We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

Nine Apples of Gold

by Karan Casey

/
  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      €10 EUR  or more

     

  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Includes unlimited streaming of Nine Apples of Gold via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 7 days

      €20 EUR or more 

     

1.
1: Nine Apples of Gold (Karan Casey, Modern Works Music Publishing) A woman came carrying nine apples of gold Nine apples of gold on a bough She sang her tune and springtime in How sweetly the apples sing How sweetly the apples sing A woman came carrying a tune on the wind That dandled upon a bough The branch did shake and music make How sweetly the apples sing How sweetly the apples sing Chorus Hear how the music it heals Hear how the music it heals A woman came carrying a basket of bread A basket of food was her load She put the bread in the hands of the hungry and tired How sweetly the apples sing How sweetly the apples sing A woman came carrying a heartful of love Loving with all of her might Her pilgrim soul it burned so bright How sweetly the apples sing How sweetly the apples sing Chorus Hear how the music it heals Hear how the music it heals My apple tree, my brightness My apple tree a stór My apple tree, my brightness My apple tree a stór Chorus Hear how the music it heals Hear how the music it heals (x3)
2.
2: Sister I am Here for You (feat. Niamh Dunne) (Karan Casey & Sean Óg Graham, Modern Works Music Publishing/IMRO) Sometimes you feel alone in this world You turn round and can’t figure where you are bound I’ll be with you every step of the way Sister I travel with you no matter what they say We’re stronger than the rocks in the sea As wise as the birds in the tree And if things don’t go as planned We‘re here to lend a hand Chorus Sister I am here for you Sister I am here for you Sister I am here for you And I’m listening too Hope and love are our lifeline Freedom can you hear her chime For truth is the daughter of time Truth will rise up to rhyme I am woman and I bring in the Wintertime I wallop the skies and I whip up the wild winds Let’s take the road less travelled through this stormy weather Let’s rise up and stand together Sister I am here for you Sister I am here for you Sister I am here for you And I’m listening too (x3) Deep down in our bones we know times are going to change Deep down in our bones we know times are going to change Deep down in our bones we know times are going to change
3.
3: I Live in a Country (feat. Pauline Scanlon) (Karan Casey & Sean Óg Graham, Modern Works Music Publishing/IMRO) I am the tongue, I am her tongue I have one smooth tongue and I have one rough tongue I am here and I am listening, I am the small roundy ear that has heard it all. Ooh, ooh We are the daughters of the witches you could not burn for centuries We are the daughters of the Magdalene laundries when you had us down upon our knees We are the daughters of the mother and baby homes where you did what you pleased Chorus I live in a country where I long to be free I live in a country where I want to be me I live in a country where we want to be free I live in a country where I want to be me I believe her. I believe her. I am tired of being patient and kind and reserve the right to lose my mind Tired of being patient and wise whilst viewing my demise Some days I want revenge but most I fight for equality Ireland is an empire of misogyny fuck the patriarchy I am stone, I am sea, I am wind, I am river, I am rock I’m the salt in the sea I am the gorse and aitinn, blazing away back at you As brazen as you like. Oohs Chorus I live in a country where I long to be free I live in a country where I want to be me I live in a country where we want to be free I live in a country where I want to be me Fuck the patriarchy
4.
4: Daughter Dear (feat. Ríoghnach Connolly) (Karan Casey, Modern Works Music Publishing) I am lying here Daughter dear I have something that I wish to whisper In your small round ear What is it you wish to say Oh Mama my dear The prayer in the rain It beats a sad familiar refrain Chorus Mama I don’t like when you’re not here Mama I don’t like when you’re not here For the worms crawl out And the worms they crawl in And they rub up and down against my skin (x2) The snowdrop grows up out of my head There is nothing to be said The flower leans in to view her newly pressed White fragile dress Yes I remember that day When you made me the dress And I wouldn’t stay still and I caused you Quite an amount of distress Chorus Mama I don’t like when you’re not here Mama I don’t like when you’re not here For the worms crawl out And the worms they crawl in And they rub up and down against my skin (x2) What is it you wish to say When you came to visit today What is it you wish to whisper In my small round ear Mama my dear
5.
By and By 04:34
5: By and By (Karan Casey & Sean Óg Graham, Modern Works Music Publishing/IMRO) Upon the first day the snow came tumbling down On the second day it lay upon the ground On the third it covered your cold, cold grave And I was told that I had to be brave That I’d wake one morn with the sun on my face That winds blow hard yet fill our lands with grace That I’d remember you with a smile My poor tired head has to keep on for a while Ohh the by and by Ohh the by and by On the first morn you will be on your own On the second morn you will sip from the cup of blue On the third walk into your heart’s core And then you won’t have to worry anymore Feel my heart beating here in my breast It stirs and murmurs for you the very best Like a small trembling bird caught in a cage If only I could feel the wisdom of my age Oh the by and by Ohhh by and by
