1. |
||||
The spirits of this place have whispered me a song
With the north wind in the she-oak tree when the summer days are long
With the greening of the hills when the winter rains have come
And I know they’re telling me it’s to this land that I belong
Black crow flies on silent wings across an endless blue
Magpie carolls and boobook calls beneath the full spring moon
Faerie wren and his followers are dancing with the fae
And brother Kookaburra calls to the sky people to light the sun each day
Goddess of the Southern Land I’m yet to know your name
I’ve been travelling the pathways from where my ancestors came
But now I long to hear the songlines that are singing in your veins
Goddess of the Southern Land I’m yet to know your name
Rainbow serpent mother protector of the land
In the dreaming time awoke and moved her body across the sand
She brought the land to being, making hills and mountains rise
Filling water holes and rivers, she brought the earth to life
The wild Mount Lofty Ranges have given me my home
A place when the earth was young a mighty giant roamed
And travelled across the landscape between the rivers and the plain
His body formed the mountain range in the place where he was slain
Goddess of the Southern Land I’m yet to know your name
I’ve been travelling the pathways from where my ancestors came
But now I long to hear the songlines that are singing in your veins
Goddess of the Southern Land I’m yet to know your name
I know Brigid’s walking with me when the wild flowers have come
And the Wattle flowers into life the colour of the sun
In misty mountain bush land the smell of eucalyptus after rain
And bark fall signals that it’s time to celebrate Beltane
The magic of your dreamtime and the story of your land
There’s so much of your wildness that I’m yet to understand
And although I am a newcomer and my journey’s just begun
For your ancient voice has told me that the land and I are one
|
||||
2. |
Serpent Energy
06:34
|
|||
Serpent energy is on the rise
From the rainbow pool it flows
From the cauldron of the earth
From soil and clay the green one grows
And the voices of the land
Join the songs of ancient trees
To awaken us from our winter sleep
And feel the serpent energy
From deep within her well
Flow the sacred streams
A gifting from the otherworld
Across the plain of dreams
Spirits move in water rock and stone
Mother Earth’s sweet blood and bone
We’ve come to farewell the crone
And greet the maiden of the green
Strong on cloven hooves
Comes the horned one in his prime
Standing at the Beltane gate
With the sun locked in his tines
With the maiden he will dance
With the maiden he will sing
She’ll take his seed the Goddess’s need
And abundance in summer bring
God and Goddess bless
The new life of the land
The gift of flower, fruit and bud
Sent from the mother’s hand
It’s the greening of rebirth
From their dance of ecstasy
It’s the life force of the earth
The Serpent energy
|
||||
3. |
||||
Remember the time of sickles and scythes
Beneath the blue of late summer skies
Greet the god of grain mother of corn
The welcome brew of John Barleycorn
Share the bread taste the ale
of field and vine hedge and vale
To the gods of old we sing Wassail
And gather for the burning of the Wickerman
Burn burn Wickerman burn
Fire in the night feel the season’s turning
The kindred flame of winter’s return
Will rise at the burning of the Wicker Man
The veil between the worlds is thin
Summer ends darkness begins
The white owl in the eucalypt waits
As the crone opens the Summerland gates
From her cauldron all is transformed
As the guardians of the past return
And from their shadowy realms are drawn
And are welcomed by the flames of the Wicker man.
