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.
I Saw Three Ships A Sailing
The Chieftains Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
On Christmas Day, on Christmas Day.
I saw three ships come sailing in
On Christmas Day in the morning.
And what was in those ships all three
On Christmas Day, on Christmas Day?
And what was in those ships all three
On Christmas Day in the morning?
Our Saviour Christ and his Lady,
On Christmas Day, on Christmas Day.
Our Saviour Christ and his Lady,
On Christmas Day in the morning.
And all the bells on Earth shall ring
On Christmas Day, on Christmas Day.
And all the bells on Earth shall ring
On Christmas Day in the morning
And all the angels in Heaven shall sing
On Christmas Day, on Christmas Day.
And all the angels in Heaven shall sing
On Christmas Day in the morning
Then let us all rejoice again
On Christmas Day, on Christmas Day.
Then let us all rejoice again
On Christmas Day in the morning
The Chieftains's song "I Saw Three Ships A Sailing" is a traditional English Christmas carol that dates back to the 17th century. The song describes the arrival of three ships on Christmas Day in the morning, and wonders what could be on board. The answer is revealed in the second verse, which states that the ships carried Our Saviour Christ and his Lady, making the ships metaphors for the Christian faith.
The lyrics go on to describe the joy that this arrival brings, with all the bells on Earth ringing and all the angels in Heaven singing in celebration. The final verse urges everyone to join in the rejoicing, as Christmas is a time for celebration of the birth of Christ.
The song's simple melody and catchy verse-chorus structure have made it a popular Christmas carol over the years, with many different versions recorded by various artists. The Chieftains' version features traditional Irish instruments such as the harp, the fiddle, and the uilleann pipes, which give the song a unique and uplifting sound.
Line by Line Meaning
I saw three ships come sailing in
The singer saw three ships sail into view
On Christmas Day, on Christmas Day.
It was on Christmas Day when the ships were seen.
And what was in those ships all three
The singer is curious about the contents of the ships.
On Christmas Day, on Christmas Day?
The question is asked on Christmas Day.
Our Saviour Christ and his Lady,
The ships contained Jesus Christ and his mother, Mary.
And all the bells on Earth shall ring
When Jesus and Mary arrived, all of the bells on the earth began ringing.
On Christmas Day, on Christmas Day.
This happened on Christmas Day.
And all the angels in Heaven shall sing
All of the angels in Heaven started singing.
On Christmas Day, on Christmas Day.
This happened on Christmas Day.
Then let us all rejoice again
The artist suggests that everyone should rejoice once again.
On Christmas Day, on Christmas Day.
This suggested rejoicing should happen on Christmas Day.
In the morning.
All of the events described happened in the morning.
Contributed by Mateo H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
tom canterbury
on North Amerikay
the great accapella version by kevin on tribute to their harpist