"Theme from ''Harry's Game''" is a 1982 song by

Clannad Clannad () is an Irish band formed in 1970 in Gweedore, County Donegal by siblings Ciarán, Pól, and Moya Brennan and their twin uncles Noel and Pádraig Duggan. They have adopted various musical styles throughout their history, including ...

commissioned as the

theme Theme or themes may refer to: * Theme (arts), the unifying subject or idea of the type of visual work * Theme (Byzantine district), an administrative district in the Byzantine Empire governed by a Strategos * Theme (computing), a custom graphical ...

for ''

Harry's Game ''Harry's Game'' is a British television drama mini-series made by ITV Yorkshire, Yorkshire Television for ITV (TV network), ITV in 1982, closely based on the 1975 novel ''Harry's Game'' by Gerald Seymour, a former journalist. Apart from brief sc ...

'', a

Yorkshire Television ITV Yorkshire, previously known as Yorkshire Television and commonly referred to as just YTV, is the British television service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV (TV network), ITV network. Until 19 ...

miniseries adapted from a 1975 novel set in

The Troubles The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an "i ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. It was released as a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

in October 1982 and became a surprise hit, reaching number 5 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

the following month and number 2 in the

Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are bas ...

Composition

The song was written "in a couple of hours", credited to Pól and Ciarán Brennan.

Gerald Seymour Gerald Seymour (born 25 November 1941 in Guildford, Surrey) is a British writer of crime and espionage novels. Early life Gerald Seymour was born to William Kean Seymour and his second wife, Rosalind Wade.Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...

song from Clannad's album ''

Fuaim ''Fuaim'' (Irish for "sound") is the sixth album by Irish folk group Clannad. It was released in 1982. It was produced by Nicky Ryan and was the last Clannad album to feature younger sister Eithne Ní Bhraonáin, later known as Enya. It is als ...

'', but Clannad felt

Irish-language Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was the ...

lyrics would be more appropriate. The verse is adapted from a

Connacht Irish Connacht Irish () is the dialect of the Irish language spoken in the province of Connacht. Gaeltacht regions in Connacht are found in Counties Mayo (notably Tourmakeady, Achill Island and Erris) and Galway (notably in parts of Connemara and o ...

proverb in a 1948 anthology,; cited in glossed by Máire (Moya) Brennan as "Everything that is and was will cease to be." This was considered appropriate to the miniseries' depiction of the futility of political violence. The song is to date the only British hit single ever to have been sung entirely in Irish. The chorus "''Fol lol the doh fol the day, Fol the doh fol the day''", is ancient

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

mouth-music, known as Portaireacht, which is common in traditional music. Over previous albums, Clannad's sound had moved away from

traditional Irish music Irish traditional music (also known as Irish trad, Irish folk music, and other variants) is a genre of folk music that developed in Ireland. In ''A History of Irish Music'' (1905), W. H. Grattan Flood wrote that, in Gaelic Ireland, there w ...

arrangements, and the production of "Theme from ''Harry's Game''", using lush slow layers of synthesiser and

vocal harmony Vocal harmony is a style of vocal music in which a consonant note or notes are simultaneously sung as a main melody in a predominantly homophonic texture. Vocal harmonies are used in many subgenres of European art music, including Classical chora ...

, marked the arrival of what would become their signature style for the next decade.

Reception

The song won an Ivor Novello award, and launched Clannad's global career. Its success delayed the release of the band's 1983 album ''

Magical Ring A magic ring is a mythical, folkloric or fictional piece of jewelry, usually a finger ring, that is purported to have supernatural properties or powers. It appears frequently in fantasy and fairy tales. Magic rings are found in the folklore of ...

'', which was altered to include it and more material in the same style. It has since appeared in several

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

movies, most notably ''

Patriot Games ''Patriot Games'' is a thriller novel, written by Tom Clancy and published in July 1987. ''Without Remorse'', released six years later, is an indirect prequel, and it is chronologically the first book featuring Jack Ryan, the main character i ...

,'' in which an IRA member, played by

Patrick Bergin Patrick Connolly Bergin (born 4 February 1951) is an Irish actor and singer perhaps best known for his leading role opposite Julia Roberts in ''Sleeping with the Enemy'' (1991), the title character in Robin Hood (1991 film), terrorist Kevin O ...

, is seen watching the music video for the song on his television. Clannad's 1990 album '' Anam'' was released in the United States in 1992 to capitalise on the ''Patriot Games'' exposure, with "Harry's Game" inserted in the tracklist; the album sold well and the track was often broadcast on VH1. Its use from late 1992 in a

Volkswagen Passat The Volkswagen Passat is a series of D-segment, large family cars manufactured and marketed by the Germany, German automobile manufacturer Volkswagen since 1973, and now in its eighth generation. It has been marketed variously as the Dasher, Sa ...

commercial introduced Clannad to a broader American audience and boosted sales of ''Anam''. The song also features on Clannad's vocalists' live albums, the 2005 album '' Óró - A Live Session'' and the 2008

Moya Brennan Moya Brennan (born Máire Philomena Ní Bhraonáin on 4 August 1952), also known as Máire Brennan, is an Irish folk singer, songwriter, harpist, and philanthropist. She is the sister of the musical artist known as Enya. She began performing pr ...

solo album '' Heart Strings''. The original has also been

sampled Sample or samples may refer to: Base meaning * Sample (statistics), a subset of a population – complete data set * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of so ...

various times by artists such as Kaleef and Elate. Moya Brennan recorded a solo version at Mothership Studio for dance musician

Chicane A chicane () is a serpentine curve in a road, added by design rather than dictated by geography. Chicanes add extra turns and are used both in motor racing and on roads and streets to slow traffic for safety. For example, one form of chicane is ...

