1. |
The Swallow
02:42
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The swallow twitters on the barn
The rook is cawing from the tree
And in the wood the ringed dove coos
But my false love has fled from me
Like tiny pipe of wheaten straw
The wren his little note does swell
And every living thing that flies
Of his true love does fondly tell
But I alone am left to pine
And sit beneath the willow tree
For truth and honesty be gone
And my false love has fled from me
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2. |
Turtle Dove
03:51
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It’s fare you well my own true love
It’s fare you well a while
If I go away, I will come again
If I go ten thousand miles my dear
If I go ten thousand miles
Ten thousand miles it is too far
To leave me here alone
Here I may lie, lament and cry
You cannot hear me mourn my dear
You cannot hear me mourn
Oh don’t you see that turtle dove
It sits upon the rowan tree
Lamenting for her own true love
As I lament for thee my dear
As I lament for thee
Oh I am like the turtle dove
Who flies from tree to tree
And as he waits for his own mate
So I will wait for thee my dear
So I will wait for thee
When you see them remember me
And bear me in your mind
And be not like the weather vane
That changes with the wind my dear
That changes with the wind
The crow that is so black my dear
Shall change his plume to white
If ever I prove false to thee
The day shall turn to night my dear
The day shall turn to night
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3. |
Lyddie Shears
04:26
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The hares fly before me, we dart across the downs
Like Lepus from Orion, we’ll keep from the hounds
No hunter will snare me, nor drive me from my form
I’m Lyddie Shears, and this land is my own
In Winterslow Wood is where I made my home
Through the fields and the meadows, I often have roamed
With brock, fox and coney, at the dawning of each day
I wanted for nothing, lived my own way
I hear the men talk of the witch in the wood
Who can will the crops to fail, with a thought or a look
She knows the ways of nature, each root, leaf, and bone
They tremble as they think of the wicked old crone
At dusk in the meadow the drove set out to graze
Serene there among them in the gloaming of the day
Then hounds burst from the hedgerow, each hare fled in fright
A shot rang out, I stumbled, was lost to the night
In Winterslow Wood in my own likeness now
I lie upon the bed with one final vow
Though a bullet of silver’s lodged deep in my heart
Forever with the hares across the downs I will dart
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4. |
Marrow Seeds
03:26
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We sow these seeds, my love
A gift held for far off friends
In many gardens they grow, one day to rewild their home
They endure, and I will tend
They endure, and I will tend
They sow these seeds with love
Swelled by the rising Spring
Revolution, broken ground, hostility all round
So many scores took wing
So many scores took wing
He sows these seeds with love
Pulled from the once lush ground
Carries flower, grass and vine, across the border line
To lay roots in another land
To lay roots in another land
She sows these seeds with love
Nurturing every shoot
That travelled many miles, surviving every trial
She hands me budding fruit
She hands me budding fruit
We sow these seeds, my love
A gift held for far off friends
In many gardens they grow, some day to rewild their home
They endure, and I will tend
They endure, and I will tend
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5. |
The Stranger on the Bank
05:49
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I went to view the waters my true love for to grieve
The wind whipped at my hair and the seas below did heave
I cried for absent Johnny, flung far away from home
I wished him to be by my side, no more to sail and roam
Whilst thinking on dear Johnny, I looked up to the skies
I little spied that young man who caught me by surprise
He said ‘my charming creature, my joy and heart’s delight
How far have you to travel this dark and rainy night?’
His compliments imprudent, his loving tone so bold
I longed for him to take his leave, to go and so I told
Him of my darling Johnny, and that he does remain
Upon the banks of Claudy, my heart in constant pain
‘If Johnny he were here tonight he’d keep me from harm’s way
But he’s fighting for his country, since he’s been castaway
I’ll fight for my own honour, protect my liberty
Take heed young man and take your leave, no more to harry me’
‘But listen fair maid’ then he urged ‘I’ve heavy news from sea
I’m told a great ship has been lost, and on it your Johnny
Wrecked off the coast of Spain, upon the rocks was tossed
The sailors strived but in that storm all souls on board were lost
Well when I heard this dreadful news I fell into despair
Buckled knees, wretched howls, tearing at my hair
‘I’ll never love another’ forsaken then I cried
‘I’ll stay true and constant all the days that I have life’
The stranger took to comfort me, but little could I hear
The wind grew loud and fearsome; his words changed in my ear
I thought he said he loved me, but that could never be
For how could one who hurt me so compare to sweet Johnny?
