Foster and Allen are a musical duo from Ireland consisting of Mick Foster a… Read Full Bio ↴Foster and Allen are a musical duo from Ireland consisting of Mick Foster and Tony Allen.

Foster & Allen began back in the seventies when Mick and Tony were playing in Country Music bands around Ireland. In 1975 they formed a small group and went over to the UK to work the Irish music venues on a short tour.

Mick & Tony had at this stage the idea of working together as a duo, playing ‘easy listening’ music with a touch of traditional Irish instrumentals. When their UK tour finished they decided to let the band return to Ireland whilst they stayed behind to try and break into the public eye. They played several venues in the London area and the reaction was very favourable; so much so, they decided to remain as a duo and Foster and Allen was formed.

It was difficult at the beginning and after a time working around the circuit in the UK and Ireland, they released their first single record The Rambles of Spring. This made a good impact on the Irish market and Foster and Allen were soon in demand for cabaret venues all over Ireland and to a lesser extent the UK At the end of 1978 Foster and Allen released the single A Bunch Of Thyme in Ireland, which entered the Irish charts and became their first top-selling No. 1 single.

It was not until 1982 that this single was released in the UK. It was played by all the radio stations in Britain and was soon in the pop charts. It climbed rapidly to number 18 in the UK Singles Chart. At the time, Mick & Tony were in the U.S. on a tour. They were contacted and told to fly back to Britain immediately as they were required to appear on television’s Top of the Pops.

Demand for Foster and Allen's services at venues all over Ireland and the UK increased at this point. They released another single "Old Flames" which also made its way into the UK Charts. They did their first concert tour of the UK in 1983 and this tour was boosted even more by the release of another single Maggie. This reached number 27 in the UK singles chart and, along with A Bunch Of Thyme, these became the signature tunes for the duo. Since then they have toured the UK twice each year.

In addition to the UK tours, Foster and Allen have toured the U.S.A, Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. They had five No. 1 Hits in Australia/New Zealand. They have also appeared on numerous TV shows in Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales as well as Australia, USA and Canada, and they have had their own TV series on RTE Television in Ireland.

In the early days Mick & Tony performed on stage as a duo, but in 1982 (when the concert tours started) they added a band to their show thus giving a much fuller sound to their program. On the recording front, Foster and Allen have to date released a total of 27 albums, all of which have gone into the British charts. This is a great achievement for a middle-of-the-road ‘easy listening’ act.

As well as the albums, they have released thirteen videos, again all of which have entered the British charts. The video "Souvenirs and Memories" reached No. 3 in the British charts around Christmas 1991, the "By Request" video went straight into the No. 1 spot in 1993 and their latest DVD/Video release "After All These Years" was a Top 10 Chart Release in the UK. To date Foster and Allen have achieved album and video sales in excess of 19 million worldwide.

Foster and Allen celebrated their 30th Anniversary together in the music industry with the release of their new album "Foster & Allen Sing The No. 1’s" which was a Top 30 Chart hit in the UK during Christmas 2005 bringing the sales of their last three albums in the UK and Ireland to over 500,000 units.

The duo recently completed their “World Concert Tour – 2005/2006” which took them on tour to the United Kingdom, Canada, South Africa, Ireland, U.S.A., Australia and Ireland.

The Fields Of Athenry
Foster & Allen Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Where once we watched the small free birds fly
Our love was on the wing
We had dreams and songs to sing
It's so lonely round the fields of Athenry.

By a lonely prison wall,
I heard a young man call
"Nothing matters, Mary, when you're free
Against the famine and the crown,
I rebelled, they cut me down.
Now you must raise our child with dignity."

Low lie the fields of Athenry
Where once we watched the small free birds fly
Our love was on the wing
We had dreams and songs to sing
It's so lonely round the fields of Athenry.

By a lonely harbor wall,
She watched the last star fall
As the prison ship sailed out against the sky
For she lived to hope and pray
For her love in Botany Bay
It's so lonely round the fields of Athenry.

Low lie the fields of Athenry
Where once we watched the small free birds fly
Our love was on the wing

We had dreams and songs to sing
It's so lonely round the fields of Athenry.

Overall Meaning

The Fields of Athenry tells the story of a couple who were torn apart due to poverty and political rebellion in Ireland during the 19th century. The song begins with the singer hearing the cries of a young woman who has just learned that her lover, Michael, has been taken away to a prison ship. He had been caught stealing corn so that the starving families of the countryside could eat. The chorus states that the fields around Athenry are low and lonely, a stark contrast to the dreams and hopes of the young couple, whose love had been free and vibrant like the small birds that once flew in the sky. However, now they are prisoners, and their love is trapped and lonely.

Later in the song, the singer hears the words of a young man who has been executed for rebelling against the famine and the crown. He tells his wife, Mary, that nothing else matters now that he is not with her. He asks her to raise their child with pride and dignity. The final verse is spoken from the perspective of the woman, who is watching a ship sail away, carrying the man she loves to the other end of the world, to Botany Bay. She is left with nothing but hope and prayer, and the memory of their love, which once made the fields of Athenry seem so full of life and possibility.

Line by Line Meaning

By a lonely prison wall, I heard a young girl call: "Michael, they have taken you away, For you stole Trevelyn's corn, So the young might see the morn. Now a prison ship lies waiting in the bay."
The singer overheard a girl calling for her lover who was taken away for stealing corn to feed the poor. He is now awaiting trial on a prison ship in the bay.

Low lie the fields of Athenry Where once we watched the small free birds fly Our love was on the wing We had dreams and songs to sing It's so lonely round the fields of Athenry.
The singer recalls happier times in the fields of Athenry with their lover when they were free to dream and sing, but now it is a lonely place.

By a lonely prison wall, I heard a young man call "Nothing matters, Mary, when you're free Against the famine and the crown, I rebelled, they cut me down. Now you must raise our child with dignity."
The singer overheard a young man saying that Mary shouldn't worry about him, as he rebelled against the crown during the famine and was executed. She must now raise their child with dignity.

By a lonely harbor wall, She watched the last star fall As the prison ship sailed out against the sky For she lived to hope and pray For her love in Botany Bay It's so lonely round the fields of Athenry.
The artist describes a woman watching the prison ship sailing away from a harbor wall at night, hoping and praying for her lover who has been sent to Botany Bay. The fields of Athenry are still a lonely place.

Contributed by Bella R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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