Celtic Lyrics Corner > Artists & Groups > Solas > Sunny Spells And Scattered Showers > The Wind That Shakes The Barley

The Wind That Shakes The Barley     Credits: Traditional; arranged by Karan Casey, John Doyle, Séamus Egan, Winifred Horan, John Williams & Johnny Cunningham     Appears On: Sunny Spells And Scattered Showers     Language: English

Lyrics:

I sat within a valley green
I sat me with my true love
My sad heart strove the two between
The old love and the new love
The old for her, the new
That made me think on Ireland dearly
When soft the wind blew down the glen
And it shook the golden barley

'Twas hard the woeful words to frame
'Twas worse the tie that bound us
But harder still to bear the shame
Of foreign chains around us
And so I said, "The mountain glen
I'll seek it morning early
And join the bold United Men
While soft wind shakes the barley"

While sad I kissed away her tears
My fond arms around her flinging
The foeman's shot burst on our ears
From out the wild wood ringing
The bullet pierced my true love's side
In life's young spring so early
And on my breast in blood she died
While soft wind shakes the barley

Then blood for blood without remorse
I've taken to Oulard Hollow
I laid my true love's clay cold corpse
Where I full soon will follow
And 'round her grave I wander here
Now night and morning early
With a breaking heart whene'er I hear
The wind that shakes the barley