The Meeting of the Waters

Notes

“The Meeting of the Waters” is a deeply evocative and nostalgic piece that holds a special place in both the Irish and Scottish traditions. While the melody is an old traditional air (often called The Old Head of Denis), it gained worldwide fame through the lyrics of the renowned Irish poet Thomas Moore, who wrote the words in 1805 after visiting the Vale of Avoca in County Wicklow.

As a stately march or air, it is often played by pipe bands and traditional groups to create a sense of grand, quiet reflection.

• The Feel: The tune is characterized by its lyrical, “singing” quality. It isn’t a driving dance tune; instead, it has a flowing, majestic pulse that mimics the joining of two rivers.

• The Key: It is most commonly played in A Major or D Major. In D Major, it sits beautifully on the fiddle and whistle, allowing the melody to ring out with a bright, open clarity.

• The Structure: The melody is famous for its “balanced” phrases, where the first half sets a peaceful scene and the second half provides a heartwarming melodic resolution.

The Meeting of the Waters

By Thomas Moore

There is not in the wide world a valley so sweet, As that vale in whose bosom the bright waters meet; Oh! the last rays of feeling and life must depart, Ere the bloom of that valley shall fade from my heart.

Yet it was not that Nature had shed o’er the scene Her purest of crystal and brightest of green; ‘Twas not her soft magic of streamlet or hill, Oh! no—it was something more exquisite still.

‘Twas that friends, the beloved of my bosom, were near, Who made every dear scene of enchantment more dear, And who felt how the best charms of nature improve, When we see them reflected from looks that we love.

Sweet vale of Avoca! how calm could I rest In thy bosom of shade, with the friends I love best, Where the storms that we feel in this cold world should cease, And our hearts, like thy waters, be mingled in peace.