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Lyrics

All lyrics copyright Joshua Burnell

Shelagh's Song

She came from the town, she went to the city

Her hair was long and her voice was pretty

She sang about girls who gazed at stars

Everyone said she was gonna go far

Those were the days; nothing in your way

Sometimes things don’t go your way

Tomorrow’s problems come today

So back from the city, back to the town

She had nothing to sing, there was no-one around

People looked her way

But their words were far away

I wonder where she goes; she never says, you see

Rarer than a fallen star, stronger than gravity

She says, “thank you all and I’ll be on my way.”

She met a boy with a bookish charm

She said, “where you been?” He said, “Take my arm”

She lost her voice, sold her guitar

They put the world on their backs and they travelled far

Those were the days; nothing in your way

They went to the coast, Canada too

Looking for a place that nobody knew

They slept in a tent wherever they roamed

You don’t need a house to make it a home

There beneath the sun, you didn’t need anyone

And I wonder where she goes; she never says, you see

Rarer than a fallen star, stronger than gravity

She says, “thank you all and I’ll be on my way.”

It was just for a while, ‘til their heads were cleared

But thirty days turned to thirty years

She was front page news, the newspaper said

They knew she was missing, they thought she was dead

Those were the days; nothing in your way

They say all good things must come to and end

Even lovers; even friends

She’s pleased to be back, we’re glad you’re around

But nothing compares to the love that she found

In that place beneath the sun, you didn’t need anyone

Perhaps some day you’ll wander by

And sing for us your songs.

And I wonder where she goes; she never says, you see

Rarer than a fallen star, stronger than gravity

She says, “thank you all and I’ll be on my way.”

Flowers Where The Horses Sleep (2020)

Labels

The wind blows many ways on fenlands and moor

But the wind has no colour as far as I’ve heard

There’s only one animal foolish enough

In spite of itself to put labels on love

So throw your labels away

‘Cause love has no use for them

So throw your labels away

‘Cause love has no use for them

The wind blows many ways on fenland and moor

I’ll bet you my life you can’t tell me them all

We’ve travelled so long and we’ve travelled so far

So keep holding tight to the rights you have earned

So throw your labels away

‘Cause love has no use for them

So throw your labels away

‘Cause love has no use for them

Fenland, moorland

So throw your labels away

‘Cause love has no use for them

So throw your labels away

‘Cause love has no use for them

The Ballad of Mark Jeffrey

Drink, drink my father said

Why don’t you go and live with your mother instead?

Run, run, run away from home

With a bellyful of hate and a brother in tow

Play, play, I play Cheap Jack

If they don’t look twice then I won’t look back

Fight, fight, I’ll scare you stark

No-one ever wins when they fight Big Mark

No warning take from me

I’ve no regrets you see

For all I’ve done I’ll be

Digging the stones for the bones of the dead

Dress, dress, we’ll dress in white

Break into your house by the pale moonlight

Bound, bound, we’re bound in chains

Never gonna be a free man again

Snake, snake, snake in the grass

There never was a bleat like young John Hart

Drop, drop, he dropped down dead

Better than what I’d do instead

No warning take from me

I’ve no regrets you see

For all I’ve done I’ll be

Digging the stones for the bones of the dead

Sail, sail across the sea

To the place where they put the men like me

Feed, keep and treat me well

Or I’ll make your life a living hell

Beg, beg, beg fo ray death

I’d rather hang than go back there

Foam, foam, foam at the mouth

If you think I’m mad, I might get out

No warning take from me

I’ve no regrets you see

For all I’ve done I’ll be

Digging the stones for the bones of the dead

Dig, dig, I’ll dig your grave

Just one crime now a life-long slave

“Come with me,” the Devil said

At least in hell then I’ll be well-fed

No warning take from me

I’ve no regrets you see

For all I’ve done I’ll be

Digging the stones for the bones of the dead

Run With Me

It’s like we’d fallen right into a song

When summer days were bright and growing long

A fortress fallen from its glory days

We locked its doors and shut the world away

Ah…

Here comes the poacher with his gun

To steal your thoughts and and suck the breath from your lungs

We are frozen here in fear

And I never know if I’m the only one who’s lost their way

Ah…

They say don’t break away from the pack

Or else you’ll feel our bullets in your back

Will you run with me

Through then valley-o?

