[PW] Re: Song - Irish Blessing

[Nina Gilbert]

 Donna Hesson asks,


> Does anyone know of and have a copy of the song "Irish Blessing"?  It begins, "May the road rise to meet you"...
>Apparently this is a song and I have been asked to sing it at a funeral this Saturday. 
> If anyone has the sheet music to this song could you please fax it to me?  I am aware of the words 
>but I am not aware that it is a song.

That text has certainly been set for choir several times, and I sort of recall one or two melodies that could be considered its "tune."  If you went to a sheet music store that sells choral octavos (in your area I would try Dale Music in Silver Spring) and asked for "Irish Belssing," you would probably find something where you could extract the melody.

At http://www.musicanet.org, the virtual choral reference library, I see "Irish Blessing" by about a dozen composers.  Some of those are arrangements and some are compositions.  I can't tell from that list whether the "arrangements" are of a more or less traditional tune.  And I'm aware of compositions of that text by other composers too.

So you can definitely find this set to music, though it may not be music that the congregation recognizes.

Note:  you don't want the choral "Irish Blessing" by my friend Dan Gawthrop.  That's a parody text:  May those who love us, love us; And for those who don't love us, May God turn their hearts; And if He can't turn their hearts, May He turn their ankles, So we will know them by their limping!

Hope this helps,

Nina Gilbert

 ------------------------------------------------Nina Gilbert
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