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.
The Sands of Mexico
The Chieftains Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But the devil got there first
The road was hard, the way was long
Churubusco was far worse
Pressed in the Union Army
And ordered off to go
Along the southern border
To the sands of Mexico
Now we come from Cork and Kerry
That emerald world has past
My Mary would be pleased to know
I'm a praying man at last
In this distressed country
Little comfort do we know
My Bible is my road map
On the sands of Mexico
When the roll is called up yonder
I'll be there the boys will harmonize
A lovely Irish air take a message to my Mary
She's the one that's true I know
When you saw me I had fallen
On the sands of Mexico
Now the army used us harshly
We were but trash to them
Conscripted Irish farmers
Not first class soldier men
They beat us and they banged us
Mistreated us, you know
But they couldn't make us killers
On the sands of Mexico
That's why we call it faith
That's why we call Him Lord
That's why I threw away my Yankee sword
Our John Riley seized the day
And marched us down the road
And we wouldn't slay our brothers
On the sands of Mexico
Faith and righteousness was all in vain
Irish blood was spilled once again
As I stand upon the gallows
It cheers the soul to know
History will absolve us
On the sands of Mexico
The sands of Mexico
The bloody sands of Mexico
La historia me absolverá
On the sands of Mexico
The Chieftains' song "The Sands of Mexico" is a powerful ballad about the struggles of a group of Irish farmers conscripted into the Union Army during the Mexican-American War in the mid-19th century. The song opens with a description of the difficult journey the soldiers have to make to get to Churubusco, only to find that the devil has already arrived. The soldiers are then sent on a mission along the southern border of Mexico to fight in the war, a mission that will test their faith and moral convictions.
The lyrics reveal the inner turmoil experienced by the soldiers, who are not professional soldiers but rather ordinary men with families and values. They struggle to reconcile their religious beliefs with the horrors of war and the brutal treatment they receive from their own Army. Throughout the song, the soldiers hold onto their faith and their sense of morality, refusing to kill fellow human beings even when ordered to do so. In the end, the soldiers pay the ultimate price for their convictions, with one of them standing on the gallows, comforted only by the knowledge that history will absolve them.
Line by Line Meaning
We went down to Churubusco
We journeyed to Churubusco
But the devil got there first
The enemy had already arrived before us
The road was hard, the way was long
The journey was difficult and lengthy
Churubusco was far worse
The situation at Churubusco was even more challenging
Pressed in the Union Army
We were conscripted into the Union Army
And ordered off to go
We were given orders to proceed
Along the southern border
We were sent to the southern border
To the sands of Mexico
We arrived at the deserts of Mexico
Now we come from Cork and Kerry
We hail from the regions of Cork and Kerry
That emerald world has past
The green and verdant homeland is no more
My Mary would be pleased to know
My beloved Mary would find comfort in knowing
I'm a praying man at last
I have finally turned to prayer
In this distressed country
In this troubled land
Little comfort do we know
We have few sources of solace
My Bible is my road map
I find guidance in the Bible
On the sands of Mexico
While in the deserts of Mexico
When the roll is called up yonder
When we are called to account
I'll be there the boys will harmonize
I will be present, singing with my comrades
A lovely Irish air take a message to my Mary
Sing a beautiful Irish song for my beloved Mary
She's the one that's true I know
I know she is faithful and devoted
When you saw me I had fallen
When you encountered me, I was wounded
On the sands of Mexico
In the deserts of Mexico
Now the army used us harshly
The army treated us poorly
We were but trash to them
We were merely worthless to them
Conscripted Irish farmers
Irish farmers were forced to serve
Not first class soldier men
Not exemplary soldiers
They beat us and they banged us
They physically abused us
Mistreated us, you know
They subjected us to mistreatment
But they couldn't make us killers
They were unable to force us to commit murder
On the sands of Mexico
Despite being in the deserts of Mexico
That's why we call it faith
That's why we have faith
That's why we call Him Lord
That's why we worship Him as our Lord
That's why I threw away my Yankee sword
That's why I abandoned my American weapon
Our John Riley seized the day
Our leader John Riley took action
And marched us down the road
And led us on our journey
And we wouldn't slay our brothers
And we refused to kill our fellow men
On the sands of Mexico
Despite being in the deserts of Mexico
Faith and righteousness was all in vain
Our reliance on faith and morality proved futile
Irish blood was spilled once again
More Irish lives were lost in battle
As I stand upon the gallows
As I face imminent execution
It cheers the soul to know
It is heartening to know
History will absolve us
Posterity will exonerate us
On the sands of Mexico
In spite of the hardships we faced in the deserts of Mexico
The sands of Mexico
The arid landscapes of Mexico
The bloody sands of Mexico
The battlefield in Mexico
La historia me absolverá
History will absolve me
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
tom canterbury
on North Amerikay
the great accapella version by kevin on tribute to their harpist