“Isle of Hope, Isle of Tears” is a typically Irish song. A moving tribute to the experience of Irish immigrants who left everything behind to come to America. More precisely, the song refers to Ellis Island, located at the mouth of New York harbor, which served as a “lock” for immigrants before they had the official right to settle on American soil. It was here that they were registered, checked and medically examined to ensure they were in good health. The song, considered one of the great classics of the Irish repertoire, emotionally evokes the experiences of Irish emigrants at the time… Get out your handkerchiefs: the song strikes a chord!
Ellis Island
Ireland has always had a special bond with the United States. Above all, because America was a land of welcome during the great wave of Irish emigration triggered by the Great Famine and the years that followed.
A real adventure, this emigration was far from easy. Thousands of Irish were crammed into dilapidated boats in deplorable hygiene conditions. Many Irish people died during the voyage, from illness, exhaustion or shipwreck.
Survivors eagerly awaited the sight of Ellis Island, a New York island at the mouth of New York Harbor. A true symbol for immigrants, this island symbolized the end of torments, and the beginning of a new adventure.
For Ellis Island was then a center for immigrants. Founded in 1892, it was opened to replace the former Castle Garden immigration center in lower Manhattan.
Although the majority of Irish immigrants arrived before the opening of Ellis Island, subsequent generations of Irish immigrants often passed through this center… For many Irish people, Ellis Island represented hope and the promise of a better life. Despite the challenges and uncertainties, reaching Ellis Island was the first step towards realizing the American dream… They all aspired to reach this island, a symbol of renewal!
The song evokes with emotion and hope the stories of those who leave their homeland, often destitute but driven by the desire for a new and better existence. She describes Ellis Island as an island of hope and tears, a place marking both the beginning of a new adventure and the pain of leaving Ireland, their homeland.
This emotional duality is a central theme of the song, reaching a wide audience, especially those with immigrant roots.
The song pays tribute to the struggles and hopes of immigrants, recalling the challenges they faced and the courage needed to start a new life in an unfamiliar world.
On the first day on January
Eighteen ninety-two
They opened ellis Island
And they let the people through
And the first to cross the treshold
Of that Isle of hope and tears
Was Annie Moore from Ireland
Who was only fifteen years
Isle of Hope, Isle of Tears
Isle of Freedom, Isle of Fears
But it’s not the Isle you left behind
That Isle of Hunger, Isle of Pain
Isle you’ll never see again
But the Isle of home is always on your mind
In a little bag she carried
All her past and history
And her dreams for the future
In the Land of Liberty
And courage is the passport
When your old world disappears
But there’s no future in the past
When you’re fifteen years
Isle of Hope, Isle of Tears
Isle of Freedom, Isle of Fears
But it’s not the Isle you left behind
That Isle of Hunger, Isle of Pain
Isle you’ll never see again
But the Isle of home is always on your mind
When they closed down Ellis Island
In Nineteen Fourty-Three
Seventeen million people
Had come there for Sanctuary
And in springtime when I came here
And I stepped onto it’s piers
I thought of how it must have been
When you’re fifteen years
Isle of Hope, Isle of Tears
Isle of Freedom, Isle of Fears
But it’s not the Isle you left behind
That Isle of Hunger, Isle of Pain
Isle you’ll never see again
But the Isle of home is always on your mind
Isle of Hope, Isle of Tears
Isle of Freedom, Isle of Fears
But it’s not the Isle you left behind
That Isle of Hunger, Isle of Pain
Isle you’ll never see again
But the Isle of home is always on your mind
