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.
North Amerikay
The Chieftains Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Oh I pray you pay attention, whilst I my pen command
It was my father's anger that drove my love away
But I still have hopes we'll meet again in North Amerikay
My love he was fair and handsome and to him I gave my heart
Ah but little was our notion that we would ever part
It was in my father's garden, that this flower it did decay
But I still have hopes t'wil' bloom again, in North Amerikay
Now I did not want for money, kind fortune on me shone
So out of my father's castle I took 300 pounds
It was in the town of Belfast, my passage I did pay
And then set sail across the sea to far Amerikay
Now the captain's wife was kind to me, as you may understand
And she kept me in her cabin until we reached dry land
It was in the town of Quebec we landed on the Cay
But I knew not where to seek my love in all Amerikay
Now I being sick and sore and tired, well I went into an inn
And it was there I met my William, the lad I loved, within
He took me gently by the hand and to me he did say
Oh I never thought I'd see your face in North Amerikay
Now I hear this couple have got wed as you may understand
And I hear they live quite happily in a town they call Saint Johns
And the money that she took from home, well in gold she paid it down
And they think no more of Ireland nor Enniskillin Town
The Chieftains’ song North Amerikay tells the story of a young woman from Ireland who fell in love with a fair and handsome man. Unfortunately, her father disapproved of their love and forced her lover to leave. The young woman, however, still held onto hope that they would meet again, this time in North Amerikay. She did not want for money and took 300 pounds from her father’s castle and set sail for America. During her journey, she met the captain’s wife who kept her in her cabin until they landed in Quebec. Once landed, she searched for her lover in all of Amerikay but did not know where to find him. She eventually became sick and tired and ended up running into her lover in a town called Saint Johns. The two rekindled their love and got married, forgetting all about Ireland and Enniskillin Town.
The lyrics of this song tell a romantic story of love that triumphed over adversity. It highlights the resilience of the human spirit to hold onto hope even in difficult situations. The song is also an example of the power of music to tell a compelling story that people can relate to regardless of their culture and background.
Line by Line Meaning
Ye lovers all both great and small, who dwell in Ireland
The singer addresses all lovers in Ireland, asking for their attention
Oh I pray you pay attention, whilst I my pen command
The singer urges the listeners to stay focused as they hear the story she's about to narrate through the lyrics
It was my father's anger that drove my love away
The singer's father's anger separated her from her lover
But I still have hopes we'll meet again in North Amerikay
Despite the separation, the singer is hopeful that she will reunite with her lover in North America
My love he was fair and handsome and to him I gave my heart
The singer's lover was attractive and she loved him a lot
Ah but little was our notion that we would ever part
They both never thought they would get separated from each other
It was in my father's garden, that this flower it did decay
The singer's love story withered in her father's garden
But I still have hopes t'wil' bloom again, in North Amerikay
However, the singer still believes that their love will blossom again in North America
Now I did not want for money, kind fortune on me shone
The singer was fortunate enough to not have monetary issues
So out of my father's castle I took 300 pounds
The singer took 300 pounds from her father's castle before leaving for America
It was in the town of Belfast, my passage I did pay
She paid for her passage to America in Belfast
And then set sail across the sea to far Amerikay
Finally, she sailed to America
Now the captain's wife was kind to me, as you may understand
On the ship, the captain's wife showed kindness towards the singer
And she kept me in her cabin until we reached dry land
She allowed the singer to stay in her cabin until the ship reached the shores
It was in the town of Quebec we landed on the Cay
The ship docked in Quebec and the singer finally set foot on the land
But I knew not where to seek my love in all Amerikay
The singer had no idea where to find her love in America
Now I being sick and sore and tired, well I went into an inn
The singer was unwell and exhausted, and thus checked into an inn
And it was there I met my William, the lad I loved, within
It was in that very inn that she met William, her beloved
He took me gently by the hand and to me he did say
William treated her kindly and affectionately
Oh I never thought I'd see your face in North Amerikay
William was surprised to see her in North America
Now I hear this couple have got wed as you may understand
The singer heard that William and she got married
And I hear they live quite happily in a town they call Saint Johns
William and the singer are reportedly leading a happy life in a town called Saint Johns
And the money that she took from home, well in gold she paid it down
The singer paid the money she took from home in gold
And they think no more of Ireland nor Enniskillin Town
The couple no longer thinks of their home in Ireland or Enniskillin Town
Contributed by Joshua N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
tom canterbury
the great accapella version by kevin on tribute to their harpist