1. |
Maiden Stone
04:30
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Her love went awa' tae the war
For two long years he’s gone
She’s heard no word not a whisper
Was he alive or no?
She busied herself wi’ bakin'
She made the finest bannocks round
Every day working hard at the hoose
On Sundays awa' tae the kirk
There was a grand young laddie
She often would see him there
Waiting for her down at the burn
He’d ask to walk her hame
O’ lassie I’ve fallen for you
And I’d like to ask your hand
Will you do me the honour
And say you’ll become my wife?
With little thought of her true love
She said she would marry him
Was then she spied the fork in his tail
She was to be Beelzebub’s bride
O’ sir I cannot come wi’ you
And live in dark and fire
You’ve tricked me and I know it
Please break my deal with you
I’ll tell you what young maiden
I’ll break this deal with you
If you bake 100 bannocks
By the time this road is through
He said he would build a road
Fae Bennachie tae her door
Knowing her skills at bakin’
She agreed and said no more
Early the next morning
She rose to mak' the dough
In no time at all she had 80 made
When there came a knockin’ at the door
There stood a man she knew
Dressed in the armies coat of blue
Was her love back from the war
He had returned for her
So flustered was she
She paid the oven no heed
Until she saw the winding road
Came snaking up to her door
The devil had come for her
And demanded she go wi’ him
Although he’d won, she refused to go
And that was the undoing of her
In panic she ran for the hill
And in fury he turned her to stone
And she’s still there now, the Maiden Stone
At the back o’ Bennachie
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2. |
Raven
03:53
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The night is black as the raven’s wing
And the cold seeps in, the cold seeps in
Many’s the year since they left me
Long, long ago there was a fire in my heart
Nothing left but ash and dust where they have been
And away, away they go
Away, away they go
The frost she settles on the web
The doe she shelters from the cruel, cruel wind
Roots find a home in the smallest gap
They grow and I carry them on my back
Now even ghosts are washed away
Their huddled songs are dying flames
The voice of wind through broken stone
Now the wild will claim your home
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3. |
Running Free
03:56
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To see through your eyes
For the first time
The early morning comes again
And lights a window on the wall
The darkness soon forgave you when she saw that smile
Brighten up the dreary stars
And sleep drains from your head down to your tiny toes
To breathe in life and let it grow
To see through your eyes
For the first time
The days brings many happy times
To keep the tears and fears at bay
Wide eyes are looking high up where the branches sway
With dappled light upon your face
And touch is like a textbook of the things you learn
Absorb and nourish in your stride
I will shelter you here in my arms
From cautious steps until you’re running, running free
You are running, running free
To see through your eyes
For the first time
As night knocks gently at the door
The weight of sleep weighs heavy on your eyes
Senses tingle with each new, curious sight
Alive with colour, laughing all the while
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4. |
Selkie
04:19
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I am a Selkie in the waves you’ll catch me
Out beyond the frozen tide
I can see you’re far from home now
Come with me and sleep tonight
I know the coast and I know the tides
The underwater world below
Listen to these words I tell you
I will be your best guide
Once my pelt was in your hands
And I a prisoner of the land
Until I stole my soul back from you
Now I have the ocean wide
The weather’s gone fae bad tae worse
There’s nothing more to see but rain
You’d be best to heed my words
I’ll guide you to the light of day
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5. |
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The stars are in the sky
And the night is fine
We’re captured in a glimpse of life it seems
The lights whirl above like a hazy dream
And there’s nowhere else I’d rather be than here
The world is spinning round
But our feet are firmly on the ground
As geese criss-cross the sky
The river flows towards the sea
A meeting in the sun
On the meadows how the time goes fast
The past a tale of how we met
And look where we have come
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6. |
Honest Man
04:18
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Away from the wind
The stormies come rolling in
With little know what
The morning will bring
A fall from the west
There’s easterlies and he’s holding his breath
The honest man stands
As the salt sea washes over his hands
Away to the south
She’s leaving
She’s leaving
And four months later
He’s ready to go
Back to the mainland
At the end of the show
Did she fall to her knees
When she heard your reprieve?
