Herne’s Apprentice – 2002

Herne’s Apprentice – 2002

 

Damh’s debut recording contains the classic live favourites Song of Awen, Obsession, Raggle Taggle Gypsy and Cloak of Feathers.

 

Song of Awen

Awen is the ‘flowing spirit’ of Bardic inspiration and creativity. I wanted to write a song that summed up how I felt about the beauty, and wonder, of the natural world. A song that filled me up every time I heard the lyrics, as it told of how the Gods show themselves to us every day through the world of nature. Song of Awen was the result.

 

Verse 1

See me as the Sun on the mountaintop,
Feel me in the power of the seas.
Hear me in the laughter of the stream,
Power of nature, power of the trees.

 

Bridge
It is you who are broken,
You are part of me,
Some of you have awoken,
But others might never be free.

 

Chorus
This is my song, this is my voice,
These are my words, this is my choice.
Hear me now, take heed of my words.
Love me now, and your spirit will fly.

 

Verse 2

Hear me in the howling of the wolf,
My voice is the song of the Bards,
I am the power that helps the salmon leap,
I am the very first breath of a child.

 

Verse 3

I am the wild, and I am the tame,
I am the calm and I am the storm.
I am the sound of your beating heart,
I am your blood and I am your bone.

 

Bridge 2
It is you who are broken,
You are part of me,
There is no separation,
So dance, sing and be free.

Obsession

…..so I tried to write a love song…… I love singing this song, especially around a camp fire, and smile as the couples get more intimate…..

 

I am temptation, and I am the air that you breathe.
Mine are the lips, and yours is the skin that I tease.
When you close your eyes, I am the face that you see.
Mine is the voice inviting you to lie with me.

 

I am the vampire at your door, please let me in,
I am the fire that draws the sweat from your skin.
Tooth and nail bring the bitter sweetness of pain.
Your love I drink like the blood that flows in your veins.

 

Let me come to you and be the Sun in your sky,
Under my heat on golden corn you will lie,
The Moon may shine but you are the Goddess I see,
And lying there naked you wake up the God within me.

Blodeuwedd

Blodeuwedd is the great Goddess from the fourth branch of the Welsh Mabinogion. This is the second part of a trilogy of songs started with ‘Oak Broom and Meadowsweet’ and ended with ‘Cloak of Feathers’. To many Blodeuwedd is seen as a betrayer, but not to me. She was conjured by Gwydion and Math to be a wife for Lleu Llaw Gyffess, so she was a trapped woman, and we all know that this is NOT a good idea….

 

Verse 1

Look into the water, tell me what do you see?
I see a woman of flowers crying out to be free.
I see a Goddess, a woman, in a circle of trees.
I see Math and Gwydion fall to their knees.
Fall to their knees.

 

Chorus
Welcome the May Queen,
Sing for her now,
For as the year turns to Samhain
She’ll return as an owl,
Blodeuwedd the owl.

 

Verse 2

Stand alone in the tower, watch over your land.
Hear the call of a hunter, call him into your hands.
He is dark, he is handsome, and the King is away,
Gronw says he must go now, but you ask him to stay,
Ask him to stay.

 

Verse 3

She can’t live without him, so while the King is away,
They plot to kill him in a year and a day.
With a foot on a cauldron, a goat holds him true.
By a fast running river, came the spear from Gronw,
And the eagle it flew.

 

Verse 4

My son where are you? For only I see,
An old rotting eagle upon an oak tree.
Come to me young lion and rest this night,
For your wife is a bird now, she will never see light,
Cursed to hunt in the night.

Fith Fath Song

(Words adapted from traditional Scottish ballad – tune by Caitlin Matthews)

 

Google and many sources will tell you that this is a traditional shape-shifting song that originates from Scotland and is traditionally sung as part of a Beltane love chase. But I recently discovered that it was in fact written by Caitlin Matthews in 1978. The oral tradition working its magic! A wonderful song.

 

I shall go as a wren in Spring,
With sorrow and sighing on silent wing,
I shall go in our Lady’s name,
Aye till I come home again.

Then we shall follow as falcons grey,
And hunt thee cruelly for our prey,
And we shall go in our Horned God’s name,
Aye to fetch thee home again.

 

Then I shall go as a mouse in May,
Through fields by night, and in cellars by day,
And I shall go in our Lady’s name,
Aye till I come home again.

Then we shall follow as black tom cats,
And hunt thee through the fields and the vats,
And we shall go in our Horned God’s name,
Aye to fetch thee home again.

 

Then I shall go as an Autumn hare,
With sorrow and sighing and mickle care,
And I shall go in our Lady’s name,
Aye till I come home again.

