The banjo player of my bluegrass band sung this song when we met last time – Farewell to Nova Scotia. She grew up in Canada and moved back to Germany, and used to sing this song when she felt homesick.
This is a nice folk song, and there are many nice versions at youtube.
My favorite version up to now is the following by Bonnie Dobson – with some nice mandolin playing in the background:
Bonnie Dobson – Farewell to Nova Scotia
A very smooth version played with two harps:
Farewell to Nova Scotia – Ardyth and Jennifer
and a heavy version:
The Real McKenzies – Farewell To Nova Scotia
Playlist with many more versions, for example by:
- Sons of Maxwell- Sons of Maxwell is a Canadian music duo who perform both traditional Celtic folk music and original compositions with a pop-folk sound.
- Rising Gael – Rising Gael was named one of the “Best Celtic Folk Bands of 2010” by Marc Gunn on his popular Celtic Music Podcast!
- Ryan’s Fancy – Ryan’s Fancy was a musical group active from the 1960s until the 1980s, all three of whose members were Irish immigrants to Canada.
Additional information
wikipedia about Farewell to Nova Scotia (with lyrics): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farewell_to_Nova_Scotia
Homepage The Real McKenzies: http://www.realmckenzies.com/Welcome.html
Homepage RisingGael: http://www.risinggael.com/
Homepage Sons of Maxwell: http://sonsofmaxwell.com/
Wikipedia about Ryan’s Fancy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryan%27s_Fancy
Sheet music:
http://www.chivalry.com/cantaria/lyrics/farewell-nova-scotia.html
http://www3.telus.net/~jsissons/music.html
http://www.wtv-zone.com/phyrst/audio/nfld/03/scotia.htm