Down at the shore
He meets her once more
Searching her eyes
For a tell-tale sign
She smiles at him and his heart starts to sing
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7. |
Cùlan
05:27
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One sister she was dark of heart
The other she was full of grace
Seinn sgarbh le sgrios gu’n ribhinn ròn
de’n cràdh un cùlan gu dilinn ‘dàil
A courter came to seek a bride
And fell in love with the fairer one
The dark girl to an old witch went
To learn a sleeping spell o’
O’ sister let me plait your hair
And weave it where the green weed grows
She sang the song and began to weave
As slowly, slowly the tide came in
The sea ran up around her knees
And o’er her waist, her hands and chest
The dark girl watched from a high cliff top
The waves they reached her sisters neck
As the sea came up to her face sae fair
Up came a grey seal by her side
At the site where her sister lay
Two seals they turned and looked at her
As terror seized the dark haired girl
There she fell with arms outstretched
And by the seals a bird popped up
Black as night and wings apart
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8. |
Linton
04:04
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Can’t you see the sun light shining?
Heavin', haulin', bound away
On Market Square, a dream on paper
To speed away, she’ll speed away
From Linton’s plans, with jigs and frames
The Leven busy dusk till dawn
Teak and elm are forming now
The clipper treasure for the trading
End to end like bricks and mortar
Steam bent ribs are carved like wishbones
Brass bolts fasten through her flesh
And Nannie Dee fierce o’er the bow
Melt the pitch o’er coal and flames
And caulk with oakum on her belly
Sails like clouds pick up the wind
‘Weel done, Cutty-Sark’ he called out
She sits like rays of light in summer
And dances lightly o’er the waves
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9. |
Harbour Masters
02:50
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The gulls fly overhead
And there’s no-where that I’d rather be instead
The ships pass by our sight
Their hum a sound to keep out the dark of the night
There’s a stillness in the air tonight
A stillness in the air
For miles it seems that I can see
In the dimming of the light
We watch the rooves below
She puts on a constant show
And the seasons pass so fast
Our high top view like an hourglass
The chimney shrubs and the mossy gutters
The whirling swifts too high to see
Where nature meets the harbour master
On her own territory
There’s a hustle and bustle of life
Where land meets the sea and the constant turn of the tide, of the tide
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10. |
Judgement
02:25
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You make your judgements first
And then you see me
For what I wouldn’t give to be free to go
I have a name, I’m not another number
So look me in the eye
And treat me so
You make your judgements first
But you don’t see me
I’m the one sitting here, at your command
Your line is guilty
Before proven innocent
So do me the decency and hear me out
I’m tired of fighting
A losing corner
They say if I disagree, the court’s my stage
But from where I am
I shouldn’t have to fight
To gain my equal right
You make your judgements first
But you don’t hear me
All I want is to stand on my own two feet
These notes and letters
Support the words I speak
So read what’s on that page
Don’t write me off
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11. |
The Honours
02:40
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They set oot fae Kinneff Kirk
Bridgin' the Fiddle Heid
Armed wi skirts and flax and wool
To keep the honours three
Grainger’s wife and serving maid
The Black Hill looming o’er their heids
Overton stood fierce and strong
Blocking all besieging men
But I am just the reverend’s wife
Tae see a friend through times of strife
So he gave in and let them pass
And they gaed doon the narrow path
The sceptre tae her distaff wrapped
Wi’ carded wool around the shaft
The sword inside a skein of flax
Tied up right around the hilt
The crown in tae a basket laid
Covered o’er wi’ fine brocade
And back across the narrow path
Their hearts weighed wi’ their burden low
A line of men stood thick and fast
But they walked on with poise and grace
Overton he stopped them there
Tae help a lady on her mare
With honours three they made their flight
Smuggled oot in broad daylight
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12. |
Fair Drawin' In
02:58
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A young lass walks along the shore
Free from any shackles
And plants her feet firm in the sand
Like roots along the tide line
The sun sets on the hills of home
The nights are fair drawin' in now
The leaves are turning, turning o’er
And like the swifts they’re gone now
The minutes pass and turn to hours
The weeks condense to years now
To box these dreams and memories
We surely set them free o’
She’s tried anger, sadness, joy
The cogs they turn to rust
But the morning light breaks through the haar
The warmth negates the coldness
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Jenny Sturgeon Scotland, UK
Jenny Sturgeon is a singer-songwriter "who brings together the old and new with a rare skill" (R2 Magazine). Jenny's music is rich with imagery and her songs are bound together by common threads of folklore, nature and the connection people have with the wild. ... more
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