The band has recorded many albums of instrumental Irish folk music, as well as multiple collaborations with popular musicians of many genres, including Country music, Galician traditional music, Cape Breton and Newfoundland music, and rock and roll. They have performed with Van Morrison, The Rolling Stones, Sting, Roger Daltrey, Elvis Costello, Tom Jones, Sinéad O'Connor, James Galway, Jackson Browne, Nancy Griffith and numerous Country-western artists. In 1975, the group won praise for their playing of "Women of Ireland" for Stanley Kubrick's movie Barry Lyndon.
They have won six Grammy Awards and have been nominated eighteen times. In 2002 they were given a Lifetime Achievement Award by the UK's BBC Radio 2. The front covers of the first four albums were designed by Edward Delaney.
Paddy Moloney is the band's leader, and composes or arranges most of the band's music. While the band's members changed numerous times in the band's early history, the membership solidified in 1979 when Matt Molloy replaced Michael Tubridy.
From then until 2002, members included:
Paddy Moloney (uilleann pipes, tin whistle, button accordion, bodhrán)
Matt Molloy (flute, tin whistle)
Kevin Conneff (bodhrán, vocals)
Seán Keane (fiddle, tin whistle)
Martin Fay (fiddle, bones) (born 1938; died 14 November 2012)
Derek Bell (Irish harp, keyboard instruments, oboe) (born 21 October 1935; died 17 October 2002)
In 2002, Fay retired from active membership. In the same year, Bell died due to complications following a minor operation. Fay died on 14 November 2012.
Factory Girl
The Chieftains Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The birds in the bushes did whistle and sing
The lads and the lasses in couples were courtin'
Going back to the factory their work to begin
He spied one among them, she was fairer then many
Her cheeks like the red rose that blooms in the spring
Her hair like the lily that grows in Yon' valley
She was only a hard-working factory girl
He sat soft beside her, more closely to view her
She says, "My young man, don't stare me so
I gold in my pocket and silver as well
No more will I answer that factory call"
The Chieftains featuring Sinéad O'Connor's "Factory Girl" is a classic folk song about a hard-working factory girl who longs to escape her mundane life. The song starts with the singer taking a walk one summer morning, observing couples courting and heading to work at the factory. He spots a girl among them who is fairer than most, with rosy cheeks and lily-like hair.
As the singer sits beside her, admiring her beauty, she asks him not to stare at her. However, he persists and confesses his love for her. She tells him that she has money in her pocket and no longer needs to answer the call of the factory. This could imply that she has already earned enough money to live comfortably or perhaps she has decided to leave the factory job to seek a new life.
The song symbolizes the oppressive nature of factory work during that time, where individuals had to work long hours for low wages to survive. The girl in the song represents the oppressed working class and her desire to escape her mundane life is a universal human experience.
Line by Line Meaning
As I went out walking one fine summer morning
The singer narrates going out for a walk on a beautiful summer day.
The birds in the bushes did whistle and sing
The sound of birds singing is present and audible.
The lads and the lasses in couples were courtin'
As the singer walks, they notice that young couples are spending time together.
Going back to the factory their work to begin
These young couples are walking together to their workplace.
He spied one among them, she was fairer then many
The artist observes a woman who stands out among the other factory workers.
Her cheeks like the red rose that blooms in the spring
The woman's cheeks are as beautiful as a rose in full bloom.
Her hair like the lily that grows in Yon' valley
Her hair is compared to a lily flower that grows in a valley.
She was only a hard-working factory girl
The woman the artist is admiring is a factory worker.
He sat soft beside her, more closely to view her
The artist moves to sit beside the woman to observe her closely.
She says, "My young man, don't stare me so
The woman notices the artist's intense gaze and warns him against staring.
I gold in my pocket and silver as well
The woman has money on her person.
No more will I answer that factory call"
The woman has decided not to go back to work at the factory anymore.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: PADDY MOLONEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@DaveAwesome
As I went out walking one fine summer morning
The birds in the bushes did whistle and sing
The lads and the lasses in couples were courtin'
Going back to the factory their work to begin
He spied one among them, she was fairer then many
Her cheeks like the red rose that blooms in the spring
Her hair like the lily that grows in Yon' valley
She was only a hard-working factory girl
He sat soft beside her, more closely to view her
She says, "My young man, don't stare me so
I gold in my pocket and silver as well
No more will I answer that factory call"
@erikthorsvald4501
This is my all time favorite Chieftains song. Her voice is so hauntingly beautiful. Rest in power Sinead
@stacyblue1980
This old song meant the world to many people. I found this version in my 20s. I have worked factories all my adult life. The hell of it is hard to describe. My mother is 65 years and still works in a factory as well. Its what we do. This song is very special. God Bless you Sinead. You are no longer in pain. Thank you dear. 🙏🌹
@stephanestermann7451
Bon sang comme ta voix me fait vibrer , 😢. Tu nous manques. Sinéad je t'aime ❤❤❤
@zento1702
RIP Sinead :-(
@arcticswimmer
A song for eternity. Thanks to Sinéad. The beauty in this song is incredible.
@nacho1560
Best version of this song I've heard. Sinead's a genius at emotion and getting the correct feel for any song. She cares about who she's singing about.
@Miss_Eck
Fly high Sinead
@patmulvey813
My mother who worked in the mill in Belfast at a very early age sang this song. Slight difference in the word here and there but it does not change the heart of the song. Thank you. By the way she would be 112 if she was alive today!
@NoRosesForMe
Pat Mulvey i almost cried reading your comment. My goodness.I will be 35 in 16 days ..i have been in "Mills" / factories since i was 19.But .my mother has been in hard, dirty , mind-wrecking factories since she was a 15 year old girl. SHe is 57 now. I hope for better. I truly do and sometimes i feel absolutely wrecked. Mentally/ physically. I hope for better. For all of us anywhere. Any being. But- it is so hard. It is almost insane. my Father's family always worked in the mills. But- Bless and heart to you- "Jenny"
@Darkwish17
Something about an Irish accent singing about hard times....you just have to love it.