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.
Long Journey Home
The Chieftains Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And for each mast cut down another sapling is grown
Then I could believe that I'm bound to find
A better life than I left behind
But as you ascend the ladder
Look out below where you tread
For the colors bled as they overflowed
Red, white and blue
Green, white and gold
So I had to leave from my country of birth
As for each child grown tall
Another lies in the earth
And for every rail we laid in the loam
There's a thousand miles of the long journey home
But as you ascend the ladder
Look out below where you tread
For the colors bled as they overflowed
Red, white and blue
Green, white and gold
The Chieftains' song Long Journey Home conveys the idea that leaving your home and seeking a new life can be both hopeful and bittersweet. The first verse talks about how sailing the seas can symbolize hope for a better life, but also acknowledges the sacrifice of nature as new ships are built. The second verse describes how progress and growth can only exist in the face of loss and sacrifice, as represented by the colors of flags bleeding into each other. The singer speaks of their own personal journey, leaving behind their birth country and reflecting on the toll of progress on the world.
The ladder symbolizes progress, but the singer warns to tread carefully, as there may be unintended consequences. The flag colors are also significant, representing the singer's experience of leaving Ireland (the green, white, and gold) and coming to America (the red, white, and blue). The imagery of growth and loss continues into the third verse, as every inch of progress (represented by a rail) requires a thousand miles of travel to return home. The title "Long Journey Home" captures the sentiment of the song as a whole, acknowledging that leaving home can be a difficult but necessary step towards progress and discovery.
Line by Line Meaning
If on every ocean the ship is a throne
If the ship is the ruler of every ocean
And for each mast cut down another sapling is grown
If a new mast is grown for each one cut down
Then I could believe that I'm bound to find
Then I can believe that I will find
A better life than I left behind
A life better than the one I left behind
But as you ascend the ladder
But as you climb up
Look out below where you tread
Be careful where you step
For the colors bled as they overflowed
The colors bled and overflowed
Red, white and blue
The colors of the American flag
Green, white and gold
The colors of the Irish flag
So I had to leave from my country of birth
So I had to leave the country where I was born
As for each child grown tall
For every child who grows up
Another lies in the earth
Another child dies
And for every rail we laid in the loam
For every railroad track we built in the ground
There's a thousand miles of the long journey home
There's a long journey home that spans thousands of miles
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: ELVIS COSTELLO, PADDY MOLONEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
tom canterbury
on North Amerikay
the great accapella version by kevin on tribute to their harpist