Would you jump with me

If I told you so?

Will you run with me

Through it all?

But the fortress has a hole upon its roof

I wish I’d sung it sturdier for you

I try to fill the gaps as best I can

But the world comes falling in wherever we stand

Ah…

A doe jumps up from the underbrush

Leaping for its life, just like us

Will you run with me

Through the valley-o?

Would you jump with me

If I told you so?

Will you run with me

Through it all?

Always count the stars there about you

But now, we have to run

Take my hand, don’t stray

We’ll make it there some day

Will you run with me

Through the valley-o?

Would you jump with me

If I told you so?

Will you run with me

Through it all?

Outside

You hate it inside;

Let me take you to the river

To the outside

If it’s grey skies

Then I’ll take you to the places

Where you don’t mind

Someone better, someone worse

Let’s breathe together

In this moment on the Earth

You hate it inside;

Let me take you to the river

To the outside

If it’s grey skies

Then I’ll take you to the places

Where you don’t mind

Always fall awake too soon

Some old feeling choking you

You hate it inside;

Let me take you to the river

To the outside

If it’s grey skies

Then I’ll take you to the places

Where you don’t mind

Two Stars

There came two stars

burning bright

through the sky

They came to an ancient place

where waiting dreams

lay in sleep

In the dark they settled down

In a quiet corner

Of the town

And all the time that they were there

Music and laughter rang through the air

Gradually like wick to flame

Songs were spun and people danced in the blaze

As all good things must come and go

So stars pass by and leave a trail of dust behind

And as they sail back across the sky

The dancers drift like petals curl at summer’s end

The best of people

always are

shooting stars

Though they may not

choose to go

They’re pulled where only

Darkness knows

Take your chance

this time around

And orbit them

While you can

But when those stars look back across the sky

They see the old town fiercely shines

For everywhere those two stars have been

Music rings and their light is seen

Le Fay

She said - she said - she said - she likes her men like kings

The ones that break and bow before their queens

Home, home, home is so far away :||

‘Cause there’s something in the air,

Something in the way,

Something in the way that she looks at me,

Softly singing poison in my head

After everything I’ve heard,

I don’t believe a word;

Try to run back to the place I was,

Now I’m just a spark upon your skin

Dancing in your yellow shoes;

You could be anyone you choose

Dancing in your yellow shoes

La la la la Le Fay :||

You took us where you wanted with your twisted words

You set us up and then you watched us burn

Home, home, home is so far away :||

‘Cause there’s something in the air,

Something in the way,

Something in the way that she looks at me,

Softly singing poison in my head

After everything I’ve heard,

I don’t believe a word;

Try to run back to the place I was,

Now I’m just a spark upon your skin

Dancing in your yellow shoes;

You could be anyone you choose

Dancing in your yellow shoes

La la la la Le Fay :||

Invisible Wings

The fulmar flies over

the place where the land meets the sea

It’s a fine line in this life

to know when to walk, when to swim

You may not run like the other do

But son, you’ve go wings that others can’t see

And when you can’t fly high, son I will carry you

As far as I can

If only we could see

the world through your shining eyes

If only we had your glee

their words would fall back

Like water on steel

like pebbles that crumble to sand

You may not run like the other do

But son, you’ve go wings that others can’t see

And when you can’t fly high, son I will carry you

As far as I can

You may not run like the other do

But son, you’ve go wings that others can’t see

And when I can’t run, son you will carry me

As far as I can

Let Me Fall Down

Welcome to the team

Why don’t you take a look around?

I’ve got some good ideas

So let show you what I’ve found

Come share your fears

‘Cause I’m all ears

So do you water the tree to watch it grow?

Or do you wait for the blossom, then call it your own?

But when you pick all the apples and feast on the prize

Don’t forget that maggots turn into flies

Let Me Fall Down

Once you’ve had a taste

You won’t know what you did before

That ringing in your ears

Will leave you singing out for more

I’m pleased I’m in

Don’t mind these strings

So tell me…

How’s the view from top of the hill?

Is it worth it to die for? Worth it to kill?

