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Author Topic: The Voice  (Read 35131 times)
celtic_girlakp
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« Reply #30 on: August 15, 2007, 02:41PM »

I never would have ever found that out on my own. Very interesting. A cultural experience learned right here. Nice!
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Maggie
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« Reply #31 on: December 16, 2007, 03:27PM »

I have resurrected this thread for a reason.

There was another posted about "Christmas Pipes" which of course was written by Brendan Graham.

Brendan Graham was born in Tipperary in 1945.
He is very patriotic indeed.
Many of his songs have a patriotic theme without mentioning Ireland.

It is a bit like in the days of the oppressive Penal Laws.
The people of Ireland sang of their homeland without mentioning it by name, because patriotic songs were banned. Many songs with a woman's name were really about Ireland.
The song "Four green fields" is full of symbolism.......the fields are the four provinces of Ireland, "one of them's in bondage" refers to Ulster (Northern Ireland) the Old Woman is Ireland, her sons are patriotic Irishmen....."my four green fields ran red with their blood".

So back to Brendan Graham and "The Voice".

Here is a piece from Wikipedia:
"The Voice was the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 1996, performed in English by Eimear Quinn representing Ireland. The music and lyrics were composed by Brendan Graham, who also composed the Irish winner from the 1994 Contest. The victory, which was Ireland's fourth in five years, was their seventh Contest victory, which remains a record for the most contests won by a single country.

Quinn was a student at the Cork School of Music when she was approached by RTÉ to represent Ireland at Eurovision. It placed first with 162 points, easily defeating all other contenders.

Lyrically, it is a very Celtic-inspired song, with the singer portraying herself as "the voice" which watches over the world, describing "her" effects on the natural world, such as the wind, the seasons, in a similar way to Mother Nature."


Well, I agree with that except the last paragraph. It was written by someone who doesn't know anything about Brendan Graham.

I say the subject of the song is The Voice of Ireland.
There are several clues. The climate for one. The song is not about a worldwide climate.....the wind, pouring rain, dancing blowing Autumn leaves, cold winter long......that sums up the Irish climate.
"I am the voice of your History.....The voice of your hunger and pain"
tells of the years of Famine and oppression.

"Filled with my sorrows and blood in my fields"...
...it has been said many times that the fields of Ireland ran red with blood....after invasion by the Vikings.....the Massacre at Drogheda......The Boyne....countless massacres by the soldiers of Oliver Cromwell in Wexford and Cork...Carlow .....the courtyard at Kilmainham Jail in 1916.

What tells me this is about Ireland more than anything else is the time when it was written, in 1996.
Peace in Northern Ireland was being discussed.
Throughout 1996, all-party talks were conducted in Ireland and England.
The IRA had announced a ceasefire, and plans to decommission it's paramilitary weapons.
While most people longed for peace, some were very afraid of what the agreement would demand of them.
Some were very sceptical that peace could ever be achieved.
There were National Referenda in Northern Ireland and in the Republic.

So this part of the song is saying, don't be afraid, go for it, vote Yes for peace in Ireland! Break free of violence and prejudice!

"Be not afraid - come follow me
Answer my call and I'll set you free".


The last lines need no explanation:
"Bring me your peace, bring me your peace
And my wounds they will heal".


So finally on Good Friday 1998, the Peace Agreement was signed.
And now, unimaginable before 1996, sworn and bitter enemies are running Northern Ireland, peacefully, side by side.
Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness......who would have believed it?

No, there is no doubt in my mind what was on Brendan Graham's mind when he wrote this song.
I think the judges and the crowd at that Eurovision Song Contest knew it too......
that's why it got a roaring standing ovation.....
...an endorsement for Peace......in IRELAND.

« Last Edit: December 16, 2007, 04:40PM by Maggie » Logged
Lisa_Kelly_fan_forever
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« Reply #32 on: December 16, 2007, 03:39PM »

THANK YOU MAGGIE. Smiley
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mpdallen
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« Reply #33 on: December 16, 2007, 03:57PM »

Maggie,
Your writing about this song, The Voice, and the history about it`s lyrics , its writter, and how in involved Irish history is nothing short of amazing. Beautifully written. Thank you.

Jim Allen
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Maggie
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« Reply #34 on: December 16, 2007, 05:02PM »

Thank you.

In these days of worries about Global warming, green this 'n that, and organic everything, some people may interpret this song differently, but it was written in 1996, before 9/11, before war in Iraq, and before we were blamed for melting the polar ice cap.

