Becka Clark is a singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist of Irish, Appalachian, Celtic, and Folk music.
Longing for Home |
1 - Far Away From Home
I wrote this for a friend of mine. Like many Irish lads looking for adventure and employment in "far away places," he left his home in Derry, worked jobs in Germany and England before eventually making his way to Amerikay
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I’m traveling far away
Far away from my home
Don’t know where I’m going to
Or which land that I’ll roam
| I must go and leave you Ireland
There’s nothing for me here
I can’t look back I must look straight
ahead
My future’s getting near
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Mother dear please pray for me
Father bless me as I leave
Sister, dry your eyes and cry no more tears
This restless spirit must be free
| I worked my way through Germany
And labored in London town
My heart aches for you Ireland
The greenest land there is around
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2 - The Land I Loved So Well
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Across the sea
Is the land I love so well
Far away
It’s hard to tell
If things have changed
Or if things remain the same
I guess I will never know
| Oh how I long
To return to you once more
And walk the path
That leads down to the shore
My heart is aching
I feel that it is breaking
Dear Ireland I miss you so |
I miss my home
With the hills I used to roam
And the waves that crash ashore from the sea
My heart is there
I can almost smell the air
Then it starts to fade into my memory
| I must go on
And live my life without you
All alone
What will I do
When I remember that sad day in
December
I left the land I love so well
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3 - Longing For Home
In memory of Patricia Ryan-Malette and Donald J. Kelly
Two of my dear friends lost a parent within a year of each other. They were both descendants of Irish immigrants who made Canada their home.
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All my life I’d been longing for my homeland
Even though it always seemed so far away
The visions of green hills and fields of heather
Would fill my heart and mind every day
| I lived my life with love all around me
My friends and family always by my side
I hope they knew how much I really loved them
That I never wanted them to grieve or cry
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But I shall never walk the shores of Ireland
Nor will I breathe her salty air
My home forever more is now in Heaven
I found peace eternal there
| I leave the fields and cities of Ontario
Where memories were made and love was shared
Life passes us all by so very quickly
Please tell the ones you love how much you care
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4 - My Black Horse
Family and friends were greatly missed and so were the four-legged ones
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5 - The Call
Christianity has spread throughout the centuries by dedicated missionaries, but few are aware of the hardships and sacrificial service of the Irish priests. For hundreds of years, these priests trusted in God, leaving their familiar surroundings behind, and traveling to far and unknown lands. And they still go...
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I heard The Call
And I gave my all
To the one who holds everything
My life is in His hands
So I’m leaving this land
To follow wherever He leads
| No one understands
No one ever really knows
The sacrifices of the heart
But the one who is above
The one whose name is Love
He calms my every woe
Preparing me to go
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A heavy heart I have
And I’m feeling very sad
To be leaving my island dear
For a world unknown
So farewell my Irish home
I will miss you with all of my heart
| Now onward I do go
To a far and distant shore
Bringing hope to all who will hear
The message of great love
From the one who is above
Bless me Lord your will be done |
6 - I Am Alone
I envisioned the female Irish immigrant while writing this song. It would have been a difficult life for this lonely young girl. More than likely, she would have been a cook, a housekeeper, or nanny in the new country.
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7 - Patrick Kelly
I grew up in Vermilion county, Illinois and was fascinated by Westville's history. In 19O3, Mike Kelly, an Irish native, was the largest coal operator in Illinois. The Kelly mines 1-4 were scattered about the town. Kelly also owned the First bank. As with other mining communities during that time, the conditions in "Kellyville" were deplorable. However, the miners and their families made the best of things and enjoyed the social activities whenever time allowed. Music was very important. It united their hearts and spoke to their souls.
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My name is Patrick Kelly
I’m working in the mines
The hours are long
The pay is small
I’ve fallen on hard times
It’s worn out shoes I’m wearing
With no money to repair them
My pantry’s bare
And people stare
At my children’s tattered clothes
| We take our recreation upon a hilly field
It’s great for walks and picnics
If you have the time to steal
There’s swimming in the Jenkins Ford
And Sundays at St. Mary’s
But I still miss my old drinking pals
At a pub called Kevin Barry’s
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I work for Michael Kelly
The owner of the mines
I wish he were my cousin
He’s no relative of mine
He makes a lot of money
And even owns the bank
I have no money to put in there
It’s him I have to thank
| The music brings all together
We’re forty nations strong
Can’t wait to hear the gypsy band
It won’t be very long
They come down from Chicago
It happens every year
We sing and dance the night away
The Hungarians clap and cheer
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I live near the town of Westville
In the state of Illinois
It’s the county of Vermilion
Just south of Iroquois
The weather’s cold in winter
And summer’s hot as hell
I wish I were in Ireland
But I wouldn’t be doing as well
| We can’t forget the Belgians
Their food is mighty good
And it’s fun having Italians
Right in your neighborhood
With their Boni Caudla parties
There’s laughter every where
But I’d rather be in Ireland
A riding my old mare |
In Kellyville we’re living
In a camp they call “The Patch”
The houses they are all fenced in
With an entrance that won’t latch
We’ve only one well for water
So we’ve had to learn to share
But you better store your coal inside
Or in the morning it won’t be there
| Dear Ireland I miss you
It’s been so very long
Since I’ve seen your shores and
greenery
And watched your skies at dawn
I wonder if I’ll get back home
To the land I love so well
As they love to say in Amerikay
The time will only tell |
The houses they are all alike
And they are not well built
The walls and floors they all have cracks
And let in all the soot
They’re hard to heat in winter
And you can’t keep out the snow
Oh how can I keep living here
Please tell me I don’t know
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8 - Irish Music Box
Can you imagine, after your long anticipated arrival in the "land of the free," a gun shoved in your hands, your body marched off to war? This was reality for some Irish immigrants setting foot upon the American shores during war time. I'm sure most of these soldiers would have chosen the battles of poverty and strife in their native land to those they didn't understand in their newly adoptive one. For this song, I visualized one of the these poor souls dying on an unknown civil war battlefield, gasping for breath, hanging on to the memory of his mother’s music box.
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9 - Together Again
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10 - Fare Thee Well
Opportunity, adventure, escape were but a few of the dreams tugging the heart of the Irish immigrant. What a relief it must have been for those leaving their dire circumstances behind; but what sadness they must have felt the day the only land they ever knew disappeared as quickly as those ships their loved ones viewed from the shore.
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