But as you laugh as I scramble and you’ll me to climb

The hand you hold out is covered in slime

Let Me Fall Down

So ask no question, tell me some lies

The giant’s coming down to fe, fo and fi

There’s a tree in the grove and everyone knows

That nothing ever grows there, so nobody goes

Let Me Fall Down

Look At Us Now

Arise, arise, you false young men

Arise, forget your things

You won’t need them where

Where you’re going

Cast off, cast off and set her sails

And catch a solar wind

You’ll get used to them

Where you’re going

Repent, repent, you false young men

The chains will scorch your skin

And pray that God will spare your soul

In the heat of Convict’s Land

Don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t weep, my friends,

There’s time for crying yet

We’ll plant flowers where the horses sleep

And make the best of worst of times

Behold, behold: your home, false men

A spec of sunburned sand

Your yellow marble’s floating alone

Control, now take us in

Don’t take us in

Farewell, farewell to the Ghostly Dunes

Just look at us now

Farewell, farewell, Hesperian Plains

Just look at us now

Just look at Earth now

Joan Of The Greenwood

One evening late

In the dawn of the springtime

Lady Grey travelled by with her carriage and train

She rode and she rode through the middle of the Greenwood

As the birds sing blithe ‘til the end of the day

As the sunlight died

On the brow of the Greenwood

There she spied a young maid by the road was lain

Her skin was bare and bitten by the briars and brambles

And her hair pinned down in the soil and the rain

Said Lady Grey,

“Put a halt to the horses.”

The coachman said, “It’s but a play of the knights of the road,”

“Oh have you no shame!?” said the Lady to the coachman,

“To pass her by in her hour of need?”

The maiden came

Up and bold to the coach side

Her eyes a-gleam of the green of the oak and the ash

Her skin like a rose and like a feather was her footfall

Said Lady Grey, “Prey, tell me your name.”

“My Lady Grey,

I am Joan of the Greenwood,

Left this way by the wretchedest rake in the land,

He took my heart with promises of rings and riches,

Then left me stark to be lost to the cold.”

“Approach, approach,

Young Joan of the Greenwood,

Stand aside, and let this fair lady aboard!

Now worry you not, for your trials and your troubles are behind you,

Take food and clothes and have a rest from the road.”

“Oh whence you ride?” Said Joan to the Lady,

“To the green hillside

To be wed on this late summer’s day,

His hair shimmers white yet blacker than any raven,

And his eyes outshine all the woes of the world.”

“If his hair is white,

Yet as black as a raven,

His eyes outshine all the worries and woes in the world,

Beware, O! Beware! For the fair knight you shall marry,

Is the self-same rake who has left me this way.”

“You lie, you lie!

Little Joan of the Greenwood,

Go back outside where you belong in the soil and the rain,

To think of the care and charity that I gave you,

With jealous scorn, you do me repay.”

The carriage came

To a church on the hillside

There he stood, not a soul at the sight to be seen,

His hands they were white yet redder than any sunrise,

And Lady Grey fell fast in his arms.

He took her hand,

And led her up to the altar

And all his light slid away to the dark in his eyes

In sight of the Lord his fingers tightly fastened round her,

And though she screamed, not a note could be heard.

A gale howled high,

Up and bold from the Greenwood,

The Lady cried as the splinters were scarred in her skin,

The rake took root, his feet tunnelled down through the tombstones

His black hair twined into bramble and briar.

Into The Green (2016)

Sing For The Island

I walked up a hillside, the wind upon my face,

Looking for saviour, a shelter from the rain,

And I came to a forest,

And a small house hiding there beneath the trees.

“Will you let me in?” I pounded on the door,

And a face came to greet me, one I thought I’d seen before,

Then he sat us by the fireside,

And sang in a voice I won’t forget:

So we’ll sing for the island,

Lost not so long ago,

And we’ll sing for the people,

Who are now set in stone,

And we’ll sing for the man,

Who went and took another man’s soul.

So we’ll sing for the people,

Whose lives are bitter cold,

And we’ll sing for the people,

Whose songs are never told,

Now we sing for our memories,

That they will never grow old.

His aged eyes twinkled, and danced before the flames,

Then he turned himself to face me, and rose up to his feet,

He made for the door,

and croaked in a quiet voice, “Follow Me.”

We walked up a mountain, the wind upon my face,

“Not much longer now, there’s something you must see.”

“But whilst we struggle on, there is a song that we must sing.”

