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.
Katie Dear
The Chieftains Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
If you can be a bride of mine
If she says yes, come back and tell me
If she says no, we'll run away
Oh Willie dear, there's no need asking
For she lies on her feather bed
And by her side is a silver dagger
To slay the one that I would wail
Oh Katie dear, go ask your papa
If you can be a bride of mine
If he says yes, come back and tell me
If he says no, we'll run away
Oh Willie dear, there's no need asking
He's in his room takin' a rest
And by his side there's a silver dagger
To slay the one that I love best
Then he picked up that silver dagger
And plunged it through his troubled heart
Saying, "Goodbye Katie, goodbye darling
It's now forever we must part"
Then she picked up that bloody dagger
And plunged it through her lily white breast
Saying, "Goodbye papa, goodbye mama
I'll die for the one that I love best"
The song "Katie Dear" by The Chieftains is a tragic tale of two young lovers, Katie and Willie. The lyrics begin with Willie asking Katie to go ask her parents if she can be his bride. However, Katie is hesitant because her mother is known to be protective and her father is known to be violent. Katie warns Willie that her mother sleeps with a silver dagger by her side to protect her daughter from suitors, and her father does the same. Despite this warning, Willie insists that they ask her parents for permission.
When Katie askes her mother for permission, she is met with a negative response. Her mother is unwilling to give permission for her daughter to marry Willie. As expected, Willie is disappointed and suggests they run away if her mother says no. But when Katie asks her father for permission, he is also reluctant to grant permission. Without permission from her parents, Katie and Willie plan to run away together.
However, in a tragic turn of events, they both end up committing suicide. Willie takes a silver dagger and stabs himself in the heart while saying goodbye to Katie. Katie, in turn, takes the same dagger and plunges it into her own chest, saying goodbye to her parents. The song is a heartbreaking reminder of the lengths people will go to for love.
Overall, "Katie Dear" is a song about the deep and passionate love between two people that ultimately leads to their tragic demise. The lyrics highlight the danger of trying to go against the will of one's parents and the lengths people will go to for true love.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh Katie dear, go ask your mama
Asking permission from your mother if it is okay for you to marry me.
If she says yes, come back and tell me
If she agrees with our plan, please inform me.
If she says no, we'll run away
If she doesn't agree, we'll elope and start a new life together.
Oh Willie dear, there's no need asking
Don't bother asking my parents for permission.
For she lies on her feather bed
My mother is resting on her bed.
And by her side is a silver dagger
She is armed with a silver dagger to harm anyone who challenges her authority.
To slay the one that I would wail
She would use the dagger to kill me if I pursue our relationship.
Oh Katie dear, go ask your papa
Ask for permission from your father if we can be together.
If he says yes, come back and tell me
If your father agrees, inform me immediately.
If he says no, we'll run away
If he disagrees, let's escape from his authority and be happy elsewhere.
He's in his room takin' a rest
My father is currently sleeping in his room.
And by his side there's a silver dagger
He also carries a silver dagger for his protection.
To slay the one that I love best
He would use the dagger to kill you, the one I love the most, if he disapproves of our union.
Then he picked up that silver dagger
He took the dagger in his hand.
And plunged it through his troubled heart
He committed suicide due to the troubles our relationship caused him.
Saying, "Goodbye Katie, goodbye darling
He said farewell to his daughter and loved ones.
It's now forever we must part"
We can no longer be together forever.
Then she picked up that bloody dagger
She took the still-dripping dagger.
And plunged it through her lily white breast
She killed herself out of grief for losing her father and losing the person she loved.
Saying, "Goodbye papa, goodbye mama
She said her final goodbyes to her parents before dying.
I'll die for the one that I love best"
She chose to die for the sake of her love for him.
Contributed by Abigail B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
tom canterbury
on North Amerikay
the great accapella version by kevin on tribute to their harpist