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. |
Plough Monday
02:26
|
|||
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. |
Sisters & Brothers
02:19
|
|||
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
02:05
|
|||
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
02:32
|
|||
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
|
Streaming and Download help
If you like Ric Kemper, you may also like:
Bandcamp Daily your guide to the world of Bandcamp