In 1997, Gaelic Storm appeared in the film Titanic as the steerage band. This catapulted them into touring, where they were met with extreme success and popularity. They have toured throughout the United States and Canada, in the United Kingdom, France, and Japan.
To this date, Gaelic Storm tours aggressively, and plays over 125 dates a year. It has also put out six albums since its inception, including the compilation album Special Reserve. The band is notable for its energetic rendering of traditional Irish music and Scottish traditional music, and for its albums which repeatedly top the Billboard world music charts.[citation needed]
Gaelic Storm's album Bring Yer Wellies was released on July 25, 2006 and debuted at #2 on the Billboard World Chart, #16 on the Internet Sales Chart and #31 on the Independent Album Chart. Their fifth album, How Are We Getting Home?, was released in August 2004 and debuted at #3 on the Billboard World Music Charts, #10 on the Billboard Heatseekers Chart and re-entered the September 2005 World Albums Chart at #3. "Gaelic Storm". Retrieved on 2007-11-13.
Over its history, the band has replaced its fiddle player a few times, its drummer once, and added Highland, Uilleann, and Deger (electronic) bagpipes to its instrumentation.
In January 2006 the band released its first DVD titled "Gaelic Storm: Live In Chicago". The show was filmed live at the House of Blues in Chicago.
A Simlish version of the song, Scalliwag, from the band's latest album, Bring Yer Wellies, was recorded and featured on the World music channel in the expansion pack, The Sims 2: Bon Voyage, for the popular PC Game, The Sims 2.
Now the next album of Gaelic Storm was released in July 8, 2008, titled "What's the Rumpus?" released by their own label, Lost Again Records. Taken from the Amazon.com Editorial Review of the album, "Inspired by the music that drives their loyal fan base, Whats the Rumpus is a wild party of an album, full of colorful characters and outrageous stories, flavored with Gaelic Storm's signature acoustic sound that gets you dancing and never lets you go. I think this is some of the best writing we have ever done, everything seemed to come together perfectly for this CD, says Steve Twigger, This is the culmination of a great deal of hard work and a barrel of good times. From the upbeat opening title track to the final cut, The Night I Punched Russell Crowe; (a true story involving singer Patrick Murphy), the music captures the contagious energy of the bands carefree attitude and infectious live performances. With instruments ranging from African drums, Irish bagpipes and Celtic fiddle to trombones and Cajun-style accordions, WTR is a three-ring circus of acrobatic songs, swirling tunes and galloping rhythms. Steve Twigger produced the project with co-production by drummer Ryan Lacey and Pat Manske, and additional production by Patrick Murphy. Returning to The Zone studio in Austin TX where the band recorded their previous release Bring Yer Wellies, Gaelic Storm also enlisted the help of a few select Austin locals including Lloyd Maines and 1960's psychedelic performer, Arthur Brown, to round out their eclectic Celtic sound. To quote Patrick Murphy, We have so much fun together as a band, we managed to capture some of the good times we have together on this recording.
Gaelic Storm also includes: Ryan Lacey on drums and world percussion (graduated twice from the Los Angeles Music Academy, once for hands and once for sticks), Pete Purvis of Merrickville, Ontario on uilleann pipes, tin whistle, deger pipes and highland pipes (a Grade 1 piper who toured with award winning pipe bands including the Braemar Pipe Band and played at 2000 Sydney Olympics) and the newest member of the band Jessie Burns on fiddle (originally from Suffolk, England, now living in Colorado)." and Celtic rock genres.
The Ferryman
Gaelic Storm Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
from the breast of Anna Liffey,
and the Ferrymen are stranded on the quai,
The Dublin docks are dying,
and a way of life is gone
Its over Molly, over can't you see
Where the strawberry beds,
you'll kiss away the troubles from my brow
I love you well today
and I'll love you more tomorrow,
if you ever love me
Molly, love me now!
Now the only job I had,
it was hard, but never lonely.
The river ferry made a man of me.
And it's gone without a whisper,
and forgotten even now.
And Molly it was part of you and me!