Along the pathway the Giants come
Walk the heartbeat of the earth to the rhythm of the drum
Hobbyhorses with bright ribbons fly
Wild green men weaving fire pass by
Painted faced mummers with bells on their feet
Move with the music as the Morris sticks beat
out a rhythm of Bedlam come we shall meet
And dance around the flames of the wicker man
From the flames a messenger flies
A serpent leaps into the dark southern sky
We stand with our clan under stars on this night
And ask the old gods to witness this rite
So to the fire with you flaming torch come
The wintering time of the land has begun
Now we’ll await the return of the sun
For all that’s left are the ashes of the wicker man
|
||||
4. |
Song of the Trees
05:08
|
|||
There’s a forest that lies by a dark inland sea where great oaks and tall beeches do stand
The dark waters it’s said are the tears that were shed by the fae that were banished from the land
From the cool sacred springs the Korrigan sings with a haunted and siren like sound
And by the lake deep and wide grow two trees side by side with their trunks and their limbs twisted round
The trees hold together in a lovers embrace and have stood as the centuries pass
Awaiting the time for the rune and the rhyme and the spell to broken at last
But from their prison of green never will they be free and to the wheel of the seasons be tied
For the magick holds fast many life times to last so in the greenwood forever must bide
Memories stir through the branches and limbs and the wind in the hazel does sing
Of a time when the world was new underfoot when a queen walked this shore with her king.
Of a dark one unseen with cold eyes of green who in a jealous rage did despair
and vowed by the phases of the moon wax and wane to banish and vanish the pair
On a chill night that was brewed by the wind the moon lay in a cold baleful sky
From the worlds in between came a bleak alchemy and on the wind the poison did fly
Beneath the black cloak the grim magick was spoke and crept like a mist over stones
And from the soil rich and dark came trunk limb and bark where once there was flesh blood and bones.
|
||||
5. |
||||
Let blow the winds my bonnie lads come sail upon my sea
Beware you of the angry wave that drives your ship to me
Where the ocean boils and the current roils and the salty tides do flow
I’ll await you in my chamber cool below, below, below
She searches for treasures in the sand
Along a ragged wave torn shore line
Rusty comb and mirror in her hand
Crystals on her lips of salty brine
And through the chill twilight the sea-maid sings
From the storm see what the cold tide brings
She’ll offer you treasures from below
But there’s darker things beneath the waves than you could ever know
There’s a calling from the siren of the deep
Her silver scales and lily white breasts shining
The secrets of Atlantis she will keep
Veiled behind a smile that’s so beguiling
May you catch the fair winds in your sails
To steer far from tempest and from gales
For that beauty with her face pale as the moon
Will call you to the rocks and see you to your doom
‘Tis a soulful song that journeys with the tide
From land beneath the waves a cry of yearning
Across the sea where wild white horses ride
Once cast adrift there can be no returning
For the sea-witch now has you in her thrall
She’s cast her spell you’ve answered to the call
Now watch your life dance before your eyes
For below the sea you cannot breath and that’s where your fate now lies
|
||||
6. |
The Children of Lir
07:44
|
|||
In a time of bards and chieftains when the bright ones walked the land
And beauty slipped from silver strings touched by a minstrel’s hand
In a time when giants held the hills and stone circles rang with song
And the Lia Fail stood in the soil and Tara’s walls stood strong
A man of the De Dannan from a noble line was Lir
His wife the daughter of Ireland’s king and four children he loved dear
But Niamh his wife lost her life in child bed she did pass
And left four children filled with grief and Lir a broken heart
The King he sent to Lir his second daughter as a bride
And though she had a love for Lir no child could she abide
For Aoife had a jealous heart and took them far from home
To be rid of them for evermore and have the love of Lir alone
It was at the Lake of Oaks that it came to pass
With the power of her druids wand a mighty spell she cast
From now you’ll take the shape of swans and wild birds you will be
