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To Speed The Plough

by Ric Kemper

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1.
River Song 03:05
Move you move To the river, its song Echo the banks Flash ripples along Yes the river Swiftly she flies Through summer lands She glitters & winds Watch the surface Eddy & whirl Sun reflected Deep waters which swirl Yes the river Swiftly she flies Through summer lands She glitters & winds Said the river Purling yet calm Bestowed her song Intoned like a charm I the river Swiftly fly I Through summer lands I glitter I fly
2.
The Henge 03:00
Will you come & join the dance & We shall step the ancient round All hold hands & we begin Our feet traverse the hallowed ground Generations trod this ring Their memory steps with us today A church now stands where stones once stood Around the churchyard once again! Will you come & join the dance And we shall turn in step once more If I miss you this time round We’ll meet again I know for sure And if I miss you once again I’ll meet you on the furthest shore
3.
Now to tow the plough Now to tow the plough Round the fields we go Round bare fields we go Now to pull our plough Now to pull our plough Round the town we go Round the town we go Plough Monday comes around Plough Monday comes around Bless our ancient rite Bless the candle bright Through the wind & snow Through the hail & rain Give us what you may To speed the plough we pray
4.
Our Lady 02:05
Lady the fields flower filled The sky thronged with song And scented the air Scented the air Lady the verge & the way With blossom adorned Bright petals everywhere Petals everywhere Lady the river runs bright And spangles the sun Reflected in the flow Reflected in the flow Lady my eyes fill with tears My prayers to thee go Your grace to bestow Grace to bestow
5.
Who Will 02:41
Who’ll work the fields Now the rye it is standing? Who’ll mill the grain Now the stone is not grinding? Who’ll tend the farm While there’s no-one for hiring? Who’ll read the psalm While the bell it is tolling? Who’ll take the rent Now the reeve he is absent? What’s to collect Now the dwellings are vacant? Down falls the wheel Where the river is flowing Wind tolls the bell And the pages are blowing
6.
The Pilgrim 02:13
Mistress of heaven & earth Lead now the pilgrim Safe across the sea Flower, oh bloom of all blooms Brisk the sea breezes Keep us Oh speed us To thee Rose of all roses Queen of the sky Bear up the pilgrim Safe on the tide Star over waves brilliantly Shine on your faithful Then safe return we'll see
7.
In the year of the lord The king got a plan Men turned out the sisters And brothers they banned Confiscated lands Wherever they rode Took the roof from our heads It’s sisters & brothers on the road The plate & the cloth The lead & the gold The silver, the statues All bundled & sold The door hangs ajar The wind it blows cold With the heavens our rafters It’s sisters & brothers on the road Now the king wears a crown His men stand at arms In castles & towers They’re dry & they’re warm Their coffers are brimming With our silver & gold Now the abbey stands ruined It’s sisters & brothers on the road
8.
Sing bird sing, sing bird sing Sing bird summering Through the mead Sing bird sing, sing bird sing Sing of buds And birch branch green Sing bird sing, sing bird sing Sylvan twilight Garlands, crowns Deck the village with Verdant boughs Sunrise swim, river sings Rise up, sun beam Waters shine Rise up sun, rise up sun Glitter gold And purify Summertime, summertime Comes the dusk When bonfires blaze Round the fire And leap the flames Leap the flames, leap the flames
9.
Long Grey Meg lived on the edge of town A bare existence Long Grey Meg she healed with herbs And charmed both warts & blisters Runs the hare from coursing hound The grey mare jumps the river Runs the doe from hunter’s bow The shaft can harm her never Long Grey Meg she turned to stone The fields with dew drops sparkle Pastor blessed her, mason dressed her Carved her as a lintel Runs the hare from coursing hound The grey mare jumps the river Runs the doe from hunter’s bow The shaft can harm her never
10.
Yew Trees 06:23
Fades vellum scroll And stave to fall Erased the page And image all Into the depths Confusion fell The gilded glyph The tower bell To Horton spire And suffer fate The open door Carved foliate Then plummet figures Rood screen wrought With angel’s wings Too swift for thought O beating drum And storm destroyed Ghost friar’s cells Left unrestored The river jewel And crystal clear Free flowing flies The fleeting deer Freshwater waking Visions, hymns Hallucinations Leazeward winds The pagan circle Goddess stream Cursus, barrow Bell ringing A moment’s trance Lucent waters Dapples sunlight Ruined arches Grey priory Long vanished time Yet chant the dreamless River’s rhyme Transformed the fields The time-gnarled trees Of tale, tradition Whispers breeze Soft spoken word Yet magic spell Backwards in time Murmur, ripples Of other lives Within the land A line of yew trees River wends And after dusk Another world Reveals its shifting Shape unfurled The ancient yews Sing through the wind Sweet music flow Stream never end

about

A concept album which attempts to follow a rural village from earliest times until its eventual abandonment in the 18th century CE. The music addresses Pagan & Christian themes and covers both folk and rock genres.

credits

released August 31, 2015

Ric Kemper plays and sings all the songs on the album, which he also wrote.

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Ric Kemper England, UK

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