Loreena McKennitt

If I had a hundred wishes And only one of them could come true I would wish that over this distance I could be right there now with you Could we be in France again Dance beneath the olive trees Mingling bodies on a deserted beach Moon above to catch th...

[Verse 1] Ancient castles and climbing cliffs Summoned by the sea Windswept shores and crashing waves Rages furiously Twisting trees all true Stand huddled watching thee [Chorus] And ages past, ages hence Pages turned carefully Ages past, ages hence...

Bonfires dot the rolling hillsides Figures dance around and around To drums that pulse out echoes of darkness Moving to the pagan sound. Somewhere in a hidden memory Images float before my eyes Of fragrant nights of straw and of bonfires And dancing ti...

Harking is bonny and there lives my love My heart lies on him and cannot remove It cannot remove for all that I have done And I never will forget my love Annachie For Annachie Gordon he's bonny and he's bright He'd entice any woman that e'er he saw He'd entice...

Who are you, my pretty fair maid, Who are you, me honey? And who are you, my pretty fair maid, And who are you, me honey? She answered me quite modestly, I am me mother's darling With me Too-ry-ay Fol-de-diddle-day Di-re fol-de-diddle Dai-rie oh And will you...

I come from hevin which to tell The best nowells that e'er befell To you thir tythings trew I bring And I will of them say and sing. This day to you is born ane child Of Marie meik and Virgin mild That bliss it bairn bening and kind Sall you rejoice ba...

As I walked out one morning All in the month of May Down by a flowery garden I carelessly did stray I overheard a young maid In sorrow did complain All for her absent lover Who ploughs the raging main. I boldly stepped up to her And put her in surprise I kno...

The moonlight it was dancing On the waves, out on the sea The stars of heaven hovered In a shimmering galaxy A voice from down the ages So in haunting in its song These ancient stones will tell us Our love must make us strong The breeze it wrapped around me...

A blacksmith courted me Nine months and better He fairly won my heart Wrote me a letter With his hammer in his hand He looked quite clever And if I was with my love I'd live forever. But where is my love gone With his cheeks like roses And...

O bonny Portmore, I am sorry to see Such a woeful destruction of your ornament tree For it stood on your shore for many's the long day Till the long boats from Antrim came to float it away. O bonny Portmore, you shine where you stand And the more I think on...

[Verse 1] On a sunny April morning My dear son, you were born Until one day you were called away And from my heart was torn [Verse 2] As a boy, you knew the stables As a lad, you knew the fields My son, you worked beside me But to country you must yi...

I hear some distant drumbeat A heartbeat pulsing low Is it coming from within A heartbeat I don't know A troubled heart knows no peace A dark and poisoned pool Of liberty now lost A pawn, an oppressor's tool Oh my heart be strong And guide when eyes...

This glancing life is like a morning star A setting sun, or rolling waves at sea A gentle breeze or lightning in a storm A dancing dream of all eternity The sand was shimmering in the morning light And dancing off the dunes so far away The night held music so...

I wish I was in Carrighfergus Only for nights in Ballygrant I would swim over the deepest ocean Only for nights in Ballygrant. But the sea is wide, and I can't swim over Neither have I wings to fly If I could find me a handsome boatman To ferry me over to my...

Beloved, gaze in thine own heart The holy tree is growing there; From joy the holy branches start And all the trembling flowers they bear. The changing colours of its fruit Have dowered the stars with merry light; The surety of its hidden root Has planted quie...

Come by the hills to the land where fancy is free And stand where the peaks meet the sky and the rocks reach the sea Where the rivers run clear and the bracken is gold in the sun And cares of tomorrow must wait till this day is done. Come by the hills to the...

Wherein the deep night sky The stars lie in its embraceThe courtyard still in its sleep And peace comes over your face. "Come to me," it sings "Hear the pulse of the land The ocean's rhythms pull To hold your heart in its hand." And when the wind draw...

Lully, lulla, thou little tiny child By by, lully, lullay, thou little tiny child By by, lully lullay O sisters too, how may we do For to preserve this day This poor youngling For whom we do sing By by, lully lullay? Herod, the king In his raging Charged he...

