, Comeback Horslips Guestbook, February 20, 2007, citing The Fiddler's Companion entry on Coolun/Coolin, ceolas.org

General Notes on Horslips Song:

"The tune driving this tale of unrequited love and landlords is An Culfhionn, a slow air much played by tremulous violinists at the Irish Feiseanna. But here used to powerful counterpoint effect behind a rare falsetto from Johnny."

Notes on Horslips, The Best of..., Edsel Records

It's played in A, with the chords being A-E-F#m-D, or so I have gathered from watching Johnny play it on Youtube, although I can't get the voice as high, so I play it in G-D-Em-C.

Donnacha Kavanagh, Comeback Horslips Guestbook, October 15, 2007

See also Ghosts of the Faithful Departed, a photographic evocation by David Creedon

Annotated Lyrics:

"looking glass"

I may have made an interesting discovery on the keyword thing. As far as I can tell the word 'mirror' is only used twice: HTMSTP "Hall of Mirrors" and SSTT "Unapproved Road". Sort of an alpha and omega word, it would seem...

Just now listening to Ghosts -- which is now linked in my thoughts with David Creedon's current Exhibit -- and there's the line 'ghosts in my looking glass/voices in the hall'

Lee Templeton, Comeback Horslips Guestbook, March 14, 2007

"pack your bags and move on out/We don't ever want your back"

Archival article in The New York Times, "The Irish Eviction War.; Ardnacrusha Tenants Stoutly Resist The Police, The New York Times, September 28, 1887 (Full article in PDF format)