6.
6: The Weeping Time (Karan Casey & Sean Óg Graham, Modern Works Music Publishing/IMRO) Hermes flew on wings yesterday My friend Grady did say How ya getting along, she’s like a song, She’s on the Amtrak ramble through Georgia The high noon heat blue nailed to skies Lilies on a surface of lies From dust we came to dust we return The tired dirt road of Georgia Chorus Keep the memory of the weeping time alive Keep the memory of the weeping time alive We resist, we persist, we insist, we resist Keep the memory of the weeping time alive From the cradle to the grave in the home of the brave Every row we will hoe We toil and work all day, river marks the waterway The Altamha River of Georgia Birds circle and wheel in formation O’er the Butler Island plantation Enslaved people are sold down in Savannah Oh the auction block of Georgia Time steps onto the train, Time with her dominant refrain How many drowned How many survived How many were caught again If the water could weep If the dogs could speak Stories are etched in the bones of the Gullah The ways are old down here Olde Oak, Spanish moss, turtles and gators We sing the memory of the Gullah The moon comes out onto the sky, She is all shimmering and shy She lays herself down to cry, Four egrets cry Keep the memory of the weeping time alive Keep the memory of the weeping time alive We resist we resist we insist Keep the memory of the weeping time alive
7.
7: Return to the Wild (Karan Casey & Sean Óg Graham, Modern Works Music Publishing/IMRO) Do you hear the trees fall in the forest Do you hear the moon at night Do you hear the cuckoo as she sleeps Hear the rolling of the deep Rolling of the deep Do you hear the fern out in the fields Do you think that music heals Do you hear the twilight stepping down before her feet touch the ground she makes no sound Chorus I will return Return to the wild To my wild birds and deer I will return to the wild If you let sorrow come in on you He will come and stay He will sit down to wine and dine And he won’t go away Do you hear the ships sail in the forest Do you hear the strawberries grow in the salt sea Do you hear the amber falls Your memory calls Chorus I will return Return to the wild To my wild birds and deer I will return to the wild
8.
8: When the Moon Gets Tangled (Karan Casey, Modern Works Music Publishing) When the moon gets tangled in a Blackthorn tree And her dress is trampled and she cannot break free When the thorn in your side wounds your pride And the moon gets tangled I will fly to your side I’ll come flying through your midnight window on a moonbeam, on a moonbeam I’ll come sailing to your midnight window I’ll come and I’ll let you go I’ll come and I’ll set you free We’ll fly love, we’ll fly, high over the ocean trembling down below We’ll go love, we’ll go, high above the mountain And her feathers white as snow And her feathers white as snow When an angry sky is crying and the sun shies away And an angry crowd is turning and there’s nothing left to say When the thorn in your side wounds your pride When an angry sky is crying I will fly to your side I’ll come flying through your midnight window on a moonbeam, on a moonbeam I’ll come sailing to your midnight window I’ll come and I’ll let you go I’ll come and I’ll set you free We’ll fly love, we’ll fly, high over the ocean trembling down below We’ll go love, we’ll go, high above the mountain And her feathers white as snow And her feathers white as snow When a moon gets tangled in a Blackthorn tree
9.
9: The Rocks of Bawn (Trad arr. Karan Casey & Sean Óg Graham, Modern Works Music Publishing/IMRO) Come all ye loyal heroes wherever you may be. Don't hire with any master till you know what your work will be You will rise up early from the clear day light till the dawn And you never will be able for to plough the Rocks of Bawn. Rise up gallant Sweeney and give your horse some hay And give them a good feed of oats before they stray away Don't feed them on soft turnip put them out on your green lawn Or they never will be able for to plough the Rocks of Bawn. My curse upon you, Sweeney boy, you have me nearly robbed You're sitting by the fireside with your dúidín in your gob You're sitting by the fireside now from clear daylight till the dawn And you never will be able for to plough the Rocks of Bawn My shoes they are well worn and my stockings they are thin My heart is always trembling for fear they might give in My heart is always trembling from the clear daylight till the dawn And I never will be able for to plough the Rocks of Bawn. I wish the Queen of England she would call for me in time And place me in some regiment all in my youth and prime I'd fight for Ireland's glory from the clear daylight till dawn And I never would return again to plough the Rocks of Bawn.
10.
10: I Thank My Lucky Stars (Karan Casey, Modern Works Music Publishing) I thank my lucky stars for the sparrow in the tree I thank my lucky stars she sings for you and me For the blackbird and the thrush The briars in the bush I thank my lucky stars I thank my lucky stars for the owl in the dark blue I thank my lucky stars she flies for me and you Her ship of the air Sails without a care I thank my lucky stars I thank my lucky stars for the music of time I thank my lucky stars a love that is yours and mine For you standing there In your honeyed brown hair I thank my lucky stars I thank my lucky stars for the tall tall trees I thank my lucky stars for the sunlight on the sea For the child in Tramore Playing upon the shore I thank my lucky stars I thank my lucky stars for the moon and the sun I thank my lucky stars for the day that just begun For the sorrows left unsaid Dreams in my head I thank my lucky stars

