Christy Moore started in the music business in the mid-sixties, when his life as a bank clerk was interrupted by a bank strike, and he moved to England. There he became involved in the folk music scene at the time, and spent a few years playing pubs and clubs around the country.
His return to Ireland was marked by the album 'Prosperous', which proved to be a milestone in the rapprochement of Irish music to the popular mainstream. This album benefited from a collaboration of the leading talents of contemporary folk music, musicians such as Andy Irvine, Donal Lunny and Liam O'Flynn, and this one-off was to lead to the formation of Planxty, a band who were soon to be at the leading edge of the revival of Irish traditional music.
Over the following years the musical status of Planxty became legendary both in Ireland, Britain and throughout Europe. However in 1974 the band split up to pursue solo projects. It was during this period that Christy continued to explore new ground as a solo artist recording a number of solo albums including 'The Iron Behind the Velvet' (TARACD2002) which featured Andy Irvine and 'Live in Dublin' (TARACD2005) with Donal Lunny.
The original Planxty lineup of Christy, Andy, Liam and Donal then reformed in 1979. They recorded two further albums with Tara Records 'After the Break' (TARACD3001) and 'The Woman I Loved So Well' (TARACD3005). There were several additions and changes to their lineup most notably the addition of Matt Molloy, flautist from The Bothy Band, who later joined The Chieftains, and Bill Whelan.
In 1981 Planxty performed a Bill Whelan arrangement called 'Timedance' as the intermission piece for the Eurovision song contest, held that year in Ireland. Later it was released as a single and is now included on Bill's CD of 'The Seville Suite' (TARACD3030) released by Tara in 1992.
In the eighties Christy again teamed up with Donal Lunny to form Moving Hearts, another ambitious and innovative Irish band which sought to mix jazz into the folk-rock fusion. Ever the wanderer, Christy was soon breaking out on his own again, and it was in the eighties that he began to establish himself as one of Ireland's leading solo artists with a string of acclaimed albums and high profile tours.
In the mid-nineties Christy decided to take a break from the music for a few years. In the year 2000 Christy return to live performances with a series of Dublin concerts. Over the last few years he has released a number of solo projects including a television series, a live album and a 6 CD boxset.
A Stitch In Time
Christy Moore Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Slaved on her own and skivvied on her own,
She'd two little boys and two little girls --
She lived all alone with her husband.
He was a hunk of a man
A chunk of a man and a drunk of a man,
A hunk of a drunken skunk of a man
For when he'd come home drunk at night,
He'd thrash her black and thrash her white;
Thrashed her to within an inch of her life,
And snored all night like a big drunken husband.
One night she gathered her tears all round her shame
Covered up the bruise and cried with the pain,
You'll not do that ever again,
I'll not live anymore with a drunk of a husband.
And that night as he lay drunk in bed,
The strangest thought came to her head,
She took the needle and the thread,
And went straight in to her sleeping husband.
She started to stitch with a girlish thrill
With a woman's eye and a seamstress' skill,
She bibbed and tucked with an iron will,
A she stitched all round her sleeping husband.
The top sheet, the bottom sheet, too,
The blanket stitched to the mattress through,
She bibbed and tucked the whole night through
Waiting for the dawn and her husband.
Solo (hyup!)
He awoke with a pain in his head,
He found that he could not move in bed,
Sweet God in Heaven, have I lost me legs!
She just sat and smiled at her husband.
In her hand she held the frying pan
With a flutter in her heart she flew at him;
He could not move he cried, God damn!
Don't you swear at me ya dirty husband."
She beat him black, she beat him blue,
With the frying pan and the colander too,
With the rolling pin a stroke or two
Such a battered and repenting husband.
"If you ever come home drunk again,
I'll stitch you up and sew you in,
Then I'll pack my bag and I'll be gone,
I'll not live with a drunk of a husband."
Isn't it true what a wife can do
With a needle, thread and a stitch or two?
He's wiped his slate and his boozin's through
She don't live anymore with a drunken husband.
recorded by Mike Waterson, Martin Carthy, Max Hole
filename( STICTIME
BR
The song "A Stitch In Time" by Christy Moore tells the story of a woman who suffers from domestic abuse at the hands of her drunken husband. The woman has grown tired of being thrashed every time her abusive husband returns home drunk at night. One night, gather her tears all around in shame, she decides to take a stand and get her revenge all at once. She starts to stitch her husband while he sleeps with a needle and thread in a bid to teach him a lesson he would never forget. The woman stitches everything she can find - the top sheet, the bottom sheet, the blanket, and even the mattress, all stitched with an iron will as she waits for the dawn and her husband to wake up.
