Love is Kind

from Cold Old Fire by LANKUM

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about

Robin Roberts, the American singer and folksong collector, who accompanied Alan Lomax and Séamus Ennis on their Irish collecting trips in 1951 and 1953, sang this song which came from a retired clipper ship's sailor living in Massachusetts. We first heard it from the Clancy brothers and Tommy Makem on their LP ‘Sing of the Sea’ (1968). The refrain has been variously interpreted as ‘E awa’, ‘Hie awa’, ‘Haul awa’, and even ‘i a bha’, Scots Gaelic for ‘she was’. Interestingly, no-one seems to have understood it as the Gaelic ‘Oíche mhaith’ (Goodnight), which we always have. We respectfully dedicate this song to the memory of Teresa Dermody.

lyrics

Oh love is kind to the least of men
Oíche Mhaith
Though he be but a drunken tar
Oíche Mhaith

So far from men, and the sight of land
Oíche Mhaith
Haul along, the sailor man
Oíche...

So take me to that star‐eyed maid,
For I was happy with her lain

Oh in the comfort of her bed
Let me lie until I'm dead

For love is kind to the least of men
Though he be but a drunken tar

credits

from Cold Old Fire, released May 25, 2014
Trad. arr. Lynched

license

about

LANKUM Dublin, Ireland

Gritty folksongs from the heart of Dublin city.

shows

Apr 20

Poppodium 013

Tilburg, Netherlands
May 18

Hackney Empire

London, UK
May 19

Hackney Empire

London, UK
May 25

TivoliVredenburg

Utrecht, Netherlands
May 29

Parc del Fòrum

Barcelona, Spain
Jun 6

Parque da Cidade

Porto, Portugal
Jun 8

Royal Hospital Kilmainham

Dublin, Ireland
Jun 26

Worthy Farm

Pilton, UK
Aug 29

End of the Road Festival

Salisbury, UK
Sep 23

Stage Theater Des Westens

Berlin, Germany
Sep 28

Sala Apolo

Barcelona, Spain
Oct 26

Eventim Apollo

London, UK
Nov 2

Nalen Stora Salen

Stockholm, Sweden
Nov 22

Rockefeller

Oslo, Norway

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