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6. |
Ethel
04:37
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‘Regret to inform you’ I read
Cold in my hand as the sky turned grey
A mantle of rue laid me down to my bed
The colours of life I could no longer see, or
Feel the rain on my skin as I breathe in new air
Savour the taste of the cool running stream
Hear the birds on the wing, in a vision so rare
Yet this land is mine, not a dream
With tender hands guiding each step
Slowly I ventured out, back to the hills
Past Longshaw and Stannage to stand at High Neb
And as the clouds lift something inside me stills, I
On Kinder I felt the sun’s rays
Up Shining Tor I breathed again
Found life in the path of the old Limestone Way
I walked til I came to my senses and then
A steel city framed with gold
Something to worship, something for all
To seek peace, freedom, solitude, beauties untold
In the Peaks that brought me back and helped me find my soul
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7. |
Tyger Fierce
02:58
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Caged by these bars around me
Trapped in this foreign place
Pace while I think of freedom
Over my footsteps trace
Each day they stare upon me
Wonder in their eyes fills
Slowly my world gets smaller
Anger inside me builds
Aaah / Aaah / Aaah / Aaah
Caged by these bars around me
Trapped in this foreign place
Pace while I think of freedom
Over my footsteps trace
My heartbeat is racing now
My head spins and I can’t breathe
Pressure is too much to bare
Now they will hear me
Aaah / Aaah / Aaah / Aaah
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8. |
Wild Man of the Sea
03:27
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I am the wild man of the sea
In midnight’s glow they came for me
Their eyes reflect the blaze in hand
Their fear stole me from the sand
I am the wild man of the sea
These four walls I’m never free
I’m cast on land for seven years
I have a voice, but no-one hears
I am the wild man of the sea
Here on shore it’s hard to breathe
If they would only hear my cries
And set me back upon the tide
Where is my tail?
Where are my spells?
Where are my scales?
I cannot tell
At home on land I’ll never be
For I am the wild man, that’s what they call me
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9. |
Everything Possible
05:49
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We have cleared off the table, leftovers saved
Washed the dishes and put them away
I have told you a story, tucked you in tight
At the end of your knockabout day
As the moon sets its sails to carry you to sleep
Over the midnight sea
I will sing you a song no one sang to me
May it keep you good company
You can be anybody you want to be
You can love whomever you will
You can travel any country that your heart leads
And know I will love you still
You can live by yourself, you can gather friends around
You can choose one special one
And the only measure of your words and your deeds
Will be the love you leave behind when you're done
There are girls who grow up strong and bold
There are boys quiet and kind
Some race on ahead, some follow behind
Some go in their own way and time
Some women love women, some men love men
Some raise children and some never do
You can dream all the day never reaching the end
Of everything possible for you.
Don't be rattled by names, by taunts, by games
But seek out spirits true
If you give your friends the best part of yourself
They’ll give the same back to you
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10. |
Bread & Roses
03:39
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As we go marching, marching in the beauty of the day
A million darkened kitchens, a thousand mill lofts grey
Are touched with all the radiance that a sudden sun discloses
For the people hear us singing, ‘Bread and roses, bread and roses’
As we go marching, marching, we battle too for men
For they are women's children, and we mother them again
Our lives shall not be sweated from birth until life closes
Hearts starve as well as bodies, give us bread, but give us roses
As we go marching, marching, unnumbered women dead
Go crying through our singing their ancient cry for bread
Small art and love and beauty their drudging spirits knew
Yes, it is bread we fight for, but we fight for roses too
As we go marching, marching, we bring the greater days
For the rising of the women means the rising of the race
No more the drudge and idler, ten that toil where one reposes
But a sharing of life's glories, bread and roses, bread and roses
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11. |
Les Tricoteuses
04:40
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They marched upon the palace when King Louis was at play
And they won the bread they’d come there to demand
But come the revolution they refused to hide away
And by the Reign of Terror they were banned
They knitted as they sat and watched beside the guillotine
They came there to bear witness, they came there to be seen
Like those women at Versailles
We will sing and march and cry
And we’ll know the day we die
We persisted
She stood up on the senate floor, she’d earned the right to speak
Though the men of the establishment resisted
She was warned, given an explanation, told her cause was weak
Nevertheless, she persisted
She spoke up for the memory of heroes that are gone
And though they tried to stop her, her words still echo on
She packed her bags one afternoon and set off home from school
A fifteen-year-old Muslim teacher’s daughter
She wrote too much, she spoke too loud, she made them look like fools
And the men who feared her education shot her
But since she has recovered, she went to show the world
That armies cannot overcome a fearless teenaged girl
So when they try to keep you down, my sisters, daughters, friends
Remember women’s voices can’t be silenced
And history will tell of how we triumphed in the end
Though they came for us with slander, shame and violence
We’ll celebrate each other in story and in song
With compassion and humanity our voices will ring on
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Rosie Hood Sheffield, UK
Rosie Hood is known for her strong, pure voice and captivating performances as well as her poetic writing and honest interpretations of traditional songs. A BBC Performing Arts Fellow and Horizon Folk Award nominee, Rosie's first solo album The Beautiful & The Actual, a collection of old and new folk songs was described by The Guardian as “poetic class” ****. ... more
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