Oh yes, the World and Mother nature are very nice I'm sure, but this song is full of
 Passion!

I don't think Eimear Quinn and Lisa Kelly would sing so passionately about Mother Nature.

No, these are all-Irish girls, singing an all-Irish song.

As for our Creator, He is very much part of Irish life.

Does anyone see the significance of the Peace Agreement being signed on Good Friday? Think that was a coincidence? Mmmmmm........

« Last Edit: December 17, 2007, 02:27AM by Maggie » Logged
Mel
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« Reply #35 on: December 16, 2007, 06:05PM »

I love how different people see different things in songs (and poetry, etc).  I think part of the beauty of it is that people are left to their own devices for interpretation.  For me, The Voice seems like it's from Ireland speaking to her Children.  Anyway you look at it, it's one powerful song!

Ok, this is the first time I have seen this thread..yes. I know,  Undecided

I see it in 2 ways, one, as Kelli mentions, Ireland speaking to her children, but also along with the a nature aspect, sort of like Mother Earth speaking to her childern.
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Maggie
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« Reply #36 on: December 17, 2007, 02:50AM »

Eimear Quinn after winning the Eurovision Song Contest with a record number of points:



Here she is on YouTube - the fiddler is Dr Cora Smyth:
"http://www.youtube.com/v/kpqq9K6MlyU&rel=1"
« Last Edit: December 17, 2007, 08:20AM by Maggie » Logged
Moscapoet
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« Reply #37 on: December 17, 2007, 06:02PM »

Thank you Maggie. I knew from the first time I heard the song that it was about Ireland and its history. The college history/geography major in me was tweaked a bit by it. I can picture all those elements very vividly when Lisa sings that song. I sing along as best I can, but of course there are parts I'm not even going to attempt. Bravo to Brendan Graham for his beautiful lyrics and patriotism. I hope that some of the pieces I've written about Ireland and its history will find a home with music too. I've tried as best I can to capture some of it, but certainly can't the way an Irish person could. 
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ferngully
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« Reply #38 on: December 18, 2007, 11:25AM »

When I heard this song it made me think of Gaia. To me she would be more of a voice of the Earth then God.

much as i think it has a strong religious ideal, i've always thought of this song to be the way edgeman sees it
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Gerard
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« Reply #39 on: December 19, 2007, 10:23PM »

Quote
the fiddler is Dr Cora Smyth

I knew that fiddler was familiar!

Anyway, The Voice is, IMHO, the second best song to have won the Eurovision Song Contest (the best, for me, is "Un Jour, Un Enfant", by Frida Boccara).
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Lisa_Kelly_fan_forever
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« Reply #40 on: December 25, 2007, 05:43PM »

You know, one of the great things about music is that it is presented to you and generally open for interpretation.  It's lovely to know the beginnings and intentions of songs, but personal views are a major aspect of music.  Thanks to everyone so far on their views concerning The Voice!
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celtic_girlakp
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« Reply #41 on: January 05, 2008, 09:36PM »

You know, one of the great things about music is that it is presented to you and generally open for interpretation.  It's lovely to know the beginnings and intentions of songs, but personal views are a major aspect of music.  Thanks to everyone so far on their views concerning The Voice!

That is very well put. Thank you for saying that FAFO!
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Wyle_E
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« Reply #42 on: August 01, 2012, 09:51PM »

I think it's God. When it says 'by my wounds you are healed' I immediately think of Christ's crucifixion. To me it does seem to point to God.
I'd also love to hear Lisa's interpretation of it.
But it's "Bring me your peace and my wounds, they will heal." That's not Jesus, and it's certainly not the genocidal sadist of the Old Testament.
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Parker Gabriel
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« Reply #43 on: March 19, 2014, 09:40PM »


At this juncture, whether anyone can do justice to “The Voice” the way Lisa Kelly did remains an unknown quality. “The Voice” was one of Lisa’s solo signatures beginning with her introduction of Celtic Woman’s version of it in ANJ, and to date, I have not yet heard any other member attempt it.

However, I do have hopes.
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Parker Gabriel
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« Reply #44 on: May 26, 2018, 03:43PM »

Standing Representative/Transitional Representative Susan McFadden has interpreted “The Voice,” for which I am at least relieved. However, comparing her and Founding Representative/Ambassadorial Representative Lisa Kelly’s respective versions of “The Voice” is like comparing apples and oranges.
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