THE LAST ROSE OF SUMMER  - 3m40s

‘Tis the last rose of summer, left blooming alone
All her lovely companions are all  faded and gone
No flow’r of her kindred, no rosebud is nigh
To reflect back her blushes, or give sigh for sigh

I’ll not leave thee, thou lone one, to pine on the stem
Since the lovely are sleeping, go sleep thou with them
This kindly I’ll scatter, thy leaves o’er thy bed
Where thy mates of the garden, lie scentless and dead.

When true hearts lie withered and when fond ones are flown
Oh who would inhabit, this bleak world alone.

     Thomas Moore

My Grandfather,  James McHale, died over 25 years ago. but he was always a great favourite at parties and social gatherings because of his tenor voice. It was thought that no recordings of him had ever been made until a cassette tape was discovered on which he sang the old Irish song  “The Last Rose of Summer”. He sang unaccompanied and the quality of the recording was very poor so it was a real challenge to salvage the song. I hope you agree that it was worth the effort

Here, I’ve attempted to create a setting for his voice which I hope he’d be proud of and in recording my own version of this song,  using the same phrasing (track 10)  hope to create an echo across the generations.

Those of you who know the song will notice that he doesn’t sing the first two lines of the final verse. I can only assume he forgot .. he was at a party after all !