Chorus

He took me to a cliff side, and said, “What do you see?”

I saw a blackened valley filled with misery,

A thousand people crying

In a land that they no longer knew.

I saw these devils dancing, cast each other into flames,

The older beasts were dying, though no-one knew their names,

Whilst the minions howled with joy

Led by passion, just pain, no love, or shame.

I reeled back in horror, turned around and tried to flee,

He took me by the shoulders, and said, “What did you see!?”

“I saw the pits of hell!”

“No!” he said, “In that world there’s you and me!”

Chorus

Now many years have passed, since that cold and stormy day,

And that wizened aged face, now belongs to me,

Only now I see that the things I saw that night have come to be.

You’ll find me in that forest, by the hillside in the rain,

And I’ll always let you in, and give you shelter from your pain,

Then we’ll sit beside the fire side,

And sing a song that I’ll never forget:

Chorus

The Smuggler's Tale

A ship fought the furious restless waves

Bound for England’s shore

The Boat sailed with haste for the smuggler on board,

A luxurious mansion he saw.

His eyes they did burn with the flame of desire,

For the gold of the Earl he did crave.

With a terrible roar, his boat reached the shore,

And the smuggler went after his gold.

He took all the gold that came to his eyes,

Fuelled by merciless greed.

Hearing the smuggler, the Earl he awoke,

And caught the thief with gold in hand.

The thief he was crazed, through fear and dismay,

And soon his pistol was raised.

The Earl didn’t fight, a shot pierced the night,

He shot him down dead.

Oh! He sailed the rough seas with visions of Gold,

He sailed to England’s shore.

He’ll take their gold and he’s taken their lives,

For his hands are painted with blood,

And his hands are now painted with blood.

With blood on his hands, his work was not done,

And till he lusted for gold!

As he looted the house, a young maiden he found,

Asleep and as white as a pearl.

His lust for riches and gold disappeared,

For lust of the love of he girl.

Her skin was pure white, red lips and blue eyes,

The Smuggler had found his true prize.

Oh! He sailed the rough seas with visions of Gold,

He sailed to England’s shore.

He’ll take their gold and he’s taken their lives,

But the girl was his true desire,

Now the girl is his true desire.

As quiet as the night, as the waves brush the ships,

He stole one kiss from her lips.

As he turned to leave, a voice he did hear,

For his kiss had woken the girl.

As she looked in his eyes, she too had desire,

Both of them bound by love.

Before he set sail, she asked from where he came,

And she watched him sail o’er the waves.

Oh! He sailed the rough seas with visions of Gold,

He sailed to England’s shore.

He’ll take their gold and he’s taken their lives,

And he’s stolen the heart of the girl,

Now he’s stolen the heart of the girl.

When she could see him no more, she flew down the hall,

To tell of her love to her father.

Her father she found, dead on the ground,

Her tears filled with furious rage.

Her love turned to hate and lust for revenge,

Wild and untamed as the sea.

A boat she found, to where he was bound,

And stow’d away in the hold.

Oh! She sailed the rough seas, her visions were cold,

She sailed from England’s shore.

He’s taken their gold, and he’s taken her heart,

And she’s coming to take her revenge,

Now she’s coming to take her revenge.

The girl crossed the waves, and soon the boat came,

To the land where dwelt the young smuggler.

She searched the towns ‘till the smuggler she found,

Surrounded by his stolen treasure.

When he saw who she was, he was blinded by love,

Not seeing her lust for revenge.

He gave her rich foods, fine clothing and jewels,

For he was bound by love.

Oh! She sailed the rough seas, her visions were cold,

She sailed from England’s shore.

She’s taken his gold, and she’s taken his heart,

And now she has come for revenge,

And now she has come for revenge!

As the day turned to night, she turned out the light,

Seducing him into his chamber.

Defenceless he lay, blind to his fate,

Enchanted by her beauty.

When her work was done, she took up his gun,

And smiling went back to his chamber.

Before he could rise, a shot pierced the night,

She shot him down dead.

Oh! She sailed the rough seas, her visions were cold,

She sailed from England’s shore.

She’ll take his heart, and she’s taken his life,

For her hands are painted with blood,

Now her hands are painted with blood.

