ISLE OF HOPE, ISLE OF TEARS - CATHY JORDAN & FEARGAL MURRAY

ISLE OF HOPE, ISLE OF TEARS - is the second single from the upcoming album,
STORYBOOK -THE SONGS OF BRENDAN GRAHAM by Cathy Jordan & Feargal Murray.
This beautiful song was inspired by Brendan’s visit to Ellis Island in 1993 where he was deeply moved by the story of Annie Moore from Ireland, the first person to step ashore when Ellis Island opened as an Immigration Centre on January 1st 1892.
Little did she know that she would forever be set in history as the symbol for millions who travelled in hope to America’s waiting shore!
With a moving musical arrangement by Feargal Murray, Cathy Jordan’s vocal performance captures and evokes the emotions of a young girl torn between her old world and the uncertainty of the new one that lay ahead.
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Song Recorded by Dave McCune at Ventry Studios, Balbriggan, Co Dublin.
Mixed by Murray/McCune/Jordan/Graham
Video Directed, Filmed & Edited by Eric Campbell.
End photo credit of Annie & Daughter Kitty goes to the family of Anna Moore Shulman.
** All images used are in the Public Domain **
Isle of Hope, Isle of Tears
Words & Music: Brendan Graham
On the first day on January, Eighteen Ninety-Two,
They opened Ellis Island and they let the people through:
And the first to cross the threshold of that isle of hope and tears,
Was Annie Moore from Ireland, who was all of fifteen years*.
Isle of hope, isle of tears, isle of freedom, isle of fears,
But it's not the isle you left behind:
That isle of hunger, isle of pain, isle you'll never see again…
But the isle of home is always on your mind.
In her little bag she carried all her past and history,
And her dreams for the future in the Land of Liberty:
And courage is the passport when your old world disappears,
‘Cos there's no future in the past when you're fifteen years.
Isle of hope, isle of tears, isle of freedom, isle of fears,
But it's not the isle you left behind:
That isle of hunger, isle of pain, isle you'll never see again…
But the isle of home is always on your mind.
When they closed down Ellis Island in Nineteen Forty-Three*,
Seventeen million people had come there for sanctuary*:
And in springtime when I came here and I stepped onto its piers,
I thought of how it must have been, when you’re only fifteen years.
Isle of hope, isle of tears, isle of freedom, isle of fears,
But it's not the isle you left behind:
That isle of hunger, isle of pain, isle you'll never see again…
But the isle of home is always on your mind…
Isle of hope, isle of tears, isle of freedom, isle of fears,
But it's not the isle you left behind:
That isle of hunger, isle of pain, isle you'll never see again…
But the isle of home is always on your mind…
The isle of home is always on your mind.
© Peermusic (UK) Ltd.
***Note:1 From Brendan. When the song was written Annie’s age was given as 15 and her birthday Jan 1st. Later research proved neither to be true. She was 17 and her birthday was in May.
***Note:2 From Brendan . Encyclopedia Britannica gives the numbers passing through Ellis Island as 17 million - some of these could have been repeat passengers
***Note:3 From Brendan. ‘Closed down Ellis Island in 1943’, refers to Immigration being moved to NYC

[@PatWalshe-dr7nm]

Absolutely stunning heard it on kclr radio. Kilkenny Carlow radio station from Martin Bridgeman show. Thank U for this beautiful song

[@mariancollins4926]

Beautiful song so sad and haunting what bravery to cross the ocean at 15 I went to Ellis Island some years and you can feel the pain and joy of all those who passed through .

[@lebosisings]

First time hearing this song just now on The Six O’Clock Show, beautifully sung by Cathy Jordan, thank you for sharing this poignant song 💚🎵

[@Audionetworks]

Amazing!