Fear no more the heat o' the sun Nor the furious winters' rages; Thou thy worldly task hast done, Home art gone, and ta'en thy wages Golden lads and girls all must, As chimney-sweepers, come to dust. The sceptre, learning, physic, must All follow this...

When the dark wood fell before me And all the paths were overgrown When the priests of pride say there is no other way I tilled the sorrows of stone I did not believe because I could not see Though you came to me in the night When the dawn seemed forever lost...

I walk the streets of Dublin It's 1842 It's snowing on this Christmas Eve Think I'll beg another bob or two I'll huddle in this doorway here Till someone comes along If the lamplighter comes real soon Maybe I'll go home with him. Maybe I can find a place I ca...

It was down by the Sally Gardens, my love and I did meet. She crossed the Sally Gardens, with little snow-white feet. She bid me to take life easy, as the leaves grow on the tree, But I was young and foolish, and with her I did not agree. In a field down by t...

Veni, veni, Emanuel: Captivum solve Israel, Qui gemit in exilio, Privatus Dei Filio Gaude! Gaude! Emanuel Nascetur pro te, Israel. Veni veni, O Oriens; Solare nos adveniens; Noctis depelle nebulas, Dirasque noctis tenebras. Gaude! Gaude! Emanuel Nascetur pro...

Stars were falling deep in the darkness as prayers rose softly, petals at dawn And as I listened, your voice seemed so clear so calmly you were calling your god Somewhere the sun rose, o'er dunes in the desert such was the stillness, I ne'er felt before...

Sunday is gloomy My hours are slumberless Dearest the shadows I live with are numberless Little white flowers Will never awaken you Not where the black coach Of sorrow has taken you Angels have no thoughts Of ever returning you Would they be angry If I thought...

Wassail! Wassail all over the town! Our toast it is white and our ale it is brown; Our bowl it is made of the white maple tree; With the wassailing-bowl, we'll drink to thee! So here is to Cherry and to his right cheek! Pray God send out master a good piece o...

God rest ye merry, gentlemen, Let nothing you dismay Remember Christ our Saviour Was born on Christmas Day To save us all from Satan's power When we were gone astray. O tidings of comfort and joy, Comfort and joy; O tidings of comfort and joy! From God our He...

Good King Wenceslas looked out On the Feast of Stephen When the snow lay 'round about Deep and crisp and even Brightly shone the moon that night Though the frost was cruel When a poor man came in sight Gath'ring winter fuel "Hither, page, and stand by me, If...

All hail to the days that merit more praise Than all the rest of the year And welcome the nights that double delights As well for the poor as the peer! Good fortune attend each merry man's friend That doth but the best that he may Forgetting old wrongs with ca...

Here's a health to you bonny Kellswater Where you get all the pleasures of life Where you get all the fishing and fowling And a bonny wee lass for your wife. Oh it's down where yon waters run muddy I'm afraid they will never run clear And it's when I begin fo...

What can ail thee, knight-at-arms Alone and palely loitering? The sedge has withered from the lake And no birds sing What can ail thee, knight-at-arms So haggard and so woe-begone? The squirrel’s granary is full And the harvest’s done See a lily on t...

Dear thoughts are in my mind And my soul soars enchanted As I hear the sweet lark sing In the clear air of the day. For a tender beaming smile To my hope has been granted And tomorrow she shall hear All my fond heart would say. I shall tell her all my love An...

Let all that are to mirth inclined Consider well and bear in mind What our good God for us has done In sending his beloved Son For to redeem our souls from thrall Christ is the saviour of us all. The twenty-fifth day of December We have good cause to remembe...

Let us the Infant greet In worship before Him fall And let us pay Him homage meet On this His festival. Let us to the Infant sing And bring Him of gifts rich store Let us honour our Infant King With praise for evermore. Let us to the Infant kneel And love Hi...

The journey's over; another's just begun Beneath moonlight, but by the warming sun I seek to hold you in sunshine or rain Beneath the heavens, I'm coming home again So far we drifted, like ships upon the sea Horizons fading, we lost to destiny Storm clo...

O for a voice like thunder, and a tongue To drown the throat of war! - When the senses Are shaken, and the soul is driven to madness Who can stand? When the souls of the oppressed Fight in the troubled air that rages, who can stand? When the whirlwind of fury...