The Old Man And the Tree

Said the young boy to the tree,

“Will forever you stand with shelter and leaf,

Waiting for me to climb so easy and free?”

With a whisper like rain, “If you’ll listen, I have something to say,

Truthfully, will you answer me?”

How can the bird spread out its wings

If no-one’s taught it to fly?

And do you expect a sinner to change

If all that you give them are lies?

And who do you think will help carry you load

If you can’t find your own strength to stand?

And how can you say you know who you are

If you don’t even know your own land?

Said the soldier to his gun,

“Why do you make a monster of me?

“But you don’t care; a thought that most men share.”

Said the comrade to his friend,

“I won’t let you die, this can’t be the end!

“If I pray for thee, will you answer me?”

Chorus

Said the old man to the sea,

“Why do the waves retreat from the beach reclusively,

their secrets to keep?”

Full of anguish he lets cry,

“I know the terrible things that you’ve seen,

and so I plead, will you answer me?”

Chorus

Said the old man to the tree,

“I thought that you’d never fall to your knees,

But now I know; another here shall grow.

Now that I lie by your side,

The dim world around us fading to light,

Before we leave, will you answer me?”

Chorus

The Winner’s Side

Tell me, what will you find?

When you go from your knees to the ground,

The leaves all around,

What will you find?

And what will you know?

When you’re as cold as the ice and the snow,

And the shoots that don’t grow,

What will they find?

When they follow you there?

To find some great hidden truth,

Or glory in youth,

Will they know?

You can brawl away, ‘till judgment day,

But don’t cry to me when you’re done,

If the world is still the same place.

Tell me, why will you go?

When there is great beauty here,

And little to fear,

Why will you go?

And how will you feel?

When you have torn this world to shreds,

You’ve suffered and bled,

What will you do?

And where will you go?

When you’ve conquered this land,

And the mountains are sand,

Will you know?

Chorus

Tell me, who will you know?

When you’ve given you’re life for this cause,

You’ll get bitter applause,

Who will want you?

And what will you need?

Once you’ve parted this earth to be free,

Like Moses’ red sea,What will we do?

And who will you be?

When you’ve put all your pawns to the test,

They’ve drawn their final breaths,

Will you know?

Chorus

Fair as the Heather

They came from the hills

and they burned all our land,

With fire in their eyes

and blades in their hands.

Our women they took

and our soldiers disgraced,

But our proud steadfast maiden

slipped out of their grasp.

Fair as the Heather, wild as the sea,

She’ll roam through the mountains

‘til homeward comes she.

The moons rose and fell

and we laboured and toiled,

Our maiden returned

as the blossoms emerged.

She asked for her land

and her people set free,

But still we’re enslaved,

full of melancholy.

Chorus

The suns rose and set

and we fell to the floor,

Our maiden returned

as the flowers stood tall.

She asked for her land

and her people set free,

But still we’re enslaved,

full of woe and mis’ry.

Chorus

The clouds passed on by

and our bones did not mend,

Our maiden returned

as the bronze leaves descend.

She asked for her land

and her people set free,

But still we’re enslaved

by a cold fist of steel.

Chorus

The world moves on by

and we crumble and fade,

Our maiden returns

as the frost grips the glade.

She asks for her land

and her people set free,

But still we’re enslaved

and forever will be.

Chorus

The Search

I've searched for years in loneliness,

I've travelled through all land,

I've climbed the hills and the mountain tops,

And still it could not be found.

I've scoured the streets and the alleyways,

I've travelled all round the coast,

I've tried the towns and the villages,

But still it could not be found.

Still I search yet I cannot find,

Please lead me to some place that I can call mine.

I've left my friends and my family,

I've left all that's mine behind,

I've left my woman and left my home,

to find what could not be found.

I met an old man along the road,

I asked him if he knew the way,

He said he'd been searching for all of his life,

And still had not found the way.

Chorus

I met a drunk and a gambler,

And heard what they had to say,

They'd drank and they'd played evr'y night, evr'y day,

And it hadn't shown them the way.

I found a Chapel beside the road,

I asked the priest what to do,

He told me to sing and he told me to pray,

But still I have not found the way.

Chorus

The road that I seek has eluded me,

I'm lost in the passages of time,

My undiscoverable sanctuary,

Is waiting far behind.

