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.
Lawless
Christy Moore Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
He was trouble right from the start.
Hard as nails, runnin' wild through the streets
He was breakin' his poor mother's heart.
Nature played a trick on Lawless
And the humour of nature is cruel.
He grew up as we all had expected -
Into a dangerous fool.
He was a hard man, a man for all seasons,
He was always out for a fight.
He couldn't hold drink but still he'd get plastered
In Clark's every Saturday night,
Strip to the vest and challenge the best
Until the guards they were called to come fast,
And they'd lock him away for the rest of the day
And let him out on the Sunday for mass.
Oh one night he went down
To the Ring's End Regatta
Where he met up with the (bold?) Dolly (Platts?)
She wasn't exactly what you'd call beauty,
But she was the belle of our flats.
A whirlwind romance and Dolly took a (flier?)
With Lawless she would settle down
It was pure coincidence three months before
There was a yankee destroyer in town.
And the couple were blessed with one of god's miracles
Before six months had elapsed
Dolly gave birth to a nine-pound black baby
And Lawless was fit to collapse
She swore she'd never been touched by another
And Lawless took her at her word,
And the neighbours exclaimed, 'he's the spit of his father, and the cuckoo is a wonderful bird.'
Oh now Lawless stays in and looks after his baby
While Dolly goes out for the night.
The old gossips all say she's free in her ways
And their evil rumours ran rife.
When Lawless heard this he waited for Dolly
In the bridge where the river runs low.
Noone will ever know what happened next,
But Dolly drowned in the Dodder
Below.
Some say he's crazy and more say he's evil,
Everyone says that he's mad.
Noone will defend him, he was no angel,
But I'll tell you he wasn't all bad.
They've locked him away for the rest of his natural
Never again will he see
Down the back of Ring's End
There's a lonely child playing
Where the Liffey flows into the sea.
CHRISTY'S COMMENT
Barney Rush was home and we organised a sing-song in The Ferrryman.Barney brought Mick Curry who sang this song. He is a great song writer.We had a great night. Frank harte was there too.
The song "Lawless" by Christy Moore tells the story of a man named Lawless who was born with a rebellious spirit that led him into a life of trouble. He was hard as nails and wild, constantly getting into fights and causing problems. Lawless' mother was distraught by his behavior, which only seemed to escalate as he got older. Despite growing up as expected, Lawless became a danger to himself and those around him. The song talks about his love for drinking, fighting and meeting an unattractive woman named Dolly at the Ring's End Regatta. They had a baby, but their relationship was strained by rumors of infidelity by Dolly. Lawless waited for her at the river Dodder, and after a terrible confrontation, Dolly drowned. Lawless is now in jail, but the child remains.
The song also highlights the cruelty of nature, emphasizing how the same traits that once made Lawless heroic made him a villain. He was a man of all seasons, always looking for a fight, but when he finally found love, it led to his downfall. The song implies that there was no way out for Lawless, and that his fate was sealed from the beginning. Despite his flaws, the song also suggests that Lawless was not all bad, and some of the residents of Ring's End continue to remember him fondly.
Line by Line Meaning
He was Lawless by name, Lawless by nature,
His surname was Lawless but his personality was equally rebellious.
He was trouble right from the start.
He had a habit of getting into mischiefs since his childhood days.
Hard as nails, runnin' wild through the streets
He had a rough exterior and used to roam around the streets recklessly.
He was breakin' his poor mother's heart.
His antics were causing his mother great distress.
Nature played a trick on Lawless
His bad luck was a result of nature's cruel sense of humor.
And the humour of nature is cruel.
Nature's way of deceiving us often leads to unfortunate incidents.
He grew up as we all had expected -
His future was foreseeable given his current habits and traits.
Into a dangerous fool.
He developed into a reckless and perilous person.
He was a hard man, a man for all seasons,
He was a person with a tough exterior that could withstand any challenges.
He was always out for a fight.
He was always ready to pick a fight with anyone who crossed his path.
He couldn't hold drink but still he'd get plastered
He had a low tolerance for alcohol and used to get drunk quickly.
