Thom Moore lyrics and inspirations Alana in the lane

Alana in the Lane

Alana goes her way,

down Ballybrooney Lane,

and back again.

She walks me slowly now,

always the same thing:

my mind is on the day,

and Alana in the lane.

To the Manor House we go:

a field of cows up there

all stop and stare.

They scare this tiny thing

who clings so close to me –

all hides and horns and eyes!

– but Alana doesn't cry.

The future's full of questions now,

all of them with rain.

The farmer and his famous cows,

and Ballybrooney Lane.

No need to cast around:

a grown-up holds her hand,

she's safe and sound.

To make her feel at ease

I laugh out loud, so proud

to be the great big man[alt: ‘the one to stand’

with Alana by the hand.

Then somehow comes the day

that nothing in the world

can keep away.

And all that's left to do,

as much for me as you,

is to hold the mem'ry plain

of Alana in the lane.

The future's full of questions now,

all of them with rain.

The farmer and his famous cows,

and Ballybrooney Lane.

The particulars of this song are written down elsewhere. Alana was a real little girl who lived her short life in Co. Mayo, in an environment of deep but despairing love. One of her parents’ friends is a friend of mine, as well, and he wondered if I could transform a poem he’d written as a tribute to Alana into a song. It took me awhile, but this finally resulted. I am as absurdly proud of it as my friend was to have known her. I hope this song becomes a favourite of many of the people who value the sentiment of love for one’s children, and its being beyond the everyday, in every way. The ‘alternate’ line occurred when the lovely Canadian singer Tara MacKenzie wondered aloud to me about the possibility of a sentiment less obviously masculine, for a female singer. The tune employed as the basis for the song is not Irish: I’m told by people who were acquainted by me with the original that it in no way resembles that one. I will leave it to the sleuths to figure this one out, too. The most current contact for helping people and children in Alana’s predicament is the website/contact for the Crumlin Childrens Hospital (or more properly ‘Our Lady’s Hospital for Sick Children, Crumlin’): The Children's Medical & Research Foundation.