The story behind the song.
‘My Gallant Hero,’ or ‘My Gallant Love,’ written as a lament by Gaelic goddess Eire, for her husband Bonnie Prince Charlie. Charles was the grandson of King James II of England and Ireland and VII of Scotland, who was deposed after the Revolution in 1688, when parliament instead invited Dutch Protestant King William III to rule. Parliament was afraid that James II would revert the Kingdom to Catholicism.
Charles’ family always believed they were the true heirs to the throne, and to this end Charles attempted another Revolution in 1745. It failed, and the defeated Charles was forced to live the rest of his life in exile in Europe.
The song, written in the Irish language, speaks of Eire’s sorrow and distress that her Darling is in another land, and ‘no news from him is told’.
It is a gorgeous old Irish melody, and it was important to me for the recording to have a feeling of peace and of silence for Eire’s sorrow. I layered vocals and instruments for an other-worldly feel. This track appears on my album Across the Sea to Ireland, recorded in Nashville, TN.
I am grateful to Dermot Devlin (now sadly deceased) for teaching me this beautiful song.
Click to hear the song on iTunes.