After singing at weddings for a few years, he joined with several other choristers to form a group named The Mistletones in 1980. He also sang the national anthems at Toronto Blue Jays and Toronto Maple Leafs games since 1988 and continues to do so. From 1984 through 1992 he worked as a circulation representative for the Toronto Sun, Conrad Black heard him singing at company parties. Black, along with other executives, financed McDermott's independent recording of "Danny Boy" in 1992, which was picked up and released in North America by EMI Music Canada. Following this unexpected success, McDermott decided to pursue a professional singing career.
John has annual concerts world wide, and can be seen from Toronto, to Boston, to New York, to Glasgow.
McDermott performed his first concert at the Rebecca Cohn Theatre on October 5, 1993 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. From there he continued to tour the rest of Canada, performing as an opening act for The Chieftains. Throughout 1994 he went on a tour of Australia and New Zealand, following the great success of Danny Boy, which had been ranked Number 1 on the charts there and achieved triple platinum in New Zealand. Next, in 1995 he went on a tour of the United Kingdom with The Seekers.
At this point in his career he was becoming recognized internationally, so he started to tour regularly as a solo act rather than an opening act. He also appeared at several special events including the D-Day ceremonies in France in 1995, and the US Democratic National Convention in 1996. He has also appeared on TV several times, both as a host of CBC Television concert specials in 1997, and in his own television special titled John McDermott: A Time to Remember which aired on PBS in 2002.
McDermott formed The Irish Tenors and after performing a large concert in Dublin, Ireland in 1998, they spent some time touring the US, appearing on TV, and releasing a gold record.
Since leaving The Irish Tenors, McDermott continues to tour extensively throughout the World, performing with his own group and with the great symphonies of the world. He continues to work to support the veteran community in the United States and in Canada. In 2000 McDermott dedicated McDermott House in Washington DC, a transitional home for homeless veterans. His latest release Journeys-Bringing Buddy Home was recorded to help support fundraising for Fisher House Boston and launch the Canadian initiative for an outreach centre for Canadian Veterans.
Steal Away
John McDermott Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
No reason left to stay
For me and you
Let's start a-new
And darling steal away
Steal away and chase some dreams
And hope they never find us
The empty nights
We'll leave them all behind us
(Chorus)
We'll leave behind the city streets
The gloom and desolation
The rain the cold
Just growing old
God knows it's a hard old station
(Chorus)
We'll leave with just a memory
And make a new beginning
We have to choose
To win or lose
And it's time we started winning
(Chorus Repeat)
The lyrics to John McDermott's song "Steal Away" discuss the desire to escape from a stagnant and unfulfilling existence with a loved one. The chorus emphasizes the singer's desire to leave behind the hardships of everyday life and start anew. The phrase "steal away" suggests a need for secrecy and urgency in the decision to leave, highlighting the weight of the decision.
The verse about chasing dreams and hoping to remain elusive is a nod to the fact that the singer isn't necessarily sure where they'll end up or what their future will look like, but they know it can't be worse than where they are now. This sense of hope and the need for change is palpable throughout the song.
Overall, "Steal Away" is a song about taking control of one's life and pursuing happiness, even if it means leaving behind everything else. It's a reminder to listeners that sometimes, the only way to find true fulfillment is to take a leap of faith and leave what's familiar behind.
Line by Line Meaning
Steal away let's steal away
Let's escape secretly without telling anyone
No reason left to stay
There's nothing good that's keeping us here
For me and you
Let's do this together, just you and me
Let's start a-new
Let's begin again elsewhere
And darling steal away
Let's do it with love and affection
Steal away and chase some dreams
Let's leave and pursue our dreams
And hope they never find us
Let's hope our old life won't catch up with us and ruin things
The dreary days
The days that were gloomy and depressing
The empty nights
The nights that were lonely and unfulfilling
We'll leave them all behind us
We'll get away from those unhappy times
We'll leave behind the city streets
We won't miss the busy and noisy life in the city
The gloom and desolation
The sadness and loneliness that surrounded us
The rain the cold
The bad weather that we had to endure
Just growing old
Just living a boring and uneventful life
God knows it's a hard old station
It's tough to be stuck in this situation and place
We'll leave with just a memory
We'll take only our memories and not our physical belongings
And make a new beginning
We'll start fresh
We have to choose
We need to make a decision
To win or lose
To either succeed or fail
And it's time we started winning
It's time for us to start succeeding
(Chorus Repeat)
Repeating the chorus
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: TRAD, Julian Knight, Dominic Tighe, Oliver Baines, Stephen Bowman, Mark Williams
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@MackieDoodleXD
My grandparents used to play this in the car when I was younger. I used to get so emotional over this song, and I still do. I finally found it though! This is a beautiful song.
@LeeLeeDe1
This is one of my all time favorite songs.....however, I've never heard a more beautiful version. This truly goes into my "Favorites". It stirred my soul.
@Horsemarine100
Carolyn, what are you doing to me?! This song is... indescribable! I'm a cynical ancient (retired) mariner who has been there and done that, with a collection of Those T-shirts, but this had me in tears, cold sober, in the middle of the day! In spite of that, thank you very much indeed!
@khl1171
I really like this song, but had never heard this duet before. Lovely. Thanks for posting.
@TheWizist
I love this duet ......I remember seeing Allison with John at the beginning of Johns career ...I had the wonderful expierience of meeting her as well ....She was a very pretty girl then & has turned into an even more pretty Lady.....I hope you have seen the duet called Here You Are with John....Live performance.......Very Nice...
@2beniek
Dziękuje Paola. Śliczna piosnka. Piękną muzykę lubisz. Mi też się podoba.. Pozdrawiam serdecznie. B
@jamesmontgomery3839
Lady Grey. Thank you. This IS the best duet. I listen to it so often. Her husband must be steaming. : )
@LadyGreyCarolyn
+James Montgomery You're welcome and thank you for your comment!! :)
@jasssullivan2624
Thanks for beautiful song, and also for the lyrics which will help me to learn it.
@LeeLeeDe1
This is a little bit of heaven.~~~~~~~~~~