Galway Bay

Well, live and learn. There are several versions of the song, “Galway Bay.”

There’s the slow, slightly sappy classic popularized by Bing Crosby and sung here with a slightly faster tempo (and within a landscape I recognize!) by Foster and Allen.

There’s a rude riff on the classic, generating a drinking song. That’s where slightly sappy will take you, given enough exposure.

And there’s the classic version, blessedly shortened by Johnny Cash. Less can be more.

But however many versions there are, we were unable to execute the song’s instruction to watch the sun go down on Galway Bay, on any of the three nights we were in our hotel right on that Bay. Like Canada’s we(s)t coast, Ireland’s is subject to ample rain, fog, and overcast conditions.

On our last morning there, however, we were able to watch the sun come up on Galway Bay.

2-photo collage of sunrise on Galway BayThere’s also at least one other “Galway Bay” – a traditional song – sung here by Dolores Keane.

 

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12 Responses to Galway Bay

  1. Tom Watson says:

    Isabel
    Thanks for giving me an absolutely beautiful sense of what the sun coming up on Galway Bay is like.
    Tom

  2. Marilyn Smith says:

    Ah Isabel, shure an tis wantin t’ go t’ Ireland I am after seein yer lovly pictures. Marilyn

  3. With so much water, the clouds always seem within reach, having an intimacy with the land that happens only rarely where we live.

    • Isabel Gibson says:

      Laurna – I remember finally understanding why paintings of Canada’s west coast usually had a misty horizon. So did/does the actuality.

  4. John Whitman says:

    Isabel – I am confused!! How could anyone watch both the sun go down over Galway Bay and watch the sun come up over Galway Bay?

    • Isabel Gibson says:

      John – Galway Bay runs east/west, so from the north side where we were, you can see both sunset and sunrise, weather permitting. The town’s vantage point (more at the end of the Bay than along it) is primarily west-facing.

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