Song Details
- Album Release Date: 2012
- Genre: folk
Song Meaning of “Raglan Road” by The Dubliners
The traditional folk song “Raglan Road” by The Dubliners tells the story of a love affair between Patrick Kavanagh and Hilda Moriarty in the 1940s. The song paints a romantic but ultimately tragic tale of two lovers forced to separate due to the impossibility of them ever being together.
The song speaks to the heartache and sadness of both lovers having to let go and re-assure each other that they will never be forgotten and their love will stay with them forever. The chorus speaks “on Raglan Road on a rainy day, I saw true love go walk away,” referring to the lovers parting ways on a rainy day on Raglan Road in Dublin.
The story of this forbidden love has been repeated throughout time but ultimately can never come to fruition as there is no overcoming the social pressures and expectations of the time. The song speaks to this truth that no matter how true the feelings of love are, they will never be able to overcome the societal restraints of the time.
Though the song has a devasted and heartbreaking ending, the hopeful tone to which the couple part expresses the sentiments of enduring love. The lovers part knowing that they will never be able to be together, but their love will endure until the end of time and be carried with them on their way.