Imramma (A Soul Quest)

Imramma (A Soul Quest)

(Damh the Bard)

This is a very personal song, written when I was going through a particularly hard time. There is an ancient Celtic tradition called an Imramma – it is a Soul Journey. We can see it in the poem about Bran, Son of Febal, in the Spoils of Annwn, and many other Celtic poems and tales. This tells of my own journey.

She’s here again my owl, my friend,
I can hear her call.
Her black and wingspread silhouette
Is cast upon my wall.
Her voice an ancient echo,
Of what has gone before.
I climb upon her feathered back,
And through the air we soar,
She takes me to the Ferryman,
Upon a distant shore.

(Chorus)
If life’s a symphony,
sing along, sing along.
Each note a harmony
in our song, in our song.

I place a coin into his hands
This voyage to undertake.
So silent I can hear my breath,
His craft, it leaves no wake.
A Lady stands upon the shore
She’s reaching out her hands
Her face as silver as the Moon
I step upon the land,
And tears of joy fall from my eyes,
For now I understand.

She takes me to a distant cave,
With a door of stone.
A place of rest, a silent tomb,
I step inside alone.
And then I see familiar shapes
Of things I’ve known before,
Toys that meant so much to me,
Are scattered on the floor.
And all the things I keep inside,
And try hard to ignore

My first guitar, a long-lost friend,
A time I nearly fell,
And my Grandmother’s music box,
With the tune I knew so well.
Faces of lovers come and gone,
A glass full of tears,
And as I watch they fade away
Back into distant years
All a part of who I am,
My hopes and dreams and fears

I wake to greet a brand new day,
But see what I have found,
A feather and a silver coin,
Are lying on the ground….