So now I return to the starting point,

My explorations in vain,

Now I cease my search and my endless pursuit,

I've been found by what could not be found,

I've been found by what could not be found.

Forest Wanderer

Come child, do not fear me,

You are safe beneath the leaves.

I come to you in peace,

My brothers are the trees.

Don’t look at me with such terror

and fire within your eyes.

You want to fly, don’t be shy, so who am I?

I’ll tell you.

I’m the one who dwells within the greens of hills,

And puts the frills on bluebells.

I forge the flowers, friend of fern and evergreen.

I’m the one who feeds the fruit,

And tends the roots of oak and ash and holly.

My roof, the leaves, the moss my velvet carpeting.

Now child, do you hear me,

You’ve been fooled by wicked lies.

They wish for you to fall to the beasts with preying eyes.

So take this gift I bestow unto thee,

As you walk beneath the stars

it will guide you through the darkness.

Bring it back to me.

Into the Green Part I :
The Enchanted Wood

Beyond the Misted Valley

where the mountains reach the sky

There dwelt a youthful shepherd boy

his flocks beside

With hair down to his shoulders

his eyes shine pale green

There came an eve in summer time

when thunder ruled the night

Seeking shelter from the storm

his watch was blind

The Gremlins emerged, and lured his flocks away

They were led into the wood

Where spells were laid and pine trees stood

Once the storm had passed on by

the stars were shining bright

As he breathed the evening air

his flocks were out of sight

He went to meet them

their tracks all that remained

Now the boy, he had no choice

fear and doubt were fled

He stood before the wicked trees

that loomed ahead

He ventured inside them, now all alone

He was led into the wood

Where spells were laid and pine trees stood

There he came to the lair

There amidst the tangled greens

lay the gremlins’ hive

Creeping round the dry stone wall

he peers inside

A strange intruder

The creatures arise

Falling back and losing hope

Tumbling down the brambled slope

Far from the light of night or day

Where the moss and flowers lay

He grasps a flower of pure white

The darkened wood flies out of sigh

Deep inside the enchanted wood

Where spells were laid and pine trees stood

A garden within a garden

Faeries all around

Bright flowers glisten

Wingbeats the only sounds, the only sound

Though he was in paradise

it was now time to fly

Before the shroud of darkness

brought the beasts with hungry eyes

He travelled homeward

He’d return on the morn, on the morn

Into the Green Part II :
The Dark Wood

Softly, like satin the sun kissed the land

Slowly the shepherd boy awakes

to the sound of the mountain

The sound of the mountain

Visions of yesterday come to his mind

Of a glorious sanctuary

and creatures that he left behind him

He left behind him

So, to the edge of the wood he returned

His haven to find once again

He went back into the wood

Where spells were laid and pine trees stood

Ensnaring undergrowth grows all around

Wandering carelessly

he finds himself deep in the Dark Wood

Deep in the Dark Wood

A twinkling of silver now catches his eye

The rippling hands of time

stare from the depths of the water

The depths of the water

He reaches his hand, the prize disappears

A claw pulls him down to the deep

Deep within the Enchanted Wood

Where spells were laid and pine trees stood

Into the Green Part III :
The Deep

Dark shadows dwell

In the depths of dungeons made of murky waters

Slime and sinew and black bones drowning

Where the creature lay

One final breath

Bubbles up and out a deathly whisper

Squirming wretches in chains were writhing

Where the creature lay

There deep down below the wood

Where spells were laid and pine trees stood

The beast began to rise

He stared a rancid eye

With filthy claws and scaly jaws and teeth to kill

Tender and fresh

The meat is steady now, ready for the slaughter

White and clammy the boy hung waiting

Where the creature lay

Down from on high

It seems a spiralling stream of salt is sinking

Savage howling and raw skin smoulders

Where the creature lay

There deep down below the wood

Where spells were laid and pine trees stood

The boy began to rise

Reaching for the light

The saving line of hook and twine pulls him high

A green haze slowly swimming

A welcome rush of air

Before him he stands, where the brown leaves fall and come to the land

Into the Green Part IV :
The Dwarf

In the land of ivy green

Where fir and foxglove set the scene

The shepherd lay down his head to rest a while

‘Neath the toadstool’s ceiling beams

Where never evil things have been

