As well as performing solo, Paul has also toured internationally as a guitarist with the famous '60s legend Donovan, Welsh Breton songstress Katell Keineg, Kieran Halpin and platinum selling Irish singer Sinead Lohan whilst also guesting with the HotHouse Flowers, Mary Black, Christy Moore and Beth Orton.
Following on the success of his first album, he formed a trio with Kevin Murphy on cello and Colm McCaughey on fiddle bringing to the music an unusual sense of melody crossing over the rock-traditional-folk divide.
This distinctive combination has so far resulted in a successful tour of America and Scandinavia in 1994, a stunning performance at the international South by Southwest music seminar in Texas in 1995, tours and festivals in Switzerland and in Germany throughout the last ten years and a string of vibrant performances to wildly enthusiastic crowds all over Ireland.
The debut album was followed by a more "electric" album called "Virgoville" in 1998. Paul released his third album "God knows i love a happy ending" in 2002, an enthralling, swirling mixture of strings and voices and is at the moment working on his fourth album.
Recently Paul appeared on the Irish television series 'Other voices' featuring the best of Irish singer songwriters. One of Paul's songs 'Belle' has been included in the top ten Irish album of the same name.
Paul has also recently joined Irish cult band Interference who have been described as being one of the seminal influences on the likes of well known Irish artists, The Frames and Mundy.
Paul has a song (the title track) covered by one of Ireland's most popular singers, Kieran Goss, on his last album 'Red Letter Day'.
One of Paul’s songs ‘how to say goodbye’ is in an American film ‘Nick and Norah’s Infinite playlist’….recently a top 10 box office hit in the USA and to be released worldwide in 2009.
Paul Tiernan released his fourth CD entitled ‘Belle’ in 2005 which CDbaby (the worlds biggest online distributor of independent cds) wrote: ‘this is, without a doubt, one of the most memorable male folk albums to come through our doors in years.’
‘Earthquakes start with little cracks’ , Paul’s latest CD was released in Ireland on March 2nd, 2009. The opening song ‘Breakfast in bed’ has already been voted on of the best songs of 2008 by ‘Rock n’ Folk’ , one of France’s most popular music magazines.
For tour info, audio samples & CD purchases see Paul's homepage.
Paul Tiernan - discography:
Who's Fooling Who? (1995)
Virgoville (1998)
God Knows I Love a Happy Ending (2000)
Belle (2004)
Earthquakes start with little cracks (2008)
Emily
Paul Tiernan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Looking to be swimming deep,
Down, yes, to be... Two,
The imperfect thing,
Bad timing forЕ...
Three,
A baby girl, ain't I sad it isn't mine
But I was blind,
Not seeing thatЕ four, meant more,
Meant her, meant me, meant you, meant usЕ.
Emily, emily, your eyes still, haunt me, emilyЕ. Come home;
One for the cheating songs,
A thousand ones written wrong,
I suppose there's only two that really matter,
One for you, one for me, one for us and one forЕ.
Three years spent looking for reasons that make a man and a woman bad,
It takesЕ four minutes more to take away the pain,
Don't throw it all awayЕ...
Emily, emily, your eyes still, haunt me, emilyЕ. Come home;
Red flowers crushed smells physical she said,
We're not in a rush,
There's always something left,
It's common, it's commonЕЕsenseЕ...
Emily, emily, your eyes still, haunt me, emilyЕ. Come home;
The song "Emily" by Paul Tiernan is a soulful and melancholic ballad about a man reflecting on his past mistakes and lost love. The lyrics are fragmented, almost like a stream of consciousness, yet they paint a poignant picture of a man haunted by memories of Emily. The first stanza refers to his former self yearning to delve deeper into life's experiences, but feeling imperfect and blown by the crazy winds of fate. The second stanza acknowledges the harsh reality of his wrongdoings, including cheating on Emily and the futile search for reasons behind the breakdown of their relationship. The repeated refrain of "Emily, emily, your eyes still haunt me, emily..." is a clear expression of regret and longing for her to return.
The bridge of the song is particularly emotive, with Tiernan describing the scent of crushed red flowers and the reassurances of his lover that there is no need to rush. This contrast of sensory experiences creates a vivid scene that underscores the bittersweet nature of lost love. Overall, "Emily" is a devastatingly beautiful song that captures the complexities of human relationships and the pain of regret.
Line by Line Meaning
One, for the man I used to be,
This song is dedicated to the person that I used to be
Looking to be swimming deep,
I want to experience life in its entirety
Down, yes, to be... Two,
To reach the depths where I can find true meaning and purpose
The imperfect thing,
Human beings are not perfect, and we are all flawed in some way
Blown by the wind, crazy lives,
Our lives are always changing and unpredictable, and sometimes chaotic
Bad timing forЕ... Three,
I missed out on an opportunity to have a child because of bad timing
A baby girl, ain't I sad it isn't mine
I feel regret and sadness for not being able to have a child
But I was blind,
At the time, I was unable to see the importance of having a child
Not seeing thatЕ four, meant more,
Having a child would have meant more in the long run
Meant her, meant me, meant you, meant usЕ.
Having a child would have had a positive impact on all of us
Emily, emily, your eyes still, haunt me, emilyЕ. Come home;
Emily, I still miss you and I wish you would come back to me
One for the cheating songs,
This song is also about past mistakes, such as infidelity
A thousand ones written wrong,
There are many songs about cheating, but most of them are written from the wrong perspective
I suppose there's only two that really matter,
There are only two songs about cheating that truly capture the pain and regret that come with it
One for you, one for me, one for us and one forЕ.
Each of us has been affected by our mistakes, and each of us needs to take responsibility for our part in it
Three years spent looking for reasons that make a man and a woman bad,
I've spent three years trying to understand what makes people do bad things in relationships
It takesЕ four minutes more to take away the pain,
It takes a little bit more time to heal from the pain caused by our mistakes
Don't throw it all awayЕ...
We shouldn't give up on our relationship, even though we've made mistakes
Red flowers crushed smells physical she said,
She told me that the smell of crushed red flowers is particularly sensual
We're not in a rush,
We don't need to rush things, and we can take our time
There's always something left,
There's always something positive to hold onto, even in difficult times
It's common, it's commonЕЕsenseЕ...
Our love for each other is common sense, and we shouldn't let it go to waste
Emily, emily, your eyes still, haunt me, emilyЕ. Come home;
Emily, I still miss you and I wish you would come back to me
Contributed by Samuel V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.