Clannad - In A Lifetime

Artist: Clannad

Song: In A Lifetime

Album: Macalla (1985)

"In a Lifetime" is a pop song performed by Irish artists Clannad and Bono. It was written by brothers Pól Brennan and Ciarán Brennan and produced by Steve Nye. The song was released in 1986, and was the first single to be released from Clannad's 8th studio album Macalla (1985). It charted well in many countries including USA, Ireland, UK, Italy and Brazil. It is one of Clannad's most successful songs and it remains as Bono's most successful solo effort.

The video was shot in Clannad's hometown of Gweedore, County Donegal, Ireland. It is set in 1930's Ireland and it is based on the lives of local folk around this time. Black clouds gathering over a desolate landscape, young children walking along a narrow road in the countryside, followed by a hearse. It also shows old men drinking in a pub. A voice seems torn from the bowels of the earth. A bicycle falls. Rains. The video, which was directed by Meiert Avis, was praised for its haunting portrayal of the Irish countryside and old Irish traditions.

video

musica

Macalla is hands down one of the strongest albums of Irish family band Clannad. Mournful, delicate, and deliciously down tempo, Macalla bridges the early traditional folk of the band with their later pop leanings, twining largely acoustic accompaniment with lead vocalist Maire Brennan's reflectively pliant pinings. Where early work was all sung in Irish, here all but two tunes are sung in English, effectively blending rooted Celtic musicianship with a more mainstream sound, helped along in no small part by a guest spot from U2's Bono on the evocative pop ballad, "In a Lifetime." Though early era fans may be put off with protestations of sellout, Macalla, next to Anam, is likely the record most appealing to fans on either end of the Clannad spectrum. --Paige La Grone

hard to tell
or recognise a sign
to see me through
a warning sign
first the thunder
satisfied, if the past it will not lie
then the storm
torn assunder
the future you and I get blown away
in the storm
in a lifetime
and as the rain it falls
begin again, as the storm breaks through
heavy in my heart
believe the light in you
so the light shines in you
without color, faded and worn
torn asunder in the storm
unless the sound has faded from your soul
unless it disappears
first the thunder
selfish storm
then the storm
hold on the inside
torn asunder
one life
in the storm
in a lifetime
in a lifetime