His companion hears his tale of flocks and fiends

And so, they set off for the lair

A feather to ward the beasts away

The Gremlins’ only fear

They were headed to the far far far far

to the far far far far

to the far far far side today

They went deep into the wood

Where spells were laid and pine trees stood

Where brambles grow with twisted thorns

And thistles bite and nettles swarm

They came into the dry-stone Gremlin’s Lair

With the feather he went inside

The Gremlin’s scattered far and wide

But his flocks were vanished, no where to be seen

The Dwarf he casts a wary look

He ends this pondering for good

“To see your missing flocks again

you’ll be travelling far far far far

travel far far far far

travel far far far far away

Your flocks are now an offering

In the halls of the wicked Gremlin King

Journey South for twenty days

Through the Misted Valley’s Haze

Travel West and travel high

Where the mountains reach to claw the sky

Above the cloud realm, if you dare

Tame the beast that’s tethered there

Here within the enchanted wood

Where spells were laid and pine trees stood

Before your journey wild and long

Listen well and hear my song

Far above the mountain high

On your bed of cloud

Hear my Dragon Lullaby

Rest, and let me ride

Into the Green Part V :
The Misted Valley

Step by step, as rivers roll

The starlit misted valley passes by

The droplets fall so heavily

The rapid rushing footpath flows away

Through the trees, red eyes hunted near

A place of trial, toil and swallowed fear

Perfect isolation is the enemy

Don’t wander unaware

The vapours move so suddenly

The path becomes a haze and leads astray

Of foes beware, guard your precious lode

Take good care, the sunset is your road

He went far beyond the wood

Where spells were laid and pine trees stood

Trees rent asunder, spears fall upon the spilling sky

The summit is yonder

there where the beast is said to lie

For days, ascending steadily

The canopy of cloud swirls ahead

The path winds up so crookedly

There is no telling where its going to end

Onward still, his purpose to belie

Where the earth climbs to meet the sky

The level starts to equalise

He surfaces and breaks into the blue

Surrounding him, a sea of cloud

The resting place of legendary scourge

Scales are steel, breath is scorching fire

From slumber starts, its livid wrath was dire

In the sky above the wood

Where spells were laid and pine trees stood

Flames fly before him

Fixed in the monster’s wicked gaze

There’s no time for instinct

He then commences singing through the blaze

Far above the mountain high

On your bed of cloud

Hear my dragon lullaby

Rest, and let me ride

The gorge spread before them

The time to greet the Gremlin King was nigh

His rider upon him

Roaring the beast began to fly

Into the Green Part VI :

The Gremlin King

Stony sinking into blackness

There’s no telling where the passages will end

These echoes form an empty void

Oh, what’s this around the bend?

Downwards, downwards, always dimness

Clear before the eye

This is new, a burning blue comes into view

Gremlin King, he’s come for you

This is the place where they all come to hide

Where gremlins and goblins and ogres collide

The walls are ablaze and dancing with fire

A million minions now bow to their sire

There, by his side, with fear in their eyes

The meal for the beast

He gurgles and gargles, he’s ready to feast

He crawls, out of sight, they’re blind in their revelry

The tether untied

the Shepherd boy flees to be rid of his plight

Hastening footsteps reverberate

Putting an end to the frantic escape

The gremlins are following, their lives at stake

Howling and hollering, close in his wake

Out in the blue, his trail soon to swallow him

His burden pursues, closer and closer

the dragon awaits

Evading his doom, the melody murmuring

The Shepherd delays

the legendary beast from rising in flight

Fleeing back towards the wood

Where spells were laid and pine trees stood

Far above the mountain high

On your bed of cloud

Hear my desperate, pleading cry

Rest, and let me fly

Into the Green Part VII :

The Return

Sweet breeze breathing so smooth, so fluidly

Washing over ahead, and the earth beneath

The evening air bathed in silvery rays

Gliding ‘neath stars there to stay

‘till they return to where it began

And circle down to meet the land

Travel far down t’wards the ground

Back home they were bound

Travel far, far down to where it lay

Remain, ne’er to stray again

Don’t feel the need to explain

Let not your perilous wanderings be blamed

See past the risk and feel what you’ve gained
Be not living and venture the same?

There he dwelt beside the wood

Where spells were laid, and pine trees stood