In Clark's every Saturday night,
He used to frequent a pub named Clark's every Saturday night.
Strip to the vest and challenge the best
He used to take off his shirt and challenge others to compete with him.
Until the guards they were called to come fast,
The police had to be summoned to pacify him.
And they'd lock him away for the rest of the day
He used to get arrested and locked up for his violent behavior for a day.
And let him out on the Sunday for mass.
He was released on Sunday mornings to attend church service.
Oh one night he went down
One evening he strolled down
To the Ring's End Regatta
He went to Ring's End Regatta, a popular festival.
Where he met up with the (bold?) Dolly (Platts?)
There he met Dolly, whose name might have been Dolly Platts.
She wasn't exactly what you'd call beauty,
Dolly wasn't particularly attractive.
But she was the belle of our flats.
However, in their locality, she was considered a beauty.
A whirlwind romance and Dolly took a (flier?)
They fell in love quickly and Dolly moved in with Lawless.
With Lawless she would settle down
Dolly decided to settle down with Lawless.
It was pure coincidence three months before
Three months before Dolly got pregnant, a Yankee destroyer had docked in the town by coincidence.
There was a yankee destroyer in town.
A Yankee destroyer had arrived in their town.
And the couple were blessed with one of god's miracles
Dolly became pregnant and they considered it as a blessing from God.
Before six months had elapsed
Before six months had ended.
Dolly gave birth to a nine-pound black baby
Dolly gave birth to a heavy and dark-skinned baby.
And Lawless was fit to collapse
Lawless was taken aback and almost fainted.
She swore she'd never been touched by another
Dolly claimed that she hadn't been intimate with anyone else apart from Lawless.
And Lawless took her at her word,
Lawless believed her words and did not doubt her.
And the neighbours exclaimed, 'he's the spit of his father, and the cuckoo is a wonderful bird.'
The neighbors noticed that the baby's resemblance to Lawless was uncanny and compared the incident to a mythical belief that the cuckoo bird lays eggs in other birds' nests.
Oh now Lawless stays in and looks after his baby
Now Lawless stays at home to take care of his child.
While Dolly goes out for the night.
Meanwhile, Dolly goes out at night.
The old gossips all say she's free in her ways
The elderly gossips in their locality say that Dolly is promiscuous.
And their evil rumours ran rife.
The rumors spread uncontrollably.
When Lawless heard this he waited for Dolly
When Lawless heard about the rumors, he waited for Dolly.
In the bridge where the river runs low.
He waited for her at a bridge with low water levels.
Noone will ever know what happened next,
It is a mystery what happened subsequently.
But Dolly drowned in the Dodder
But Dolly died by drowning in the Dodder.
Below.
In the waters below the bridge.
Some say he's crazy and more say he's evil,
Some people believe he is insane, while others think he is wicked.
Everyone says that he's mad.
Everyone considers him as a lunatic.
Noone will defend him, he was no angel,
No one defends him as he was not innocent.
But I'll tell you he wasn't all bad.
However, he wasn't all evil and had some good in him.
They've locked him away for the rest of his natural
He has been imprisoned for the rest of his life.
Never again will he see
He won't ever be able to witness
Down the back of Ring's End
The outskirts of Ring's End.
There's a lonely child playing
A lonely child who plays alone.
Where the Liffey flows into the sea.
In an area where the river Liffey meets the sea.
Contributed by Elena M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Ruairi Mc Caul
This song brings memories of great times learning all about Christys lyrics and stories. Thanks so much, RIP Dad.
The Poet Laureate Channel
This guy is pretty good!
HenriD2707 7
amazing song by CM 👌
Conor Reddington
I love it more please
Bod Sheridan
this sounds like me own Father both when he was in the army & a couple of years after, too! RIP Dad
Maggie Ball
Lovely man and enduring entertainer Bless! Saw him in Vicar Street lats Jan Fabulous
ambyyy1
I think we all knew a Lawless in our town.
Aaron Lawless
Im a lawless haha
Olaf Kraus
♥
fabric london
Rip Michael o Donnell Limerick lawless in the 80s xxx