Her family encouraged her to sing in the house, in a church choir and at school. At Waterford Regional Technical College she studied piano then took music at University College Dublin in 1987. Having learned to copy Ella Fitzgerald's scat singing, she performed in a Dublin bistro several nights per week while still a student. At the Royal Irish Academy of Music she studied classical music and sang in a jazz band, then a folk-ballad band, then another jazz band. She also fell under the influence of Dublin folk singer Frank Harte. During this time she also formed her own band, called Dorothy.
In 1993 Karan moved to New York City. There she studied jazz at Long Island University. When she encountered Irish traditional music sessions in New York she started singing Irish traditional music again. During this time she mostly sang in bars and locals. For most of 1994 she sang with a group called Atlantic Bridge. At the end of the year she joined Seamus Egan and others in Solas. She sang five songs on their first album in 1996. In the same year she sang in Tramps club in Manhattan, accompanied only by a percussionist. They mixed jazz and folk. In 1997 she recorded a solo album, Songlines, inspired by the novel of the same name by Bruce Chatwin. It was produced by Seamus Egan and included several members of Solas. There were a few traditional songs and some contemporary folk songs.
In 2000 Karan collaborated with several other singers on "Seal Maiden - A Celtic Musical". It was a musical version of the film "The Secret of Roan Inish", designed for children. It concerns the mythical creature called the selkie - a seal-woman. Since then Karan has recorded three further solo albums released in 2001, 2003 and 2005. In a salute to her Celtic roots, several tracks were recorded in her native Irish tongue. She also features on the DVD "Solas Live".
Her 2005 album Chasing the Sun includes a number of songs Casey wrote herself. Her records are released by Shanachie Records in the United States and Vertical Records in Europe.
Karan is now living in County Cork, and is married to Niall Vallely, a composer and player of traditional Irish music.
Solo albums
* Songlines (1997)
* Seal Maiden (2000)
* The Winds Begin To Sing (2001)
* Distant Shore (2003)
* Chasing The Sun (2005)
Recordings with Solas
* Solas (1996)
* Sunny Spells and Scattered Showers (1997)
* The Words That Remain (1998)
* Reunion: A Decade of Solas (2006, CD and DVD)
As session musician
* Dancing at Lughnasa (film) (1998)
* Waking Ned Devine (film) (1999)
* "Celtic Solstice" by Paul Winter
I Once Loved A Lass
Karan Casey Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I hated all others who spoke of her ill,
But now she's rewarded me well for my love,
For she's gone to be wed to another.
I watched as my love did to the church go,
With bride and bride-maidens she made a fine show,
And I followed her on with a heart full of woe,
To see my love be wed to another
I watched as my love did sit down to dine,
I sat down beside her and poured out the wine,
And I drank to the wee lass that should have been mine,
For now she is wed to another.
Oh stop says the groomsman if you take my word
Would you venture your life on the point of a sword
For courting too slowly you have lost this fair maiden
Begone you will never enjoy her
Begone you will never enjoy her
The lads of yon forest, they ask it of me,
How many strawberries grow round the salt sea,
But I answer them back with a tear in my eye,
How many ships sail in the forest?
Go dig me a grave all large wide and deep,
And cover it over with wild flowers sweet,
And lay me down gently for to take a long sleep,
For that's the best way to forget her.
So we dug him a grave all large wide and deep,
And covered it over with wild flowers sweet,
And we laid him down gently for to take his long sleep,
And maybe by now he's forgotten.
And maybe by now he's forgotten.
The song "I Once Loved A Lass" by Karan Casey is a traditional Scottish ballad that tells the story of unrequited love. The singer of the song loves a woman deeply but she decides to marry another man. Despite his heartbreak, the singer follows the bride to the church and sits next to her during the wedding feast. He toasts to the woman he once loved, but now is married to someone else. The groomsmen warn him to leave and never come back. The singer can't let go of his love and decides to dig a grave to forget about her.
