I don't know why, but I'm South Korean and even to me Kelly sounds like he's talking directly to me... especially with the sadness and sorrow of him having to watch his beloved home turn worse. So touching.
Edit: Those who have attacked us forgot, but we haven't. We haven't forgotten about the blood we had to shed for waving our own flags, and how tall our bodies were piled for speaking the language of our own.
while the men on the dole played a mothers role ,fed the children and then trained the dog,and when times got rough there was just about enought ,but we saw it threw without complaining...........
It is a song about Derry. And it is a song about the Troubles. But it's also song about the pain of losing your youth and never being able to find that magical place again. It is gone forever, everywhere except in your memory. Which is where the song begins.
If your an Irish person who has left Ireland and in previous years sang this song in pubs at home, it resonates even more when you hear it away from home.
I'm an Indian and love the Dubliners and especially Luke kellys and Ronnie Drews powerful voices.. and they created in me an interest to read about Ireland and its history.. I am glad I listened to the Dubliners and I hope to visit Ireland some day and visit O'Donoghue's pub and relive the memories.
Luke Kelly was brilliant. "What's done is done, and what's won is won and what's lost is lost and gone forever"......some of the most profound lyrics ever penned.