They're gathered in circles the lamps light their faces The crescent moon rocks in the sky The poets of drumming keep heartbeats suspended The smoke swirls up and then it dies Would you like my mask? would you like my mirror? cries the man in the shadowing ho...

The moon-cradle's rocking and rocking Where a cloud and a cloud go by Silently rocking and rocking The moon-cradle out in the sky. Then comes the lad with the hazel And the folding star's in the rack "Night's a good herd to the cattle," He sings, "She brings...

The road now leads onward As far as can be Winding lanes And hedgerows in threes By purple mountains And round every bend All roads lead to you There is no journey's end. Here is my heart and I give it to you Take me with you across this land These are my dre...

Ride on through the night tide on Ride on through the night tide on There are visions, there are memories There are echoes of thundering hooves There are fires, there is laughter There's the sound of a thousand doves In the velvet of the darkness By the silh...

Noel nouvelet! Noel chantons icy; Devotes gens' rendons a Dieu merci; Chantons Noel pour le Roi nouvelet; Noel nouvelet! Noel chantons icy! En Bethleem' Marie et Joseph vy' L'asne et le boeuf' l'Enfant couche parmy; La creche etait au lieu d'un bercelet. Noel...

As I roved out on a bright May morning To view the meadows and flowers gay Whom should I spy but my own true lover As she sat under yon willow tree I took off my hat and I did salute her I did salute her most courageously When she turned around well the tears...

Now that the time has come Soon gone is the day There upon some distant shore You'll hear me say Long as the day in the summer time Deep as the wine dark sea I'll keep your heart with mine. Till you come to me. There like a bird I'd fly High through the air...

And now my charms are all o'erthrown And what strength I have's mine own Which is most faint; now t'is true I must here be released by you But release me from my bands With the help of your good hands Gentle breath of yours my sails Must fill, or else my proj...

When the moon on a cloud cast night Hung above the tree tops' height You sang me of some distant past That made my heart beat strong and fast Now I know I'm home at last You offered me an eagle's wing That to the sun I might soar and sing And if I heard the o...

I sowed the seeds of love I sowed them in the spring I gathered them up in the morning so clear When the small birds so sweetly sing When the small birds so sweetly sing The gardener was standing by I asked him to choose for me He chose for me the violet, the...

My love said to me My mother won't mind And me father won't slight you For your lack of kind Then she stepped away from me And this she did say, "It will not be long, love Till our wedding day" She stepped away from me And she moved through the fair And fondl...

O light the candle, John The daylight has almost gone The birds have sung their last The bells call all to mass Sit here by my side For the night is very long There's something I must tell Before I pass along I joined the brotherhood My books were all to me...

White are the far-off plains, and white The fading forests grow; The wind dies out along the height, And denser still the snow, A gathering weight on roof and tree, Falls down scarce audibly. The road before me smooths and fills Apace, and all about The fence...

[Verse 1] Falls, the light, by your side And flows to a sea of lost dreams The ocean opens its arms to lost souls And toils the night, so it seems And who can recall the lost faith there The distant look in your eyes Spanish guitars and night plazas In...

In one of these lonely Orkney Isles There dwelled a maiden fair Her cheeks were red, her eyes were blue She had yellow, curling hair Which caught the eye and then the heart Of one who could never be A lover of so true a maid Or fair a form as she Acr...

Where dips the rocky highland Of sleuth wood in the lake There lies a leafy island Where flapping herons wake The drowsy water rats There we've hid our fairy vats Full of berries And of reddest stolen cherries. CHORUS Come away oh human child To th...

"Lay me in a cushioned chair Carry me, ye four With cushions here and there To see the world once more To stable and to kennel go Bring what there is to bring Lead my Lollard to and fro Or gently in a ring Put the chair upon the grass Bring Rody and...

A farmer there lived in the north country a hey ho bonny o And he had daughters one, two, three The swans swim so bonny o These daughters they walked by the river's brim a hey ho bonny o The eldest pushed the youngest in The swans swim so bonny o Oh sister, o...

Upon a darkened night the flame of love was burning in my breast And by a lantern bright I fled my house while all in quiet rest Shrouded by the night And by the secret stair I quickly fled The veil concealed my eyes while all within lay quiet as the d...