about

Karan has teamed up with Sean Óg Graham, her long-time collaborator and friend, to create a dynamic and enchanting album of songs that speaks to healing, camaraderie in times of strife, finding enrichment and new life in campaigning for women, and of course death. This is an ode to the natural world featuring the songbirds of Portglenone, the moon, conversations from the grave, returning to the wild, listening for the cuckoo as she sleeps.

The empowerment of women is front and centre of Karan’s concerns as she gives voice to the notion that songs can sing what we cannot say. Her defiance, her vulnerabilities and her feminist heart bellow through these songs.

Adding their unique vocals to the album are Niamh Dunne on a duet song Sister I am Here for You; Pauline Scanlon on a searing feminist overlook of Ireland in a song entitled I Live in a Country; and Ríoghnach Connolly on Daughter Dear, a tender hearted song between a mother and daughter. Also joined by Conor McCreanor, John McCullough, Hannah Hiemstra and Kate Ellis among others, this is Karan’s 12th album and displays her fine poetic voice where she has taken traditional symbolism and shaken it by the neck to create an ode to mother nature and a poignant cry for change.

credits

released February 22, 2023

Karan Casey - Vocals and Piano (tracks 1 & 4)
Seán Óg Graham - Guitar, Piano, Harmonium, Electric Guitar, Bouzouki, Banjo, Programming, Ukulele, Button Accordion
Niamh Dunne - Fiddle, Viola, Guest Vocal (track 2), Harmony Vocals (tracks 1, 2, 5, 6, 7)
Conor Mc Creanor - Double Bass, Electric Bass
Ashley Hoyer - Mandolin
Hannah Hiemstra – Drums, Percussion
Kate Ellis - Cello
Pauline Scanlon - Guest Vocal (tracks 3), Harmony Vocals (track 8)
Ríoghnach Connolly - Guest Vocals (track 4)
John Mc Cullough - Piano, Hammond, Rhodes
Alex Borwick – Trombone
Portglenone Songbirds - Birdsong

Seán Óg Graham - Producer
Engineered by Sen Óg Graham at Bannview Studio
Additional vocals (Karan Casey and Pauline Scanlon) recorded by Niall Vallely at Crow Vallely Music Studio, Cork
Additional vocals (Ríoghnach Connolly) recorded by Biff Roxby at Wood Rooms, Salford
Mixed by Seán Óg Graham at Bannview Studio
Mastered by Katie Tavini at Weird Jungle

Photography - Clare Keogh
Design - Robert Hakalski
Videography – Alan Doherty

Many thanks to all of the musicians who are featured on the album and to all involved with the album.
A huge thank you to Seán Óg Graham and Niamh Dunne for all their work and help on the album and on the gigs.

Much love as always to Niall Vallely for his tremendous support and to Muireann, Áine, Karl, Dick and family, Denise, Úna, Yvonne, Deirdre, Dorothy and Charlie.
Thank you to Crawford Art Gallery, Cork, Triskel Arts Centre and IWAMD at the University of Limerick.
This album is dedicated to the feminist campaigners of FairPlé. The tribe!

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Karan Casey Cork, Ireland

Irish singer-songwriter Karan Casey has been blazing a trail for over 25 years. A lover of ballads, love songs and searing versions of social justice songs, she has released 11 albums and toured extensively throughout the world. In 2018 Karan helped to found FairPlé which is an organization aimed at achieving fairness and gender balance for female performers in Irish traditional and folk musics. ... more

contact / help

Contact Karan Casey

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this album or account

If you like Karan Casey, you may also like: