luka bloom, “diamond mountain,”
from: Turf, 1994
“Voices cry out, shells of houses
White-faced children, hungry eyes
The cruel sea calls the unwilling traveler
Who would look for the road to survival
Hold my hand a little longer
Take one last look out over the fields
To the reds and the browns of Diamond Mountain
Bring the smell and the sound to your station
I will be here when you need me
I will be here in the pouring rain
I will be here on Diamond Mountain
They bring their song line to Australia
Scattering magical airs, cities, towns
The dreaming road to Diamond Mountain
An ordinary wonder on the heather ground
Hold my hand a little longer
Take one last look out over the fields
To the reds and the browns of Diamond Mountain
Bring the smell and the sound to your station
He kisses his love, Diamond Mountain
The mad wind whistles, bushes, stones
Like two March swallows back on the mountain
Come full circle at last, heaven is home
”
Born Kevin Barry Moore on May 23rd 1955 in County Kildare, Ireland. He was the younger brother of folk singer Christy Moore, who he began touring in support of at the age of 14. A bout of tendinitis forced him to learn to play the guitar with a plectrum hence his at times frenetic strumming style. He came to the U.S. in 1987 and took the stage name “Luka Bloom”, a nod to Suzanne Vega’s song and the main character in Joyce’s Ulysses. He had returned to Ireland to record 1991’s The Acoustic Motorbike and came back in 1993 to record Turf.
-Alan West-
2011 Single