Where the strawberry beds,
sweep down to the Liffey,
you'll kiss away the troubles from my brow
I love you well today
and I'll love you more tomorrow,
if you ever love me
Molly, love me now!
And now my work is over,
and I'll spend my days in rovin'.
I'll hear them whisper, "Charlie's on the dole..."
But Molly we're still livin',
and darlin' we're still young,
and the river never ruled my heart or soul!
Where the strawberry beds,
sweep down to the Liffey,
you'll kiss away the troubles from my brow
I love you well today
and I'll love you more tomorrow,
if you ever love me
Molly, love me now!
Where the strawberry beds,
sweep down to the Liffey,
you'll kiss away the troubles from my brow
I love you well today
and I'll love you more tomorrow,
if you ever love me
Molly, love me now!
Oh the little boats have gone,
from the breast of Anna Liffey,
and the Ferrymen are stranded on the quai,
The Dublin docks are dying,
and a way of life is gone
Its over Molly, over can't you see
Its over Molly, over can't you see
Its over
Molly, it's over
Molly, can't you see
Molly, its over, Molly
Can't you see
The Ferryman by Gaelic Storm is a song that captures the lament for a way of life that has come to an end. The song begins with the description of how the boats have gone from the Anna Liffey River and the ferrymen are stranded on the quai, emphasizing the end of a once-thriving transport system in Dublin. As the song proceeds, the lyrics delve into the singer's bittersweet memories of the river, the Strawberry Beds, and his beloved Molly. The lyrics paint a picture of a simpler time when everything was idyllic, and Molly was the anchor of his life. However, as the song continues, it becomes apparent that things have changed as the river ferry has ceased to exist. The singer now roams around aimlessly, and even though he faces uncertainty, he cherishes his time with Molly.
Looking deeper into the song, it conveys a sense of loss, both of a way of life and something more personal to the singer. The Strawberry Beds, the Anna Liffey River, and the Ferryman himself all represent the over-dramatized romanticized view of Irish culture that has been lost. The singer, having lost his job as a ferrymen, realizes his sense of identity was also tied to it, implying that the loss is not material but emotional as well.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh the little boats have gone, from the breast of Anna Liffey, and the Ferrymen are stranded on the quai,
The small boats have left from the river Anna Liffey, and the ferry workers are now stuck on the platform.
The Dublin docks are dying, and a way of life is gone Its over Molly, over can't you see
The life of the docks in Dublin is fading, and a lifestyle is lost, it's finished Molly, it's finished, don't you understand.
Where the strawberry beds, sweep down to the Liffey, you'll kiss away the troubles from my brow
Where the fields of strawberries come towards the Liffey, you'll make my worries disappear with a kiss.
I love you well today and I'll love you more tomorrow, if you ever love me Molly, love me now!
I love you very much today, and my love will grow more and more tomorrow, if you have any feelings for me, please love me now!
Now the only job I had, it was hard, but never lonely. The river ferry made a man of me.
The only work I had was difficult but never lonely. Being a ferryman helped me become a better man.
And it's gone without a whisper, and forgotten even now. And Molly it was part of you and me!
It's gone without a sound, and no one remembers it now. But Molly, being a ferryman was a part of our lives!
And now my work is over, and I'll spend my days in rovin'. I'll hear them whisper, "Charlie's on the dole..."
And now that my job is done, I'll spend my days roaming around. And I'll hear people whispering, "Charlie's unemployed..."
But Molly we're still livin', and darlin' we're still young, and the river never ruled my heart or soul!
But Molly, we're still alive and my love, we're still young. And the river never governed my heart or soul!
Oh the little boats have gone, from the breast of Anna Liffey, and the Ferrymen are stranded on the quai,
The little boats are gone from the river Anna Liffey, and the ferry workers are now stuck on the platform.
The Dublin docks are dying, and a way of life is gone Its over Molly, over can't you see
The life of the docks in Dublin is fading, and a lifestyle is lost, it's finished Molly, it's finished, don't you understand.
Its over Molly, over can't you see Its over Molly, over can't you see Its over Molly, it's over Molly, can't you see
It's finished Molly, finished don't you see? It's done Molly, it's over Molly, don't you see?
Contributed by Colin V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.