"St. Brendan's Voyage" is a modern
Irish folk song, written by
Christy Moore
Christopher Andrew "Christy" Moore (born 7 May 1945) is an Ireland, Irish folk singer, songwriter and guitarist. In addition to his significant success as an individual, he is one of the founding members of Planxty and Moving Hearts. His first ...
, and released on his 1985 album ''
Ordinary Man''. The song relates
the legendary journey of
Saint Brendan
Brendan of Clonfert (c. AD 484 - c.577), is one of the early Irish monastic saints and one of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland. He is also referred to as Brendan the Navigator, Brendan the Voyager, Brendan the Anchorite, Brendan the Bold. The ...
in a comic and fanciful way.
The Narrative
The body of the song consists of four eight-line verses, each followed by a four-line chorus.
It opens, however, with a four-line expository verse which establishes the year of the narrative as 501 A.D., and suggests that Brendan's motivation for leaving was that he was "tired of thinning turnips and cutting curly kale."
The first full verse seems to establish a heroic tone, claiming that "of all the navigators, St. Brendan was the best." But it quickly turns comic, offering that
Long Island was discovered, and
America
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territor ...
"put... on the map" as a result of Brendan stopping to purchase candles. He is then given credit for "finding"
Honolulu
Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the islan ...
,
Australia,
China, and
Japan. Finally, the listener learns that the eponymous voyage is in fact Brendan's ''return'' to Ireland at the age of 70. His traveling companion, an
albatross
Albatrosses, of the biological family Diomedeidae, are large seabirds related to the procellariids, storm petrels, and diving petrels in the order Procellariiformes (the tubenoses). They range widely in the Southern Ocean and the North P ...
, is also introduced; the bird is subsequently mentioned in each chorus.
The second verse deals with his arrival in
County Kerry
County Kerry ( gle, Contae Chiarraí) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and forms part of the province of Munster. It is named after the Ciarraige who lived in part of the present county. The population of the cou ...
, where he "clear
through customs," and visits
Dingle
Dingle (Irish: ''An Daingean'' or ''Daingean Uí Chúis'', meaning "fort of Ó Cúis") is a town in County Kerry, Ireland. The only town on the Dingle Peninsula, it sits on the Atlantic coast, about southwest of Tralee and northwest of Killa ...
,
Ballyferriter, the
Conor Pass
Conor Pass or Connor Pass () is one of the highest Irish mountain passes served by an asphalted road.
It is located on the R560 road in County Kerry, Ireland.
Geography
The high pass connects Dingle, on the south-western end of the Dingle ...
, and finally
Brandon.
The third verse portrays his homecoming celebrations, for which "the entire population came," "the fishermen hauled up their nets,
ndthe farmers left their hay." However, the festivities turn sour when Brendan announces that he intends to marry-- "to seek a wife so late in life, and him a total wreck."
In the final verse, a chagrined Brendan returns to the sea—and to the albatross, who has been waiting for him on the island of
Inishvickillane and greets him with "'tis great to see you, boss."
Cover versions
In 1993, it was covered by
Four to the Bar
Four to the Bar was a "well loved and well respected" American band from New York City during the early to mid-1990s.
Band history
The Early Days: 1991–1992
Four to the Bar was formed in the working-class/immigrant Irish community of Woodsi ...
, on
Four to the Bar (EP)
''Four to the Bar'' was the first commercial release by the band of that name. A four-cut EP, it was released on cassette in 1993.
Track listing
#St. Brendan's Voyage (Moore)
# Raglan Road (Traditional/ Kavanagh)
# Mr. Maguire (Traditional)
# ...
.
External links
Lyrics on Christy Moore's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Brendan's Voyage
1985 songs
Songs written by Christy Moore