As I Roved Out Brian Kennedy As I Roved Out (Trad. arranged Kennedy, Lunny) Brian Kennedy Vocals Adrian Dunbar Backing Vocals Donal Lunny Bouzouki, Guitar Richie Buckley Soprano Saxophone David Hayes Keyboards Eoghan O'Neill Bass Ray Fean Drums

Like many Irish love songs, 'As I Roved Out' is derived from the songs, many centuries ago, of the troubadours of Provence in southern France. With the assimilation of the Normans into Gaelic culture in the fourteenth century, other typically French song types took root in Ireland and 'As I Roved Out' belongs to the tradition of one of these, the pastourelle or pastoral adventure song. The song now appears in many versions and under many titles, among them 'John Riley' and the 'Lamentation of Riley and Mary Campbell'. Set to a traditional air this particular version, which Planxty used, was recorded by Paddy Tunney in the early sixties, and so became the standard version. As such it has influenced the repertoires of many subsequent singers.

As I Roved Out

Biography An extravagantly beautiful voice combined with a love of music and playing live brings the talents of Belfast-born songwriter Brian Kennedy to a growing audience. Since his 1990 debut album 'The Great War of Words', Brian has been touring with Van Morrison's Blues and Soul Revue. When composer Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin gathered major Irish musicians for a performance of the innovative Lumen for the 1995 Eurovision Song Contest, Brian fronted the piece. He also released a five track EP entitled Intuition in 1995 and his long- awaited solo album, to be produced by Stephen Lipson, appears in 1996. But it is playing live that Brian enjoys most and despite studio commitments he finds time to squeeze in live performances whenever possible.

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