, which he used on his UK top 10 hit "

Saltwater Saline water (more commonly known as salt water) is water that contains a high concentration of dissolved salts (mainly sodium chloride). On the United States Geological Survey (USGS) salinity scale, saline water is saltier than brackish water, ...

Track listing

# Theme From ''Harry's Game'' – 2:30 # Strayed Away – 2:47

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

1989 Theme from ''Harry's Game'' / Hourglass AA-side

In 1989, as part of the promotion for their compilation ''Pastpresent,'' Clannad re-released the "Theme from ''Harry's Game''" as an AA-side single with their new song "

Hourglass An hourglass (or sandglass, sand timer, sand clock or egg timer) is a device used to measure the passage of time. It comprises two glass bulbs connected vertically by a narrow neck that allows a regulated flow of a substance (historically sand) ...

1992 ''Patriot Games'' re-release

In 1992, the "Theme from ''Harry's Game''" was used in the soundtrack to the film ''

,'' and it was also re-released as a single. There were two versions of the CD single, a two-track and a four-track version, both with the same cover and catalogue number.

Track listing

7" single, cassette, 5" compact disc # "Theme from ''Harry's Game''" # "Robin (The Hooded Man)" 5" compact disc # "Theme from ''Harry's Game''" # "Robin (The Hooded Man)" # " In a Lifetime" # "Closer to your Heart"

1993 Jameson Whiskey re-release

In 1993, in connection with an advertising campaign for

Jameson Whiskey Jameson ( or ) is a blended Irish whiskey produced by the Irish Distillers subsidiary of Pernod Ricard. Originally one of the six main Dublin Whiskeys at the Jameson Distillery Bow St., Jameson is now distilled at the New Midleton Distillery i ...

, both "Theme from ''Harry's Game"'' and "In A Lifetime" were re-released in The Netherlands.

Track listing

# "Theme from ''Harry's Game''" # "Caisleán Óir"

Cover versions and other use

The song has been covered by artists including

Phil Coulter Philip Coulter (born 19 February 1942) is an Irish musician, songwriter and record producer from Derry, Northern Ireland. He was awarded the Gold Badge from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors in October 2009. Coulter ha ...

and

Celtic Woman Celtic Woman is an all-female Irish musical ensemble conceived and created by David Kavanagh, Sharon Browne and David Downes, a former musical director of the Irish stage show ''Riverdance.'' In 2004, Downes recruited five Irish female music ...

. The Irish rock band U2 also used the song as their outro during the

War Tour War is an intense armed conflict between State (polity), states, governments, Society, societies, or paramilitary groups such as Mercenary, mercenaries, Insurgency, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violenc ...

, and it can be heard as such at the beginning and end of their live film '' U2 Live at Red Rocks: Under a Blood Red Sky''. It has also been used extensively by the RAF for the decommissioning flypasts of the

Avro Vulcan The Avro Vulcan (later Hawker Siddeley Vulcan from July 1963) is a jet-powered, tailless, delta-wing, high-altitude, strategic bomber, which was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF) from 1956 until 1984. Aircraft manufacturer A.V. Roe and ...

Delta wing bomber, and subsequently in memorial flights at airshows. * 1986 – Light Shadows * 1993 –

on ''Recollections'' * 1996 – The game Civilization II features that music as the soundtrack of "The Oracle" wonder of the world * 1997 –

and

James Galway Sir James Galway (born 8 December 1939) is an Irish virtuoso flute player from Belfast, nicknamed "The Man with the Golden Flute". He established an international career as a solo flute player. In 2005, he received the Brit Award for Outstan ...

on ''Legends'' * 1999 –

on ''Saltwater'' * 2005 –

Órla Fallon Órlagh Fallon (born 24 August 1974), professionally known as Órla Fallon, is an Irish singer, songwriter and former member of the group Celtic Woman and the chamber choir Anúna. Early life and education Fallon was born in Knockananna, Irela ...

, then of

, on ''

Celtic Woman (album) ''Celtic Woman'' is the debut album released by the group Celtic Woman. Background The group first featured on a musical special of the same name on American television broadcaster PBS, filmed live at the Helix Theatre in Dublin, Ireland in ...

'' * 2009 – Ron van den Beuken feat. Nicole Tyler on ''Faraway'' * 2009/2011 – Dierdre Shannon on '' Celtic Thunder:

Storm A storm is any disturbed state of the natural environment or the atmosphere An atmosphere () is a layer of gas or layers of gases that envelop a planet, and is held in place by the gravity of the planetary body. A planet retains an atmos ...

'' (the album was recorded in 2009 but released in 2011) * 2019 –

Voces8 Voces8, styled VOCES8, is an a cappella octet from England. They have appeared internationally and made recordings of classical music, jazz, pop, and their own arrangements. Recent recordings are for Decca Classics and under their own label, Voc ...

on ''Enchanted Isle''

Footnotes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Theme From Harry's Game 1983 songs Celtic Woman songs Clannad songs Irish songs Television drama theme songs Songs written by Pól Brennan Songs about The Troubles (Northern Ireland)