Christy Moore, a native of Co. Kildare, Ireland, found fame as a member of … Read Full Bio ↴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, 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.

Sweet Music Roll On
Christy Moore Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Down by O'Connell street one summers evening
I meet a young woman, it was our first meeting
Crossed over the bridge and down by the river
By the strawberry beds I found that I knew her
She called me her darling man
We spend a few hours and we drank a few glasses
We danced at the bar ignoring their glances
Ev'ryone knew her name and they knew by my face

With a beer in my hand and her arm round my waist
Calling me her darling man
The river runs deep, sweet music roll on
So the times are long gone, sweet music roll on
Then came the morning and my boat was leaving
She smiled as she said to me: "No point in grieving"
Ev'ryonce in a while when I hear music playing
I remember her smile and I hear her voice saying:
Calling me her darling man

The river runs deep, sweet music roll on
So the times are long gone, sweet music roll on

Overall Meaning

"Sweet Music Roll On" is a ballad by Christy Moore about a chance meeting that turned into a brief but meaningful relationship. The singer meets a young woman by O'Connell street on a summer's evening, and they spend a few hours together, drinking, dancing, and enjoying each other's company. As they part ways the next morning, the woman tells the singer not to grieve, and he is left with memories of her smile and her voice saying "my darling man."

Line by Line Meaning

Down by O'Connell street one summers evening
On a summer evening, I found myself near O'Connell Street.

I meet a young woman, it was our first meeting
I met a young woman, and we were meeting for the first time.

Crossed over the bridge and down by the river
We went over a bridge and walked down by the river.

By the strawberry beds I found that I knew her
As we walked by the strawberry beds, I realized that I knew her.

She called me her darling man
She affectionately called me her darling man.

We spend a few hours and we drank a few glasses
We spent a few hours drinking together.

We danced at the bar ignoring their glances
We danced at the bar, paying no attention to the others' looks.

Ev'ryone knew her name and they knew by my face
Everyone knew her name and recognized me by my face.

With a beer in my hand and her arm round my waist
I held a beer in my hand while she wrapped her arm around my waist.

Calling me her darling man
She kept calling me her darling man.

The river runs deep, sweet music roll on
The river is deep, and the sweet music continues to play.

So the times are long gone, sweet music roll on
Although those times are long gone, the sweet music continues to play.

Then came the morning and my boat was leaving
The next morning, it was time for me to leave on my boat.

She smiled as she said to me: "No point in grieving"
She smiled and told me that there was no point in being sad.

Ev'ryonce in a while when I hear music playing
Sometimes when I hear music playing...

I remember her smile and I hear her voice saying: Calling me her darling man
...I remember her smile, and I can still hear her calling me her darling man.

The river runs deep, sweet music roll on
The river continues to flow deeply, and the sweet music plays on.

So the times are long gone, sweet music roll on
Although those times are long gone, the sweet music plays on.

Contributed by Blake D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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