Then we shall follow as swift greyhounds,
And dog thy steps with leaps and bounds,
And we shall go in our Horned God’s name,
Aye to fetch thee home again.

 

Then I shall go as a Winter trout,
With sorrow and sighing and mickle doubt,
And I shall go in our Lady’s name,
Aye till I come home again.

Then we shall follow as otters swift,
And bind thee fast so thou cans’t shift,
And we shall go in our Horned God’s name,
Aye to fetch thee home again.

Cloak of Feathers

This is the final part of the Blodeuwedd trilogy of songs. When I first began to write Pagan songs I was always aware of a spirit whispering words to me from another place. This spirit was Blodeuwedd, my muse. This song tells of how Blodeuwedd visits a mortal human, and how his love set her free from the curse set upon her by Gwydion, the enchanter.

 

Verse 1

Owl at my window,
Calling from the tree,
I hear our voice in the cool moonlight,
Do you sing those words for me?
To me they sound so empty,
Why do you sound so sad?
As you tell me of the things you’ve seen,
And the home that you once had.

 

Chorus 1
Beyond the mist of myth and legend
In a place not far from here,
Beneath the stones on the hill,
I want to see you land,
And I wonder if I’ll ever, understand.

 

Verse 2

The owl she told me,
Of her home within the hill.
Of the wonder, and the magic land,
That lies within there still.
But a curse it follows lifetimes,
And it took away her skin,
For the words of a wicked man,
Made birds of her kin.

 

Verse 3

Owl of the nighttime,
Owl of the sky.
Spread now your ghost-white wings,
And on your back I’ll fly.
Over the forest,
To the Hollow Hill of Stones,
Land there within the ring,
And call for your home.

 

Chorus 2
Beyond the mist of myth and legend
In a place not far from here,
Beneath the stones on the hill,
I want to see you home,

Give me a Cloak of Feathers so I’ll never be alone.

 

And the mists they part as through we fly,
In my Cloak of Feathers,
The owl and I.
Birds fill the trees in this wonderland,
And an ancient curse is broken,
By the love of a mortal man.

Gently Johnny

Raggle Taggle Gypsies

(Traditional)

 

There were three young gypsies come to our hall door,
They came brave and boldly-o
And one sang high and the other sang low,
And the other sang the Raggle Taggle Gypsy-o

 

Well it was upstairs downstairs the lady went
Put on her suit of leather-o
And there was a cry from around the door,
She’s away with the Raggle Taggle Gypsy-o

 

It was late that night when the Lord came in,
Enquiring for his Lady-o
And the servant girl she said to the Lord,
She’s away with the Raggle Taggle Gypsy-o

 

Then saddle for me my milk-white steed,
My big horse is not speedy-o,
Tonight I’ll ride, to seek my bride,
She’s away with the Raggle Taggle Gypsy-o

 

Well he rode east, and he rode west,
He rode north and south also,
Until he came to a wide open plane,
That’s where he spied his Lady-o.

 

How could you leave your house and your land?
How could you leave your money-o?
How could you leave your newly-wedded Lord,
All for the Raggle Taggle Gypsy-o?

 

Well what care I for my house and my land?
What do I care for money-o?
I’d rather have a kiss from a yellow gypsy’s lips,
I’m away with the Raggle Taggle Gypsy-o

 

How could you leave your house and your land?
How could you leave your money-o?
How could you leave your newly-wedded Lord,
All for the Raggle Taggle Gypsy-o?

 

Well what care I for my house and my land?
What do I care for money-o?
Tonight I’ll lie in a wide open field,
In the arms of my Raggle Taggle Gypsy-o

Lughnasadh

I really wanted to write a ‘foot-stomper’ for old John Barleycorn. So this song tells the story of the Corn King, from birth, to death, to rebirth.

 

Verse 1

Feel me sleep beneath your feet
While the year is waning,
And all about you the bare fingers plead
And reach towards the sky,
A crown of thorns about my head,
When the dark is rising,
And from the shadows walks a God, a seed,
A hope for brand new life.

 

Bridge
Can you hear the Spirits of the Earth can you?
Can you hear the Spirits of the Earth can you?
Can you hear the Spirits of the Earth?
Can you hear them call, can you hear them sing?

 

Chorus
Lughnasadh! Is the life and the death of the Corn King,
Life and rebirth of the Corn King!
Lughnasadh! Is the life and the death of the Corn King,
Life and rebirth of the Corn King!

