Cara Dillon出生于1975年，来自一个爱尔兰传统音乐世家。 14岁的时候，Cara Dillon就赢得了全爱尔兰传统歌唱比赛冠军。在开始她自己喜欢的事业之前，她和她的伙伴Sam Lakeman和一家唱片公司签约想做流行歌手，可之后他们发现自己并不喜欢做流行音乐。于是他们出了一张凄美的民歌专集Cara Dillon/Rough Trade Records，出乎意料地赢得了广泛好评，Cara Dillon有着极少数人才有的美妙嗓音。
Craigie Hill
It being in the springtime and the small birds they were singing, Down by yon shady harbour I carelessly did stray, The the thrushes they were warbling, The violets they were charming To view fond lovers talking, a while I did delay.
She said, my dear don´t leave me all for another season, Though fortune does be pleasing I ´ll go along with you, I ´ll forsake friends and relations and bid this Irish nation, And to the bonny Bann banks forever I ´ll bid adieu.
He said, my dear don´t grieve or yet annoy my patience, You know I love you dearly the more I´m going away, I´m going to a foreign nation to purchase a plantation, To comfort us hereafter all in Amerika y.
Then after a short while a fortune does be pleasing, T´will cause them for smile at our late going away, We´ll be happy as Queen Victoria, all in her greatest glory, We´ll be drinking wine and porter all in Amerika y.
If you were in your bed lying and thinking on dying, The sight of the lovely Bann banks, your sorrow you´d give o´er, Or if were down one hour, down in yon shady bower, Pleasure would surround you, you´d think on death no more.
Then fare you well, sweet Cragie Hills, where often times I´ve roved, I never thought my childhood days I ´d part you any more, Now we´re sailing on the ocean for honour and promotion, And the bonny boats are sailing, way down by Doorin shore.
Cara Dillon是爱尔兰歌手，一心想促进民族的融合。她借鉴引入了多个民族音乐特有的元素，并融入自己天然的个性和感染的魅力，在歌曲中叙述一则美妙的故事，更是其独特的创意。她精心采取各种手段来提高音乐的质量，而从不论国界，不计较文化和语言的种类。 你多听几遍这首曲，它就会以它的魅力打动你，试试就知。 介绍：提到爱尔兰，也许你会想起很多人，但是，想到 Cara Dillon 的恐怕会很少。Cara Dillon，是爱尔兰音乐的新生代，很早就获得了各类奖项，被称为天才歌手。 有关她的资料，可以参考：
http://www.caradillon.co.uk/ Cara Dillon一直很低调，她和年轻的丈夫一起致力于推广传统的民族音乐，对商业活动并不热衷。她和Mary Black等来上海参演了爱尔兰传统音乐经典演唱会，一付乐呵呵、稚气未脱的样子，完全像个孩子。 如果说歌如其人，那么Cara Dillon不会让你失望，她的声音非常的清澈、纯净，如果说这是天籁也不是过分的形容。
It being in the springtime and the small birds they were singing Down by yon shady arbour I carelessly did stray The thrushes they were warbling, the violets they were charming To view fond lovers talking, a while I did delay
She said, my dear don‘t leave me all for another season Though fortune does be pleasing I‘ll go along with you I‘ll forsake friends and relations and bid this Irish nation And to the bonny Bann banks forever I‘ll bid adieu
He said, my dear don‘t grieve or yet annoy my patience You know I love you dearly a more I‘m going away I‘m going to a foreign nation to purchase a plantation To comfort us hereafter all in America y
Then after a short while a fortune does be pleasing ‘Twill cause them for to smile at our late going away We‘ll be happy as Queen Victoria, all in her greatest glory We‘ll be drinking wine and porter, all in America y