When the husband awakes, he finds that he cannot move, and he thinks he has lost his legs, only to realize that his wife has sewn him up to teach him a lesson. She then beats him severely with a frying pan, a colander, and a rolling pin, making him repent for his misdeeds. The song ends with the message that a strong-willed wife can change her drunken husband's behavior and stop him from being a constant source of misery and pain.
Line by Line Meaning
There was a woman and she lived on her own,
A woman lived by herself
Slaved on her own and skivvied on her own,
She worked hard and did menial tasks by herself
She'd two little boys and two little girls --
She had four children
She lived all alone with her husband.
She lived with her husband, but he was never there for her or the family
He was a hunk of a man
Her husband was physically strong and attractive
A chunk of a man and a drunk of a man,
He was also an alcoholic
A hunk of a drunken skunk of a man
His drinking made him an unpleasant person
Such a boozy, bruising, bully of a husband.
He was an abusive husband who would physically hurt his wife
For when he'd come home drunk at night,
Whenever he came home drunk at night
He'd thrash her black and thrash her white;
He would physically assault her
Thrashed her to within an inch of her life,
He nearly killed her with his assaults
And snored all night like a big drunken husband.
He would not care about her injuries and just go to sleep drunk
One night she gathered her tears all round her shame
One night, she cried a lot with the shame of what was happening to her
Covered up the bruise and cried with the pain,
She covered up the physical evidence of the abuse and cried from the pain
You'll not do that ever again,
She decided that she would not let him hurt her again
I'll not live anymore with a drunk of a husband.
She decided to leave her husband if he ever attacked her again
And that night as he lay drunk in bed,
On that same night, he was passed out drunk in bed
The strangest thought came to her head,
She had an unusual idea
She took the needle and the thread,
She grabbed some needle and thread
And went straight in to her sleeping husband.
She entered his bedroom
She started to stitch with a girlish thrill
She started sewing with happiness and excitement
With a woman's eye and a seamstress' skill,
She used her sewing skills as a woman
She bibbed and tucked with an iron will,
She sewed very determinedly
A she stitched all round her sleeping husband.
She sewed all around her sleeping husband
The top sheet, the bottom sheet, too,
She sewed the top sheet, the bottom sheet, and more
The blanket stitched to the mattress through,
She even sewed the blanket to the mattress
She bibbed and tucked the whole night through
She sewed throughout the entire night
Waiting for the dawn and her husband.
She was awake all night, waiting for her husband to wake up
Solo (hyup!)
A musical interlude
He awoke with a pain in his head,
He woke up with a headache
He found that he could not move in bed,
He realized that he was sewn to the bed
Sweet God in Heaven, have I lost me legs!
He shouted in disbelief that he lost his legs
She just sat and smiled at her husband.
She just looked and smiled at him
In her hand she held the frying pan
She had a frying pan in her hand
With a flutter in her heart she flew at him;
She attacked him with a lot of emotion
He could not move he cried, God damn!
He could not move and he swore
Don't you swear at me ya dirty husband.
She told him not to swear at her
She beat him black, she beat him blue,
She beat him severely, causing bruises
With the frying pan and the colander too,
She used kitchenware to beat him up further
With the rolling pin a stroke or two
She even used a rolling pin to hit him
Such a battered and repenting husband.
He became a battered husband and repented for what he had done
If you ever come home drunk again,
She warned him to never come home drunk again
I'll stitch you up and sew you in,
She threatened to sew him up
Then I'll pack my bag and I'll be gone,
She promised to leave him if he ever hurt her again
I'll not live with a drunk of a husband.
She did not want to live with an alcoholic husband anymore
Isn't it true what a wife can do
The lyrics ask if it's true that a wife can do something unexpected
With a needle, thread and a stitch or two?
The answer is that the wife can sew her husband to the bed
He's wiped his slate and his boozin's through
The husband has taken responsibility for his behavior and stopped drinking
She don't live anymore with a drunken husband.
She left her husband and does not live with him anymore
Contributed by Lincoln L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Oisin feehilly
on By Barna
Hellow Lady, Can I borrow your teddy
Samuel Joseph Donnelly
on Whacker Humphries
Ask "whacker" about the Provo they marched on and set up for votes in council elections- set up by a brasser from the Barn named Lilly Healy- 18 fucking years in blocks/cages/ torture centres and back stabbed by wannabes from Dublin! Between Active service ( killing etc whacker in case you didn't know!!
Chloe Mcl
on Hey Paddy
Is that the words Brendan O'Carroll sing