Nine hundred years will keep you on the lakes and on the sea
And over the wild waves flew the children of Lir
Down to the land of the ever living
This spell was laid upon them for nine hundred years
And till then there would be no returning
In the first three hundred years you’ll be trapped upon this shore
Then northward to the Sea of Moyle for yet three hundred more
Then to the stormy Atlantic the waters chill and deep
And in the Bay of Eris waves will rock you as you sleep
And when a queen from the South goes North to wed a king
And when you first reach dry land and you hear a Church bell ring
And when you find the lake of birds only then will you be free
But until then this mighty curse will keep you far from me
Across the winds of time the four swan children flew
And for the next nine hundred years only gales and storms they knew
Their beds were on the crest of waves and upon the rocky shore
And they keened a sad lament for all that had gone before
A new age dawned upon the land strangers to the Isle had come
Into the Hollow hills and mounds the Faerie folk had gone
So to the lake of Birds they flew high on snowy wings
To be free of the curse and hear a church bell ring
And like wind striping leaves from trees their swan bodies fell away
Their sweet singing voices stilled all turned to dust and clay
Blessings go with you Children of Lir beyond nine waves now fly
And their spirits made a final flight against the fading sky
And over the wild waves flew the children of Lir
Down to the land of the ever living
This spell was laid upon them for nine hundred years
And till then there would be no returning
|
||||
7. |
Soul's Gateway
06:54
|
|||
In the great southern land, in the starlight, cold
In the sharpening nights when the days grow short
We’ll gather to the telling of the tales of old
Where the lord of the year in his reign holds court
Summer’s riot of warmth has passed us by
The evenings are blue and still
The bonfires crackle beneath the sky
Their embers hold back the chill
We’ll hear the tale of the Celtic wheel
How it turns within seasons
How the Gods of old our hearts shall heal
Each for our own special reasons
The wheel is turning churning burning
The wheel is turning evermore
The wheel is turning learning yearning
The wheel is turning olden lore
The misty glades of autumn hold
A relief from summers fierce
The seeds of coming sharpness cold
When flames the darkness pierce
Gather to the drumbeat heed the cry
The way between worlds is clear
All who are gone, in freedom fly
Free from pain and free from fear
The wheel is turning churning burning
The wheel is turning evermore
The wheel is turning learning yearning
The wheel is turning olden lore
Ruins rise ghostly from misty land
Where the Gate of the West stands wide
Never ending spaces are at hand
Souls call from the other side
But the moment of contact is just too fleeting
It’s past in a swirl a rush all too soon
A brief racing spectral meeting
That leaves us alone with the moon
|
||||
8. |
King Orfeo
05:35
|
|||
There lived a lady in the West
Green the wood grows early
Her name was Lady Liza Bell
Where the stag runs yearly
The king, he has a hunting gone
Green the wood grows early
left his lady all alone
Where the stag runs yearly
The Elfin knight took out his dart
Green the wood grows early
Pierced poor Liza to the heart
Where the stag runs yearly
When the king came home at noon
Green the wood grows early
He asked for Lady Liza Bell
Where the stag runs yearly
His nobles unto him they said
Green the wood grows early
She first was wounded now she's dead
Where the stag runs yearly
He’s away into the wood
Green the wood grows early
And there upon a stone he stood
Where the stag runs yearly
He stood there for seven years
Green the wood grows early
‘Till a company to him drew near
Where the stag runs yearly
Some did ride and some did run
Green the wood grows early
He saw his lady them among
Where the stag runs yearly
The company then made their way
Green the wood grows early
And He took out his pipes to play
Where the stag runs yearly
First he played the notes of Noy
Green the wood grows early
And Then he played the notes of Joy
Where the stag runs yearly
Then he played the Gaber reel
Green the wood grows early
That would make a sick heart heal
Where the stag runs yearly
The Elfin Knight to him did say
Green the wood grows early
What shall I give thee for thy play?
