The South Wind✧
A lilting air with room to linger. Ease into the melody with gentle slides.
Sheet music
Tap a staff note or finger tab to hear it.
A · first time
A · second time
B · first ending
B · second ending
D whistle · G major · 3/4 · 85 BPM · + upper octave
A · first time
A · second time
B · first ending
B · second ending
Lyrics
John Brown · English text published in Bunting’s collection (1809)
A historical English text for the air. The instrumental repeats shown above are a practice arrangement, not a syllable-by-syllable vocal setting.
O southern breeze! thy nectar breath Awakes the world to life and love Strews flowrets on the plain beneath And blossoms on high above To scenes of hope, to bowers of peace Where once I knelt a willing slave Wave onward, thou delightful breeze Thy wing ambrosial onward wave
With balmy fervor all divine ’Tis thine to tame the wintry storm And melt the icy chains that twine Around entranced Nature’s form
And mingling with thy breath this kiss Steal silently to Morna’s grove To sigh it in a dream of bliss On the dear lips of her I love
About this tune
Known in Irish as An Ghaoth Aneas, this air is associated with the eighteenth-century poet Domhnall Meirgeach Mac Con Mara. The song addresses the south wind as a messenger to a beloved homeland, though details of its earliest history remain uncertain.
The melody appeared in Edward Bunting’s 1809 collection with an English text by John Brown. Often played as an instrumental air or waltz, it combines a gentle three-beat movement with long, singing phrases.
Performances
Watch musicians play this tune on tin whistle. Keys and arrangements may differ from the tabs above.
The South Wind
whistletutor
Tin whistle · play-along performance
Watch on YouTube — The South Wind by whistletutor (opens in a new tab) ↗