The Moon On Clancy’s Wings
ast night I tried to sing an Irish love song
But it wasn’t really coming from the heart
‘Till my memory took me back again
To a small bar in New Orleans
Where an old man played the violin
And I sang and played guitar
I was just a country boy
The old man’s name was Clancy
Clancy light a fire in me
He make me sing and dance.
I was young and he had hairs of silver
We charmed the hard earned leather of there shoes
And the toil worn men from here to Oklahoma
Would sit and ache with longing
As we sang the songs of Erin
Of warrior priest, and minstrel kings,
Of hearts and harps and heroes
Clancy’s dancing fingers
Wrapped them in a spell
When Clancy played the violin
he set my heart to music
the words fell over like tears
And heaven whispered in the strings
At night when the bars are closing
and the drunks begin to sing
It’s not the Milky Way they see
it’s the moon on Clancy’s wings
One warm September morning
Clancy took me by the hand
He bowed his head and whispered
Lad I’m going home
The old bow arm is cramping up
The fingers slowing down
I can’t take another winter on the road
Three years on a letter came
post-marked Donegal
It had followed me around the world
and found me in St. Paul
A closely written careful hand said
Clancy played his final tune
He must have loved him dearly
To have taken him so soon
When Clancy played the violin
he set my heart to music
the words fell over like tears
And heaven whispered in the strings
At night when the bars are closing
and the drunks begin to sing
It’s not the Milky Way they see
it’s the moon on Clancy’s wings
Each night when the bar is closing
This drunk begins to sing
It’s not the Milky Way I see
It’s the moon on Clancy’s wings
– Jimmy Stewart/Dough Ashdown
Documents
- 01 – Sandpoint – Set Chords
- 02 – Sandpoint – Tune Chords
- 03 – Sandpoint – Set Dots
- Blarney Stone Pub Tunebook – A collection of tunes played at the Blarney Stone Pub, San Diego, California
- Circle of Fifths – A guide to understanding keys and transposing
- Dr. Coop's Compiation of Songs Songs and words, traditional and of the Sea
- Green's Tunebook – Green’s Collection of tunes
- Green's Tunebook ABC ABC Notation for Green’s Tunebook
- Jamrock Tunes – Some of the Basic tunes played by Jamrocks
- John Walsh's Sesson Tunes – Learn these tunes if you want to play most tunes at sessions!
- Paul Hardy's Tunebook Folk music sessions tunes around Cambridge, England and Redlands, California
- The Music Lover's Treasury Poetry about Music. Lovely.
- Tips Form – Create a custom tips form for fundraising
- Tunes Often Heard – A good working list of tunes often heard in the Detroit area. Especially good for beginners who want to learn tunes that will likely be played at local sessions.
- Tunes Often Heard ABC ABC Notation for Tunes Often Heard