If you were in your bed lying and thinking on dying The sight of the lovely Bann banks your sorrow you‘d give o‘er Or if were down one hour, down in yon shady bower Pleasure would surround you, you‘d think on death no more
Then fare you well, sweet Craigie Hill, where often times I‘ve roved I never thought my childhood days I‘d part you any more Now we‘re sailing on the ocean for honour d promotion And the bonny boats are sailing, way down by Doorin shore
这就是卡拉·狄龙现象，它让卡拉和萨姆迅速从无名小卒转变成欧洲大地上最吃香的艺人。一大堆奖项铺天盖地而来——英国广播公司民乐奖的最佳新人奖，《黑色也是多彩的》（Black is the Colour）和 “Hotpress’ Best Trad获得最佳专辑奖，2001年在《HMV Choice》杂志民意投票中位居第九位，在世界音乐与舞蹈（WOMAD）节获得了演出的圆满成功，他们在全世界证明了他们的魅力没有人能够抗拒。
他们的第二张唱片是在他们位于萨默塞特(Somerset)的家里完成的，名为《甜蜜的自由》（Sweet Liberty），像第一张专辑一样让人感觉亲密和轻松，又加入了一些更有吸引力的东西。这张专辑由萨姆制作，专辑名称选自“The Emigrant’s Farewell”，曲风基调抓住了卡拉对传统歌曲进行情感诠释时的精髓。其中还有5首狄龙和莱克曼以前原创的歌曲，以及卡拉那首已经成名的《那里有玫瑰》“There Were Roses”（获得2003年英国广播公司民乐奖最佳歌曲提名），这首歌曲演绎了托米·杉德（Tommy Sand）的那个动人的爱尔兰故事。她第一次唱这首歌是应比利·扣纳利(Billy Connolly）之邀在他的电视节目上演出，结果观众的反映非常强烈。“大家可能会感到意外，不过我的确是从来没有做过什么和政治相关的事情，但是那一刻我真的是对和平有特别强烈的感觉，和这首歌的精神产生了强烈的共鸣，使得我非常自信能够把它很好的表演出来。”
随着卡拉声音的逐渐成熟，萨姆的创作也同步的随之发展。他们的歌曲有了新的深度。尽管她的自信越来越多，但是《甜蜜的自由》比已往任何时候都更加让她贴近她生根的故土，里面的歌曲“The Gem of the Roe”以及 “The Winding River Roe”都深深的牵引她回到如梦的童年，那个叫做Dungiven的小城。那里长大的孩子都知道她歌曲里所讲述的故事。
参加Equation乐队是让她无法抗拒的。Equation乐队隶属华纳，正如日中天，但是他们录制的唱片“Return to Me”并没有得以公开发行。不过，卡拉在这里找到了和她拥有心灵共鸣的萨姆·莱克曼（Sam Lakeman），后来他们二人决定离开Equation乐队尝试二重唱。随后他们和一系列著名的制作人和作曲家进行了合作，但是却经历了一段漫长的挫折期。似乎没有哪次合作能够实现卡拉和萨姆真正想要追逐的本质，因此他们决定从头来过，另起炉灶。
在此过程中，他们经历不断。像卡拉这样的声音绝对不会缺乏听众。她在麦克（Mike Oldfield）的节目中演唱了“Man in the Rain”，和格斯特兰（Ghostlan）同台演出，一起演唱，同Dolores Keane, Mary Black, Eleanor McEvoy和Maura O’Connell一起参加著名的“Women’s Heat”巡回演出。现在她拥有了自己的乐队。卡拉说：“我非常的幸运。能够和伟大的音乐家一起演出我热爱的音乐，我们从中获得了很多快乐——没有比这更美妙的了。”
“……令人震惊的美妙声音” 原文见此 Cara Dillon seems to have seduced the entire nation in just a couple of short, breathtaking,eventful years. Make that several nations, for among the rare ingredients of herirresistibly natural personality and mesmerising ability to relate a great story in song, is an all-embracing quality that defies borders, cultures and even languages.
After twiddling their thumbs tied to a record company intent on turning them into pop stars for longer than they care to remember, Cara and her partner Sam Lakeman finally baled out to do their own thing. That thing, a beautiful, melancholy self-titled album of folk songs (‘Cara Dillon‘ / Rough Trade Records), had gnarled old critics singing their praises and the avalanche of gigs that followed had audiences filling venues the length and breadth of Europe.
This, we soon learned, was the Cara Dillon effect and it transformed Cara and Sam from also-rans into one of the most sought-after acts in the land. A clutch of awards tumbled into their laps - BBC Folk Awards‘ best new act and track of the year for Black Is The Colour, Hotpress ‘Best Trad Album‘, No 9 in the HMV Choice magazine critics poll of 2001 - and triumphant appearances at WOMAD festivals around the world proved their magic was all-consuming.
