The band has recorded many albums of instrumental Irish folk music, as well as multiple collaborations with popular musicians of many genres, including Country music, Galician traditional music, Cape Breton and Newfoundland music, and rock and roll. They have performed with Van Morrison, The Rolling Stones, Sting, Roger Daltrey, Elvis Costello, Tom Jones, Sinéad O'Connor, James Galway, Jackson Browne, Nancy Griffith and numerous Country-western artists. In 1975, the group won praise for their playing of "Women of Ireland" for Stanley Kubrick's movie Barry Lyndon.
They have won six Grammy Awards and have been nominated eighteen times. In 2002 they were given a Lifetime Achievement Award by the UK's BBC Radio 2. The front covers of the first four albums were designed by Edward Delaney.
Paddy Moloney is the band's leader, and composes or arranges most of the band's music. While the band's members changed numerous times in the band's early history, the membership solidified in 1979 when Matt Molloy replaced Michael Tubridy.
From then until 2002, members included:
Paddy Moloney (uilleann pipes, tin whistle, button accordion, bodhrán)
Matt Molloy (flute, tin whistle)
Kevin Conneff (bodhrán, vocals)
Seán Keane (fiddle, tin whistle)
Martin Fay (fiddle, bones) (born 1938; died 14 November 2012)
Derek Bell (Irish harp, keyboard instruments, oboe) (born 21 October 1935; died 17 October 2002)
In 2002, Fay retired from active membership. In the same year, Bell died due to complications following a minor operation. Fay died on 14 November 2012.
Never Give all the Heart
The Chieftains Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
For love will hardly seem worth thinking of
To passionate women if it seems certain
Never give all the heart
For love will hardly seem worth thinking of
To passionate women if it seems certain
And they never dream that it fades out from kiss to kiss
For everything that's lovely is but a brief, dreamy, kind delight
O never give the heart outright
For they, for all smooth lips can say
Have given their hearts up to the play
And who could play it well enough
If deaf and dumb and blind with love?
He that made this knows all the cost
For he gave all his heart and lost
They, for all smooth lips can say
Have given their hearts up to the play
Never give all the heart
The Chieftains' song "Never Give all the Heart" is a beautiful ode to the idea that love is fleeting and should not be given away completely. The lyrics suggest that if one were to give away their heart completely, love would no longer seem valuable. The second half of the song warns against passionate women who believe love to be certain and everlasting, when in fact, love is temporary and fades away from kiss to kiss. The refrain "never give all the heart" is repeated throughout the song as a reminder to listeners to guard their hearts and not give them away completely.
The lyrics can be interpreted in different ways, but one possible interpretation is that the song is advising caution in matters of love. The lyrics suggest that giving one's heart away completely can lead to disappointment and heartbreak. The song warns that even the most passionate love can fade away, and that it is important to guard one's heart against being completely given away.
Interestingly, the lyrics were adapted from a poem by William Butler Yeats called "Never Give all the Heart". Yeats was a prominent Irish poet known for his romantic poetry and his involvement in the Irish literary revival. The Chieftains' version of the song features guest vocals by American singer-songwriter Jackson Browne, adding a beautiful layer to the harmony and creating a beautiful contrast.
In conclusion, "Never Give all the Heart" is a beautiful and poetic song that speaks to the fleeting nature of love and the importance of guarding one's heart. The lyrics are powerful and thought-provoking, and are combined with beautiful instrumentation to create a moving piece of music.
Line by Line Meaning
Never give all the heart
Don't give all your heart to someone
For love will hardly seem worth thinking of
Because if you give all your heart, love may not seem valuable anymore
To passionate women if it seems certain
Especially to passionate women who think love is a sure thing
And they never dream that it fades out from kiss to kiss
These women don't realize that love can fade over time
For everything that's lovely is but a brief, dreamy, kind delight
The lovely things in life are just temporary and fleeting
O never give the heart outright
So don't give your heart away completely
For they, for all smooth lips can say
Smooth talkers may make promises
Have given their hearts up to the play
And the players have given their hearts to the game
And who could play it well enough
But who can truly master the game of love?
If deaf and dumb and blind with love?
Especially if they're blinded by love
He that made this knows all the cost
The songwriter knows the price of giving all your heart
For he gave all his heart and lost
Because he gave his heart completely and lost it all
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: PADDY MOLONEY, WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
tom canterbury
on North Amerikay
the great accapella version by kevin on tribute to their harpist