Where the stag runs yearly
For my play I will thee tell
Green the wood grows early
I'll have my Lady Liza Bell
Where the stag runs yearly
You can take your lady home
Green the wood grows early
And you'll be king of all you own
Where the stag runs yearly
|
||||
9. |
||||
The days are short and the nights grow long
As tradesmen and ploughboys sing their song
A song of hope not one of fear
A safe home for the coming year
With Holly wreaths and Mistletoe
We welcome the darkness the frost and snow
The icy winds and the starry sky
Tell us Midwinter will soon be nigh
Then out of the shadows with a ringing sound
In circles they spin round and round
With ‘midnight-faces’ behold the sight
As the Morris dance into the night
In watery sunshine ‘mid bare branched trees
We gather firewood so we don’t freeze
As the Yule Log burns so fierce and hot
We thank the Earth for all we’ve got
The deer runs high upon the hill
The ancient woodland is quiet and still
But a spark of light from a candle’s flame
Keeps us safe so that we remain
In a heartbeat, in a sound
In the air and in the ground
Our destinies and where we’re bound
Were man needs hope the dance is found
Like our elders long before
On the heath on the moor
On village green or on the shore
The dance goes on for evermore
We dance in the dark and give thanks once more
For the New Year coming and the one that’s o’er
We dance again upon the Earth
For Life for Death, for Rebirth
|
||||
10. |
Elen of the Ways
06:01
|
|||
Spun from sunlight, woven with mist
Elen’s path is honeysuckle kissed
Honeysuckle kissed laced with the green
And along the old trackway she’s walking
I felt her presence sent in a dream of a storm
And I know her essence is the wilderness where she born
Come run with the wild things I heard her call
Spun from sunlight, woven with mist
Elen’s path is honeysuckle kissed
Honeysuckle kissed and laced with the green
And along the old trackway she’s walking
Early morn, Red the dawn
Why do I feel like the storm is still brewing me
Caught between day and the dream
Be still in your heart there is no need to flee
She waits in the shadows, the lady of antlers
Has come to guide me
Spun from sunlight, woven with mist
Elen’s path is honeysuckle kissed
Honeysuckle kissed and laced with the green
And along the old trackway she’s walking
The woodland is her temple from mountaintop to sacred spring
The keeper of the green wisdom, the gift of the wild lore she’ll bring
Through rain washed meadows or beneath snow laden boughs
You’ll find her there
Find the way, track the ley
The pathway you seek lies ahead through the trees
When she’s near you will hear
The green Goddess’s song carried along on the breeze
Crowned with the seasons, branches of velvet she wears
Spun from sunlight, woven with mist
Elen’s path is honeysuckle kissed
Honeysuckle kissed and laced with the green
And along the old trackway she’s walking
A kiss from the past caressed me last night
A journey woven with threads of time
At one with the land and lands be as one
Tracking the deer as the seasons moved on
|
||||
11. |
Mallee My Mother
06:17
|
|||
Seven stars in the sky
Seven daughters of the law
Seven branches of the tree
Every leaf a word of love for me
Mallee o mallee o mallee o mallee my mother
Mallee my mother my many armed mother tree
Mallee o mallee o mallee o mallee my mother
Gives me love deep as deep as can be
I have lain in your shade
I’ve seen the mistletoe child all on your arm
I have felt your tides of cosmic splendor
Hold me mallee keep me safe from harm
Mallee o mallee o mallee o mallee my mother
Mallee my mother my many armed mother tree
Mallee o mallee o mallee o mallee my mother
Gives me wisdom deep as deep as the sea
I have been a rock among your roots
I have been your leaves all wet with rain
You have looked on me with eyes that know me
Called me daughter, called me home again
mallee o mallee o mallee o mallee my mother
mallee my mother my many armed mother tree
mallee o mallee o mallee o mallee my mother
gives me power, power for you and for me
Mallee o mallee o mallee o mallee my mother
Mallee my mother my many-armed mother tree
mallee o mallee o mallee o mallee my mother
gives me love deep as deep as can be
Mallee o mallee o mallee o mallee my mother
Mallee my mother my many armed mother tree
Mallee o mallee o mallee o mallee my mother
Gives me wisdom deep as deep as the sea
|
Spiral Dance Adelaide, Australia
With a combination of haunting vocals, intoxicating guitar riffs and groovy accordion lines, underpinned with potent bass and dynamic percussion, Spiral Dance presents an eclectic blend of traditional folk-rock with powerful self-penned songs and tunes. Rousing melodies intertwine with tales of Magick, myth and legend - music that will rock your ancestors! ... more
Streaming and Download help
If you like Spiral Dance, you may also like:
Bandcamp Daily your guide to the world of Bandcamp