Pad… Read Full Bio ↴Patrick "Paddy" Casey is an Irish singer-songwriter from Dublin.
Paddy Casey’s music is appealing to a wide audience. His debut album was one rich in soulful grooves and catchy hooks. The album opened loudly with the rousing Fear, and ended with the angry and despondent It’s Over Now, while exploring themes of loneliness, loss, love and social problems facing the young generation along the way. Paddy lists influences such as Bob Marley, Nina Simone, Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder in his work, and this influence shines in songs like the memorable Downtown, and the haunting Would U B. His sophomore effort, Living, saw Casey returning to the themes of solitude and isolation with songs such as Don’t Need Anyone, Want It Can’t Have It and the poignant Anyone That’s Yet To Come. But this time, there was a greater sense of urgency in his voice, as the singer sought redemption through discovering hidden beauty in the people around him, in songs like Miracle and The Lucky One, and offered counsel in the stirring Saints And Sinners.
He released his first album Amen (So Be It) in 1999. This album was produced by Pat Donne and was certified double platinum. Casey himself played a range of different instruments in the short time spent recording it, and the track Winter's Fire featured Mundy as a guest guitarist. The album saw Casey rise to prominence as a gifted and intensely focused singer songwriter, capable of master strokes like Sweet Suburban Sky, Rainwater, and Fear. The album also contained the breezy and wistful single Whatever Gets You True and the anthemic It's Over Now. Sweet Suburban Sky also surfaced the following year on the soundtrack to the award winning US TV teen drama Dawson's Creek. Paddy received nominations for Best Irish Songwriter and Best Male Singer at the prestigious Hot Press Awards. Hot Press readers themselves voted the album Best Debut Album, as well as voting Paddy the year’s Most Promising Act and nominating him in seven other end of the year categories. Intense touring saw Casey providing support to artists like R.E.M., Ian Brown, Ani DiFranco and The Pretenders.
Casey returned in 2003 with the hugely successful multi-platinum album, Living. The release of Living restored Casey as one of the masters of his trade, taking his place among the songwriting elite who had stolen his crown in the time he waited before following up Amen (So Be It). Living was produced by Fred De Faye, Paddy Casey and Pat Donne. It spawned the Irish chart hits Saints and Sinners, The Lucky One (in 2003) Bend Down Low and Want It Can't Have It (in 2004). A critical success, Living made an immediate impact and spent the majority of the year in the top ten, finally climbing to the top of the charts 21 weeks after it's initial release. 2004 proved to be a memorable year for Casey, winning his first of two consecutive Meteor Irish Music Awards for Best Irish Male. He also garnered rave reviews for a blistering performance at that years Oxegen Festival. 2004 saw Living confirmed as the highest selling Irish album of the year, even eclipsing U2's How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb. Public demand was met with an incredible week long residency at the Olympia Theatre. The year ended with another sold out performance at Dublin's RDS.
In 2005, Casey headlined a sell-out concert at the Heineken Green Energy Festival and also supported U2 on their sell-out Vertigo tour, performing in Ireland, Scotland, and Norway.
He is a personal friend of fellow Irish singer-songwriter Declan O'Rourke, who played guitar in Casey's band before his own solo career took off upon the release of his album Since Kyabram.
Paddy Casey's third album was released in 2007.
His backing band consists of Tim McGrath (drums), Cionn O’Callaghan (percussion), Fiona Melady (keyboards and backing vocals), John Colbert (bass and backing vocals), Andy Coogan (guitar and backing vocals), and Jonathon O’Halloran (flute and trumpet).
Other influences cited by Paddy Casey include Duke Ellington, John Martyn, The Waterboys, Prince and Sly And The Family Stone.
If you would like more information please visit his site: http://www.paddycasey.com/index.php
Refugee
Paddy Casey Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I can see you but you don't see me
I am a refugee, sometimes I'm just like a mirror
A reflection of what you ignore
The look on my face is just the disgrace
Of the child you locked outside your door
I am flesh and bone born of mother
I have walked these roads to long my friend
To return to my family, I was born in a different time
In a world not run by machines
I am part of a time that is no more
'Cept in my heart and in my dreams
Some men they call me unlucky
Some men they just call me weak
They look on with shame as if I am to blame
For something they dare not to speak
Most every place that I go
I am greeted with suspicious eyes
As if a man on his knees has some disease
That mankind must despise
I am flesh and bone born of mother
From a home that ceases to be
I have walked these roads to long my friend
To return to my family
I was born in a different time
In a world not run by machines
I am part of a time that is no more
'Cept in my heart and in my dreams
I am a refugee, I am a refugee
Like a ghosts I've returned
I was caught up and burned
In the machine that created me
I am flesh and bone born of mother
From a home that ceases to be
I have walked these roads to long my friend
To return to my family
I was born in a different time
In a world not run by machines
I am part of a time that is no more
'Cept in my heart and in my dreams
I was born in a different time
In a world not run by machines
I am part of a time that is no more
'Cept in my heart and in my dreams
The song "Refugee" by Paddy Casey highlights the struggles of a refugee who is ostracized by society. The opening lines, "I am a refugee, I can see you but you don't see me", encapsulate the core message of the song, that refugees are often ignored and overlooked. The lyrics emphasize that refugees are people too, born of mothers and with flesh and bone like everyone else. The refugee warns that he is a reflection of what society chooses to ignore, and that ignoring the plight of refugees is a reflection of humanity's heartlessness.
