Lough-a-reem-a! Lough-a-reem-a; Lies so high among the heather; A little lough, a dark lough, The water's black an' deep. Ould herons go a-fishin' there, An' seagulls all together Float roun' the one green island On the fairy lough asleep, Lough-a-reem-a! Lough-a-reem-a; When the sun goes down at seven, When the hills are dark an' airy, 'Tis a curlew whistles sweet! Then somethin' rustles all the reeds That stand so thick an' even; A little wave runs up the shore An' flees, as if on feet. Lough-a-reem-a! Lough-a-reem-a; Stars come out, an' stars are hidin'; The wather whispers on the stones; The flittherin' moths are free. One'st before the mornin' light The Horsemen will come ridin' Roun' an' roun' the fairy lough And no one there to see.
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Authorship:
- by Agnes Shakespeare Higginson (1864 - 1955), as Moira O'Neill [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Charles Villiers Stanford, Sir (1852 - 1924), "The Fairy Lough", op. 77 no. 2, published 1901 [ low voice and piano ], from An Irish Idyll in Six Miniatures, no. 2, London, Boosey & Co. [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this page: Ted Perry
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 24
Word count: 127