"Oh it‘s been absolutely incredible," says Cara in that winning wide-eyed way of hers. "We put out the album and didn‘t expect anything really, but the way it sold took us totally by surprise. We did over 200 gigs last year and played WOMAD in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore - I still haven‘t taken it all in."
Recorded at Cara and Sam‘s home in Somerset, their second album - ‘Sweet Liberty‘ - is as intimate and beguiling as the first, enhanced by some significant additions. Produced by Sam, it takes its title from ‘ The Emigrant‘s Farewell ‘, the keynote final track that captures the essence of Cara‘s emotional interpretation of traditional songs. Yet there are five original Dillon-Lakeman songs here too, as well as Cara‘s already famous version of Tommy Sands‘ heartbreaking narrative about The Troubles in Northern Ireland,There Were Roses ( nominated for best song 2003 BBC Folk Awards
She originally sang it at the behest of Billy Connolly on his TV show and the public reaction was instantaneous and overwhelming. "People may have been surprised because I‘ve never done anything political before, but I feel so strongly about peace and agree with the essence of that song so much I felt confident about commiting to it".
Sam‘s production has evolved masterfully in step with Cara‘s added vocal maturity. There is a new depth to the arrangements and songwriting. Yet, despite the added confidence flowing throughout, ‘Sweet Liberty‘ takes Cara closer than ever back to her roots with the inclusion of the songs ‘The Gem Of The Roe’ and ‘The Winding River Roe’, deeply entrenched in her childhood in the town of Dungiven, Co.Derry. Every child there grows up with the legend of Finvola, princess of the O‘Cahan clan; and knows The Gem Of The Roe, the song that tells her story.
She lives in England now, but remains close to Dungiven and the grounded upbringing it gave her. She has vivid memories of her mother taking her and her sister to fleadhs around Ireland and listening transfixed to the dramatic ballads sung by old men in the back room of pubs. Her sister Mary, herself a superb singer who guests on Sweet Liberty, found a "treasure chest" of old tape recordings she had made of some of these old guys in pubs, passed them on to Cara, and she‘s recorded a couple of them on the album. They are dear to her heart for dark pub rooms at fleadhs were essentially Cara‘s training ground. She remembers listening to great traditional singers like Paddy Tunney and Rosin White, both regular visitors to Dungiven, and in no time had a repertoire of her own to sing at the fleadhs. At 14 she won the All Ireland Traditional Singing trophy and a year later she was in her first band, Oige. They were pretty successful too, but Cara was all set for university when she got a call out of the blue in 1995 inviting her to come to England to replace Kate Rusby in the band Equation.
It was the offer she couldn‘t refuse. Equation, ( signed to Warners), seemed to be heading for the top, but the album they recorded ‘Return To Me‘ didn‘t get a release. However, Cara had found her soulmate Sam Lakeman in the band and the pair decided to try their luck as a duo. There followed a long frustrating period as they experimented with writing and recording songs with a succession of top producers and songwriters. However, none of the projects and collaborations seemed to fulfill the inner visions that Cara and Sam had developed, so they decided to abandon ship and do their own thing.
There have been other adventures down the line. A voice like that will always be in big demand. Cara sang ‘Man In The Rain‘ on Mike Oldfield‘s Tubular Bells 3, appeared live and on record with Ghostland and on the famous Woman‘s Heart tour with Dolores Keane, Mary Black, Eleanor McEvoy and Maura O‘Connell. And now she has her own band to tour with. "I am very lucky. I am able to play the type of music I love with great musicians and we‘re having a lot of fun - you can‘t ask much more than that."
Dear thoughts are in my mind and my soul it soars enchanted As I hear the sweet lark sing in the clear air of the day For a tender beaming smile to my hope has ben granted And tomorrow he shall hear all my fond heart longs to say
I will tell him all my love, all my soul‘s pure adoration And I know he will hear my voice and he will not answer me nay It is this that gives my soul all it‘s joyous elation As I hear the sweet lark sing in the clear air of the day
