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Lily of the West

from A Celebration of Twenty by IONA

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When first I Went to Ireland (Lakes of Pontchartrain)/O’Keefe’s Slide/Lily of the West/Johnnie Cope
- Irish/American/Scottish trad
Sam Henry, a prolific collector of Northern Irish tunes, records a song that translated in Amerikay to one we now hear most frequently as Lakes of Pontchartrain, introduced here by Bernard as a waltz. Another offshoot traveled west where it evolved into the haunting song, Lily of the West, one that Barbara sang in her teens. Chuck gives the entire arrangement a bit of a jazzy blues beat: after all, we’re in America now!

lyrics

LILY OF THE WEST

When first I came to Louisville my fortune there to find,
I met a fair young maiden there, her beauty filled my mind.
Her rosy cheeks, her ruby lips, they gave my heart no rest,
And the name she bore was Flora, the Lily of the West.

I courted lovely Flora some pleasure there to find,
But she turned unto another man which sore distressed my mind.
She robbed me of my liberty, deprived me of my rest,
Still I loved my faithless Flora, the Lily of the West.

Way down in yonder shady grove, a man of bold degree
He spoke unto my Flora there, and kissed her ‘neath a tree.
The answers that she gave to him like arrows pierced my breast.
I was betrayed by Flora, the Lily of the West.

I stepped up to my rival, my dagger in my hand.
I seized him by the collar there, and ordered him to stand.
All in my desperation, I stabbed him in the chest!
I killed a man for Flora, the Lily of the West.

I had to stand my trial, I had to make my plea.
They placed me in the prisoner’s dock and then commenced on me.
Although she swore my life away, deprived me of my rest,
Still I love my faithless Flora, the Lily of the West.
© 2003 Barnaby Productions Inc.

credits

from A Celebration of Twenty, released May 15, 2006
Barbara Tresidder Ryan (lead vocals, Celtic bouzouki)
Bernard Argent (wooden flute, doumbek)
Chuck Lawhorn (bass guitar)
Andrew Dodds (fiddle)

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IONA Washington, D.C.

IONA has been taking its unique brand of traditional Celtic music to festivals, arts centers, schools & house concerts all over North America and Europe since 1986, blending music from the various Celtic traditions with stories and a little humor - Barbara Ryan (vocals, bouzouki, bodhran), Bernard Argent (flute, doumbek), Chuck Lawhorn (bass), Jim Queen (fiddle, banjo) & Kathleen Larrick (dance). ... more

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