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El Salvador
Christy Moore Lyrics

Am G
A girl cries in the early morning
Em Am
Woken by the sound of a gun
Am G
She knows somewhere somebody's dying
Em F
Beneath the rising sun
C G
Outside the window of her cabaña

Am Em
The shadows are full of her fears
C G
She knows her lover is out there somewhere
Am Em
He's been on the run for a year

CHORUS

F G Am
Oh, the soul of El Salvador

Bells ring out in the chapel steeple
A priest prepares to say mass
The sad congregation come tired and hungry
To pray that trouble will pass
Meanwhile the sun rises over the dusty streets
Where his body is found
Flies and mosquitoes are drinking from pools of blood
Where the crowd gathers round.

CHORUS

Out on the ranch the rich man's preparing
To go for his morning ride
They've saddled his horse out in the corral
He walks out full of pride
He looks like a cowboy from one of those pictures
A president made in the past
Peasants in rags, they stand back for they know
That El Rico travels fast

CHORUS

Over the soul of El Salvador.

Contributed by Oliver W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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Christy Moore, a native of Co. Kildare, Ireland, found fame as a member of the legendary tradition folk band Planxty. Since then he has carved out his own career as a consummate solo performer. In the 1980s Christy teamed up with Donal Lunny to form the innovative Moving Hearts.

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 Read Full BioChristy Moore, a native of Co. Kildare, Ireland, found fame as a member of the legendary tradition folk band Planxty. Since then he has carved out his own career as a consummate solo performer. In the 1980s Christy teamed up with Donal Lunny to form the innovative Moving Hearts.

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.