Queen Jane lay in labor full nine days or more 'Til her women grew so tired, they could no longer there They could no longer there "Good women, good women, good women that you may be Will you open my right side and find my baby? And find my baby "Oh no...

It was an English ladye bright, (The sun shines fair on Carlisle wall,) And she would marry a Scottish knight, For Love will still be lord of all. Blithely they saw the rising sun When he shone fair on Carlisle wall; But they were sad ere day was done, Though...

See there, past that far-off hill A tower held in the sky Hear there, in that dark blue night The music calling us home See there, in that far-off field Flowers turned to the sky Feel there, in that dark blue night The music calling us home Stars may always...

Alas my love you do me wrong To cast me off discourteously; And I have loved you oh so long Delighting in your company. Greensleeves was my delight, Greensleeves my heart of gold Greensleeves was my heart of joy And who but my lady Greensleeves. I ha...

The wind was a torrent of darkness among the gusty trees The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon the cloudy seas The road was a ribbon of moonlight over the purple moor And the highwayman came riding, Riding, riding, The highwayman came riding, up to the ol...

The holly and the ivy When they are full grown, Of all the trees in the wood The holly bears the crown. The rising of the sun The running of the deer, The playing of the organ Sweet singing in the choir. The holly wears a blossom As white as any flower, And...

Health, love and peace be all here in this place By your leave we shall sing, concerning our King Our King is well-dressed in silks of the best In ribbons so rare no king can compare We have travelled many miles over hedges and stiles In search of our King u...

On either side of the river lie Long fields of barley and of rye, That clothe the world and meet the sky; And thro' the field the road run by To many-towered Camelot; And up and down the people go, Gazing where the lilies blow Round an island there belo...

When in the springtime of the year When the trees are crowned with leaves When the ash and oak, and the birch and yew Are dressed in ribbons fair When owls call the breathless moon In the blue veil of the night The shadows of the trees appear Amidst th...

A clouded dream on an earthly night Hangs upon the crescent moon A voiceless song in an ageless light Sings at the coming dawn Birds in flight are calling there Where the heart moves the stones It's there that my heart is calling All for the love of you...

The thundering waves are calling me home, home to you The pounding sea is calling me home, home to you On a dark new year's night On the west coast of Clare I heard your voice singing Your eyes danced the song Your hands played the tune T'was a vision...

Of all the money that here I spent, I spent it in good company And of all the harm that here I've done, alas was done to none but me And all I've done for want of wit, to memory now I can't recall So fill to me the parting glass. Goodnight and joy be with you...

Come all you lads and lasses, I'd have you give attention To these few lines I'm about to write here Tis of the four seasons of the year that I shall mention The beauty of all things doth appear And now you are young and all in your prosperity Come cheer up yo...

The first good joy that Mary had It was the joy of one. The first rejoice that Mary had Was to see her new born son. To see her new born son good man, And blessed may he be. Sing Father, Son and Holy Ghost, To all eternity. The next good joy that Mary had It...

Banbridge Town in the County Down One morning last July, From a boreen green came a sweet colleen And she smiled as she passed me by. She looked so sweet from her two bare feet To the sheen of her nut brown hair Such a coaxing elf, sure I shook myself For to s...

Where dips the rocky highland Of Sleuth Wood in the lake There lies a leafy island Where flapping herons wake The drowsy water-rats There we've hid our faery vats Full of berries And of reddest stolen cherries [Chorus:] Come away, O human child To the waters...

Good people all, this Christmas-time Consider well and bear in mind What our good God for us has done In sending his beloved Son. With Mary holy we should pray To God with love this Christmas day In Bethlehem upon that morn There was a blessed Messiah born....

I sat within a valley green, I sat there with my true love My heart strove to choose between, Me old love and the new love The old for her, the new that made, Me think on Ireland dearly While soft the wind blew down the glade, And shook the golden barley...

When the moon comes up to the shine come face The birds are fast asleep When the lanters hang from mavery post The fairies leave the keep They each join their hands and sing the songs The narrie a soul can hear In the spring time when the youth is new To the f...

Come away with me now to the sky Up o'er the hills and the sea Far beyond where memories lie To a place where I'm free to be me Oh, gather ye now one and all No what matter what all ye may do Where the stars fill your soul When the moon cradles all So to your...