Band members
* Jim Lockhart, from Francis St in Dublin, studied classical music at Trinity College Dublin. He fell under the influence of Sean Ó Riada, wanting to build an orchestral sound out of Irish music. He played keyboards, pipes, whistles and flute. He did vocals on a select number of songs, mainly in Manx or Irish.
* Eamon Carr is from Kells, County Meath. He started a quarterly literary magazine called The Tara Telephone in Dublin in the late 60s that also ran poetry recitals. He was the drummer.
* Charles O'Connor, from Middlesbrough in the UK played concertina, mandolin, and fiddle (later on he played the electric guitar) and shared the main vocal tasks with Barry Devlin and Johnny Fean.
* Barry Devlin, from Ardboe in County Tyrone once trained as a Franciscan priest. He left this to do English in UCD and then after joined a graphics company as a screenwriter. He was the band's bass player, shared vocals and its unofficial front man.
* Johnny Fean was born in Dublin in 1951 and spent his childhood in the city of Limerick. He soon mastered guitar, banjo, mandolin and harmonica. In his teens, he played in sessions in Limerick and County Clare. He developed his listening tastes from rock to blues and incorporated it into his guitar style. In his late teens he played in a group called "Sweet Street," with Joe O'Donnell on electric fiddle and Eugene Wallace. He later played in "Jeremiah Henry," a rock and blues band. His idols were Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton. He left "Jeremiah Henry" in 1970 to play traditional music again in Limerick.
Rescue me
Horslips Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
paint a musical picture of Maeve's hill-fort in Connacht.
The lyrics of Horslips's song Rescue Me are laden with history and mythology. The song references the heathery little hill called Knockeen Free in Irish, which was used to paint a musical picture of Maeve's hill-fort in Connacht. Maeve's hill-fort was a famous site in Irish mythology and history, associated with the legendary queen of Connacht named Queen Maeve (Medb in Irish). The fort was said to be surrounded by a moat and several walls, with a central palace that was the seat of power. The song's lyrics touch upon the fantasy of being rescued by the queen from this fortress.
The song's lyrics also reflect the band's interest in pagan and Celtic mythology, and they use the story of Queen Maeve as a metaphor for their own struggles as artists. The lyrics speak to the idea of being trapped and needing someone to rescue oneself from the "walls that grow higher" and the "moats that grow wider". The band uses haunting melodies and intricate rhythms to bring this metaphor to life, transporting the listener to a distant time and place.
Overall, the lyrics of Rescue Me are a testament to the power of storytelling and the ability of music to evoke emotion and transport the listener to a different world. The song showcases the band's incredible musical skill and their love of Irish mythology and history.
Interesting Facts about the Song Rescue Me by Horslips:
Line by Line Meaning
We've used Knockeen Free
We utilized the inspiration of Knockeen Free for our musical expression
which means, in Irish, the heathery little hill
Knockeen Free is an Irish term that refers to a small hill covered in heather
to paint a musical picture of Maeve's hill-fort in Connacht.
We drew upon this imagery to symbolize Maeve's hill-fort located in Connacht through our music
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: BARRY DEVLIN, CHARLES LESLIE O'CONNOR, EAMON JOHN CARR, JAMES FRANCIS LOCKHART, JOHN MARTIN RICHARD FEAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@martinhughes4848
The first, the most original and talented Irish band ever. Way before their time.
@johnwhitty9978
Saw them in Boston right after BOI came out. Small crowd/ club but I knew they were special.
@nosbocaj626
I remember buying an album of theirs back in 1980 on pure speculation ,what a pleasant surprise that was as I had never heard of them. My brother and I learned this song and performed it locally here on the Canadian prairies
@stephenoneill8398
Hi Bob, would you still have the chords?. I can’t find them anywhere on You tube . One of Horslips most pleasing tracks.
Did you know Johnny Fean died a couple of weeks ago? R.I.P.
Thanks, Stevo.
@nosbocaj626
@stephen oneill Ikkl work it out .thanks .
@micko6393
Superlative music.
@jefflanaghan6327
Definitely too little known in the U.S. - great band that could play anything from traditional jigs and such up to some great rock.
@offalyo1111
Horslips laid it down and perfectly. Everything that followed was low-rent in comparison.
@LarryFogarty
irelands best