The lyrics of the song are filled with raw emotion and the pain of unreturned love. The repetition of the line "For she's gone to be wed to another" reinforces the sadness and frustration of the singer. The use of the natural elements such as the sea, forest, and wild flowers create a sense of longing and melancholy. The singer's decision to dig a grave for himself is a metaphorical representation of his desire to bury his feelings of love for the woman and start anew.
Overall, the song "I Once Loved A Lass" is a poignant tale of unrequited love that touches on themes of heartbreak, loss, and moving on.
Line by Line Meaning
I once loved a lass and I loved her so well,
Once, I deeply loved a woman with all my heart and devoted myself to her completely.
I hated all others who spoke of her ill,
I resented anyone who had anything negative to say about her and defended her honor fiercely.
But now she's rewarded me well for my love,
However, she has repaid my love in full by abandoning me and marrying someone else.
For she's gone to be wed to another.
She has left me and is now married to someone else.
I watched as my love did to the church go,
I witnessed my love as she went to be married in a church.
With bride and bride-maidens she made a fine show,
She put on a lovely display with her bridesmaids as they entered the church.
And I followed her on with a heart full of woe,
I followed her with a heavy heart, feeling great sorrow and pain.
To see my love be wed to another
I watched as she married someone else, breaking my heart.
I watched as my love did sit down to dine,
I saw my love as she sat down to eat.
I sat down beside her and poured out the wine,
I sat next to her and poured her a glass of wine.
And I drank to the wee lass that should have been mine,
I drank a toast to the woman who I wished could have been mine.
For now she is wed to another.
However, she is now married to someone else and I have lost her forever.
Oh stop says the groomsman if you take my word
One of the groomsmen interrupted me, saying 'Stop' and tried to persuade me to move on.
Would you venture your life on the point of a sword
He asked me if I would fight to the death for her.
For courting too slowly you have lost this fair maiden
He said that the reason I lost her was because I didn't pursue her quickly enough.
Begone you will never enjoy her
He ordered me to leave and declared that I would never have a chance with her.
The lads of yon forest, they ask it of me,
Some men in the forest asked me a riddle.
How many strawberries grow round the salt sea,
They asked me how many strawberries grew near the ocean.
But I answer them back with a tear in my eye,
I replied to them while shedding a tear.
How many ships sail in the forest?
I answered their riddle with a question of my own, asking how many ships sail in the forest which is impossible.
Go dig me a grave all large wide and deep,
I requested someone to dig a large, wide, and deep grave for me.
And cover it over with wild flowers sweet,
I wanted the grave to be decorated with sweet-smelling wild flowers.
And lay me down gently for to take a long sleep,
I asked for someone to lay me down gently so that I could rest and forget about my lost love.
For that's the best way to forget her.
I believed that the best way for me to get over my lost love was to die and forget about her in the afterlife.
So we dug him a grave all large wide and deep,
They dug the grave that I had asked for, which was wide and deep.
And covered it over with wild flowers sweet,
They decorated the grave with sweet wildflowers as I had requested.
And we laid him down gently for to take his long sleep,
They gently placed me in the grave so that I could rest and forget my pain.
And maybe by now he's forgotten.
Perhaps by now, I have forgotten my lost love and the pain that she caused me.
Contributed by Henry J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
RN Healer
This is such a beautiful traditional Irish folk stye rendition of this remarkably beautiful song. Thank you for uploading this lovely video. Kudos to Karan Casey and her sweet, pure voice.
6lr6ak6
I've always loved the female Irish accent, Karan's voice wow lovely.
Larry Kriv
Ethereally beautiful, No one can sing melancholy like Karan Casey. Tears my heart everytime.
Abigail Barletta
Absloutely stunning Karan. You are my hero forever! :D
Kate Bates
so sweet, love you Karan, can't get enough🐝💜
Blake Kitty Belladonna
That was really beautiful.
Azenate
This is incredible ❣️❣️❣️❣️ wonderful ❣️ i love 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾🌟❣️
Ken Deeks
Beautiful rendtion.
monica mann
Excellent I love it, Dublin xx
BasketballFan
I💖ur music SO much