Tree (album)

This CD has the most original compositions to date by the band. It also has a number of slower tunes. Beggarman, Black is the Colour, New York Girl, An Poc Ar Buile, and Go Home Girl are traditionals. Beggarman is a standard in their live set list and features a didgeridoo very prominently. It's fast and very catchy. Black is the Colour is very slow and mournful, reminiscent of the original composition from the previous album She Was the Prize. It is also sung by the guitarist. New York Girls is a sailor song that often features different lyrics. An Poc Ar Buile is the band's first venture in the Irish language. The song is normally slowly sung, but Gaelic Storm puts a twist into it by singing it fast, complete with hoots and hollers. Go Home, Girl is a catchy tune about a girl who falls in love with a gypsy, only to have her advances turned down for an ironic reason. The Plouescat Races, Thirsty Work and Midnight Kiss are the instrumentals, some of which is original composition by the new fiddle player. The tin whistle is also now prominently featured, especially in Thirsty Work. Before the Night is Over is an original inspirational love song. Johnny Tarr is a mainstay for the live set, complete with the nonsensical noise to start it off. It is also original and tells the tale of a heavy drinker who drank enough to kill a normal human, but he died of thirst instead. Swimmin' in the Sea is also original and sung by the guitarist. Also a mainstay live, it is a nostalgic song about childhood at the sea. I Thought I Knew You, also original and sung by the guitarist, has very catchy lyrics with an unusual rhyme scheme about a relationship gone bad. Related to that is the last tune, original but sung by the fiddler, it is slow and lamentful about lonely life on the road. Mary's Eyes is a remake of a Janis Ian song, also sung by the fiddler, and is a mournful song about the homeland in the form of a girl.