The song contains powerful imagery that appeals to the listener's emotions. The line, "The look on my face is just the disgrace of the child you locked outside your door" draws attention to the fact that refugees are often children who have been forced out of their homes and countries. The lyrics, "I am part of a time that is no more except in my heart and in my dreams" poignantly acknowledges the loss of the refugee's homeland and family, and how they cling to memories of a time long gone.
Line by Line Meaning
I am a refugee, I am a refugee
I am someone who has been forced to leave my home country, seeking refuge and a better life elsewhere. This is who I am.
I can see you but you don't see me
I see you, the people of the new country I am in, but feel invisible to you. As if I were just passing through, without any place to belong.
I am a refugee, sometimes I'm just like a mirror
I reflect what you choose to ignore or overlook. The things that are hidden from plain sight but are still there to be seen and recognized.
A reflection of what you ignore
I show you the ugly truth, the hardships, the struggle, and the pain that you choose to avoid, to pretend it's not there.
The look on my face is just the disgrace
What's on my face is the mark of shame that I carry, the reflection of what society sees as my flaw: being a refugee.
Of the child you locked outside your door
I am a child of this world, but I've been denied access, rejected, by the people of the land I seek refuge in. Their doors are closed to me, and I have no choice but to live outside it.
I am flesh and bone born of mother
I am human, just like you. I come from a mother, have blood running in my veins, emotions, dreams, and aspirations.
From a home that ceases to be
I left my home behind because of war, famine, or natural disasters. It's no longer a place that's safe or habitable, and I have no choice but to search for a new one.
I have walked these roads too long my friend
I've walked for miles, months, or even years, to get where I am. And yet, I still feel lost, alone, and without a destination.
To return to my family
All I want is to reunite with the people I love, the people who define home for me. But that seems like an impossible dream.
I was born in a different time
I had a childhood, but it was one that you can hardly imagine or remember. It was a time before war, before displacement, before losing everything I hold dear.
In a world not run by machines
My past was a time where technology and machines were not as advanced, as essential, or as invasive as they are now. Life was simpler but harder in different ways.
I am part of a time that is no more
The world I knew, loved, grew up in, and belonged to, is forever gone. It's a memory, a longing, a wish, but it's not attainable anymore.
'Cept in my heart and in my dreams
But I still hold onto hope, to the love, the beauty, and the kindness that the world had to offer. It lives inside me, and it's what keeps me going, even in the darkest of times.
Some men they call me unlucky
People judge me based on what they see, not who I am. They assume that my circumstances are a result of bad luck, not a problem that they share responsibility for, too.
Some men they just call me weak
Others see me as a failure, someone who couldn't handle the challenges and the hurdles that came towards them. They see me as someone weak and pitiful.
They look on with shame as if I am to blame
They turn their backs on me, ashamed of their own privilege, and blame me for something that's beyond my control. Such as the color of my skin or the country I come from.
For something they dare not to speak
They feel guilty, but they don't know how to address it or talk about it. They'd rather ignore it, pretend it doesn't exist, or justify it with lies and misinformation.
Most every place that I go
Everywhere I go, people react the same: with fear, with rejection, with hostility. They see me as a threat, an outsider, and someone who shouldn't be there.
I am greeted with suspicious eyes
Their mistrust shows on their looks, their tone, their body language. They make me feel unwelcome, unloved, and unaccepted.
As if a man on his knees has some disease
They treat me as an infected person, as someone contagious, as someone who would harm them or their society. It's dehumanizing and wrong.
That mankind must despise
It's a form of hate that's not justified, a discrimination that's not acceptable, and a mindset that's not human. We should strive for better, for empathy, for love.
Like a ghost I've returned
I come back to my mind, to my home, to my memories, but it's as if I were a ghost, a shadow, a memory. I don't belong there anymore, and I don't belong anywhere else, either.
I was caught up and burned
I was hurt, abused, violated, and traumatized by the war, the conflict, or the crisis that I fled from. It left a mark on me that can never be erased or forgotten.
In the machine that created me
I am a byproduct of a system that's not fair, not just, not humane. I am the result of poverty, oppression, corruption, hypocrisy, and greed. I am a machine's creation, not a man's child.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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