“Dublin Again” - a song about Céad míle fáilte
Inspired by two of my best friend’s chicken legs
Story Pairing
I was in Ireland this past January, playing some shows and participating in a songwriters' conference in Killarney. To say it’s a beautiful country is a massive understatement. There are some places you travel to that just feel like home. I’m not sure why, but I know I’ve felt it a number of times out there on the road. It’s odd because you look around, and everything is different—from the people to the buildings, the plants, the colors, the smells. Yet there’s this thread that seems gently tied around each of those things, and as you follow its twists and turns, running your fingers over the knots, you could swear you've tied their likeness before. No matter where you start or what direction you follow, that thread seems to lead right back to you.
That’s the sort of feeling I had in Ireland. Everything was new, yet it felt like an extension of home. Like I could stop walking, plant my feet in any of the towns, and live out a beautiful, peaceful remainder of my life. It’s a place to eat, make music, write, stare at trees, and read—all those feelings wrapped up in a single package.
So... anyway, you should visit if you haven’t.
I can’t pick a favorite part or place because I haven’t explored enough yet, but it will be hard to beat the West Coast. We didn’t make it to Galway or the Cliffs, but we stopped on Valentia Island and in the Skellig region. Loved it. Driving the countryside (on the other side of the road for us Americans) had all my senses cranked up to max. Taking it all in while keeping the car on the narrow roads and daydreaming about what it would be like to travel these hills daily—I’m sort of amazed I only came out with one song.
It was almost like drinking from a firehose—so many inputs resonating with my spirit that I couldn’t make sense of all the potential music. I plan to go back next year and make it an annual pilgrimage. My hope is to keep uncovering new stones and share the treasure beneath with all of you in my small way.
Song Structure
*Capo 2
Verse: F / C / G / C / F / C / G / C
Chorus: C / F / C / G / C / F / C / G / C
Voice Memos
Notebook Page
Jan 2025
Lyrics
Throw your legs in the air as you dance round the square
It’s nothing you want to see end
On the banks of the lithe, I hold her song with me
It takes me to Dublin again
She’s used to the weary, the traveling few
Who come in with dirt from the road on their shoes
She’ll pull you a drink boys, and a bowl of warm stew
It takes me to Dublin again
She welcomes the poor with pennies or less
Shows them a seat with a spin of her dress
Perfectly pours a fine pint of the best (or Guiness)
It takes me to Dublin again
Throw your legs in the air as you dance round the square
It’s nothing you want to see end
On the banks of the lithe, I hold her song with me
It takes me to Dublin again
You enter as strangers, you leave comradai (kum-raw-dee/)
Thick as the thieves who sale cross the sea
To land on the island where she’ll always be
It takes me to Dublin again
Arm in arm we sing down the street
Sharing her praises with all that we meet
And every pub seems to pull at our feet
It takes me to Dublin again
Throw your legs in the air as you dance round the square
It’s nothing you want to see end
On the banks of the lithe, I hold her song with me
It takes me to Dublin again
Tomorrow the may find us laid in a heep
Only if we stop enough to take sleep
Dear lass we need you, another round please
It takes me to Dublin again
Now I will ask you raise your glasses hi
And scream till we get to shaking the skies
We love you dear Irealnd till the day that we die
It takes me to Dublin again
Throw your legs in the air as you dance round the square
It’s nothing you want to see end
On the banks of the lithe, I hold her song with me
It takes me to Dublin again