This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
I am stretched on your grave
And will lie there forever
If your hands were in mine
I'd be sure we'd not sever
My apple tree my brightness
It's time we were together
For I smell of the earth
And am worn by the weather
When my family thinks
That I'm safe in my bed
From night until morning
I am stretched at your head
Calling out to the air
With tears hot and wild
My grief for the girl
That I loved as a child
Do you remember
The night we were lost
In the shade of the blackthorn
And the chill of the frost
Thanks be to Jesus
We did what was right
And your maiden head still
Is your pillar of light
The priest and the friars
Approach me in dread
Because I still love you
My love and you're dead
I still would be your shelter
Through rain and through storm
And with you in your cold grave
I cannot sleep warm
So I'm stretched on your grave
And will lie there forever
If you hands were in mine
I'd be sure we'd not sever
My apple tree my brightness
It's time we were together
For I smell of the earth
And am worn by the weather
And will lie there forever
If your hands were in mine
I'd be sure we'd not sever
My apple tree my brightness
It's time we were together
For I smell of the earth
And am worn by the weather
When my family thinks
That I'm safe in my bed
From night until morning
I am stretched at your head
Calling out to the air
With tears hot and wild
My grief for the girl
That I loved as a child
Do you remember
The night we were lost
In the shade of the blackthorn
And the chill of the frost
Thanks be to Jesus
We did what was right
And your maiden head still
Is your pillar of light
The priest and the friars
Approach me in dread
Because I still love you
My love and you're dead
I still would be your shelter
Through rain and through storm
And with you in your cold grave
I cannot sleep warm
So I'm stretched on your grave
And will lie there forever
If you hands were in mine
I'd be sure we'd not sever
My apple tree my brightness
It's time we were together
For I smell of the earth
And am worn by the weather
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@[Diderik:33655] "Your a holiday!" Was a popular term used in the 50s/60s to compliment someone on their all around. For example, not only are they beautiful, but they are fun and kind too ... just an all around "holiday".
I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
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This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
Blue
Ed Sheeran
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“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
This is actually a centuries-old Celtic ballad, also known as "The Unquiet Grave." You can find it in A Celtic Miscellany, and it's been covered by a number of artists, including Dead Can Dance and Eden.
okeee, you might think that your vinyls make you "so cool" but the whole point of this site is to discuss possible meanings of the songs! not tell what you own, cuz no one else cares about that.
so does anyone know the story behind this song? do you think its really about someone who died or is it symbolic of something else?
My grandmother used to sing this song to me as a child, along with many other traditional Irish songs. My grandmothers was a little more sombre.
I think she is singing about her childhood - the young girl, inside, who is dead. To Sinead this girl has "buried", but is still alive and waiting for the older girl/the woman to return. Sinead is attached and in love with herself as a girl and returns there even as others shun here (the priests, etc.) As the dead girl rests, the older woman will be her shelter - keeping the girl alive in her heart and mind.
For the woman the girl is HER pillar of light and brightness. The woman is tired and surrendering, she is choosing to perhaps "return" to the girl soon (death - suicide, madness or old age - but she is happy the end approaches). Any comments around this notion ???
this would make a lot of sense. if you've heard the CD Sinead released next--"Universal Mother"--she returns to the theme of grieving for her lost childhood, again and again. "A Perfect Indian" being a good example.<br /> <br /> this melody is a dirge. the visual image of the second verse: it's so morbid, one tends to shrink from comprehending it. "stretched at your head," as if the living girl is suspended above the dead one (in the same position). hot & wild tears raising clouds of mist in the night.
@InfiniteHeart I like this interpretation the best. I’m not sure what the song is actually about, being an old ballad going back centuries, but in thinking of Sinead, it feels right that the girl she loved as a child is herself a grown woman because her relationship with her own mom was not a positive one, from what I gather.
It's about a man mourning for his dead love. The first few verses are self-explanatory - he is sat by (or lying on) her grave, crazed by his grief and wishing he were dead too so they could be reunited ("it's time we were together, for I smell of the earth).
The third verse is him remembering a night that they spent together where he is grateful that they "did what was right" - not having sex before they were married. He goes on to say "your maidenhead still is you pillar of light" so she still has her honour because she's a virgin. I personally don't have a problem with premarital sex but this song is based on a much older Irish poem that was later translated into English and obviously in those days, it was considered sacriledge.
He then goes on to talk about how the priests and friars "approach me in dread" although in other versions of the song they are angry with him. It's all for the same reason though - he is taking too long to mourn and him wishing he was dead is wrong/goes against God because in those days suicide was also considered sinful (ergo, the big "Oh, that this too too sullied flesh would melt, Thaw and resolve itself into a dew. Or that the Everlasting had not fix'd His canon 'gainst self slaughter..." in Hamlet).
And then the rest is, again, pretty self explantory.
not too impress you with my uber-hipness, but i have this on vinyl & the remixes are wonderful. k.
I really haven't researched this one but its an amazing song. I get this feeling that it's a split she may have had with a lover or friend about God, sprituality etc..Sinead is known for her spirituality..dunno just a guest. The live version is amazing especially when the bag pipes (i think they are bag pipes) kick in.
This makes me think of Wuthering Heights, from a Heathcliff point of view.
Interesting to see the link to 'The Unquiet Grave', a lengthy piece which apparently dates from 1400! <br /> But the lyrics are quite different from that piece and apparently the song in this form is also an old traditional number [see "Walsh's Irish Popular Songs", 1847]<br /> <br /> en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Unquiet_Grave<br /> <br /> sacred-texts.com/neu/eng/child/ch078.htm<br /> <br /> mudcat.org/thread.cfm<br />