 

Verse 2

I turn my green face to the Sun,
As the year is waxing,
And all about animals call my name
In forest and in sky.
My horns of velvet reflect the Moon,
Silver wheel of my Lady,
She comes towards me as the May reveals
Her White and virgin skin.

 

Verse 3

I turn my gold face to the Sun
As the year is waning,
The time has come now for my life to end
As metal rubs on stone,
She comes towards me across the fields,
Chariot’s wheels a-blazing,
Her hair on fire, cut me crush me, bake me,
Eat me, I am yours.

Pipes of Pan

The idea for this song came about while I was driving across Dartmoor, and having to quickly avoid some of the local drivers. I began to wonder how long you had to live in a place before you stopped seeing the beauty that surrounded you. Before the journey stopped mattering, and the arrival was all that existed…

 

Verse 1

Can you hear the distant thunder?
Can you see the Moon in the sky?
I can see a full horizon, the Sun raising his eye.
Arms lifted to greet the dawn,
As fiery eyes of wisdom shine,
A father dead, a Son of Suns,
A tear wiped away with a smile.

 

Chorus
All of my life I have seen many offerings,
To the Gods and all the wonder that they hold.
But how many people really can, hear the pipes of Pan?
As they sound across our sacred land of old.

 

Verse 2

I can see a cloven hoof falling,
On the bare skin of the Earth.
I can see life returning, feel the triple One’s rebirth.
Golden light dapples across the woodland,
As the Piper dances and plays his tune.
Herne the Hunter, Horned One,
Spirit of Man to the Moon.

 

Verse 3

Can you hear the pipes of Pan
On the warm Summer breeze?
If you can, can you feel him deep within you
As he penetrates the land?
May blossom to the bee,
The nectar of love is on her skin.
Heat returns as passions rise
And Beltane’s dance begins, once again.

Learning to Fly

I wrote this song doing exactly as the lyrics tell – looking out of my window, watching the seagulls and wishing I could be that free. This is a real ‘standing on the platform with your suitcases’ song.

 

Verse 1

As I look out of my window,
I see the birds in the sky,
How I wish that I could be them,
So I could fly far away.

 

Chorus
Far away would I fly,
And I’d never look back to where I’ve been,
I never plan on being there again.
And the world keeps turning,
So I think I’ll just fly on and when I land,
I’ll dust myself off and start again.

 

Verse 2

So much has gone behind me,
And so much more lies ahead,
If I could look into the future?
Don’t think I would, is what I said.

 

Verse 3

So look out of your window,
Can you see the birds in the sky?
Do youwish that you could be them,
So you could fly far away?

The Selkie

The story of a man who feels trapped by his life, and yearns to see freedom and love walking towards him through the waves.

 

Verse 1

Watch the ocean rolling in,
Moonlight tripping off the waves,
Along the bays.
Like a mirror between the worlds,
I catch the reflection of a star,
But it slips through my fingers.
Then out from the water,
From out of the waves,
Two eyes are looking at me.

 

Chorus 1
Oh, I want to go to the sea again,
Oh, where the Selkies dance and I don’t feel alone.
Oh, I want to go to the sea again.

 

Verse 2

Water dripping from flowing hair,
White horses gallop upon the shore,
Then canter once more,
Leave your skin upon the beach,
Free your mind and dance with me.
Within the sea.
I turn back to look at the places I know,
But my Selkie Woman calls to me,
And I go.

 

Verse 3

So I run into the waves,
where my Selkie is waiting for me,
And together we swim.
She takes me into her world,
Where I am her King and she is my Queen,
I have always lived here.
What could awake me from out of this sleep,
Could that be the dawning Sun?
No, No!

 

Chorus 2
Oh, I want to go to the sea again,
Oh, where the Selkies dance and I don’t feel alone.
Tonight I’ll go down to the sea again.

Winds of Change

This is a song of hope.

 

Verse 1

Feel the Winds of Change blow around your head,
And slowly they disappear, leaving a single thread,
You walk along this road to see where it leads,
To trouble or a brand-new day,
The future is there to take.

 

Chorus
Spread your wings,
Live your life, can you hear me?
Set you Spirit free, and live your life, can you hear me,
Calling your name?

 

Verse 2

And though the Mists of Time, they cloud your view,
With one breath of life,
You can see where the path leads you.
You walk along this road to see what you find,
Those burdens on your back aren’t yours,
You can leave them all behind.

 

Verse 3

The voice inside of your head is the Spirit of the Land,
So come and walk the Ancient Ways,
Reach out and take my hand.
You’ve walked this Path before
But you’ve never felt it so strong,
So let your heart be free,
Right here is where you belong!