1. |
Low and Lonesome
03:33
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Let me know which way the time goes
Does it go the way the wind blows?
Does it go the way the wind blows now?
Let me know just how your skin shows
Does it shine out like the moon glows?
Or does your face fall low and lonesome now?
Let me know just how your mind turns
Does it spark like flint and iron?
Does it smolder in that weathered prow?
Let me know just how your heart stirs
Does it ride on white-winged shoulders?
Does my love not make you bolder now?
You were once a boy, alone against the grave
You looked out to the waves and felt the hunger for hard pay
Waiting on the day when they could take you away from me now
So let me know which way the time goes
Does it go the way the wind blows?
Does it go the way the wind blows now?
Let me just how your skin shows
Does it shine out like the moon glows?
Or does your face fall low and lonesome now?
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2. |
Falling into Form
03:57
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I sing a song of silence
To the wind who walks beside me
Breath rising, ragged meeting
Tongues riding on the breeze
I sing a song of searing
To the sun-fire on my shoulders
Skin warming, cells are dying
Body offered at the altar
I sing a song of bleeding
To the waters held above me
Swollen bodies, edges bursting
Flesh falling into birthing
I sing a song of weeping
Heartbeat taste upon my tongue
For the blood, and the breath, and the dying…
Always falling into form
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3. |
Of Song and Bone
02:24
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4. |
Two Women
06:55
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(repeating lines omitted)
There were two women went walking in the West
And they came upon a seal skin
There were two women went walking in the North
And they came upon a bear skin
There were two woman went walking in the South
And they came upon a snake skin
There were two women went walking in the East
And they came upon a lark’s wings
Oh sister, sister, you go East, back now to our home
And I will wear the skin of the seal, forever more to roam
Oh sister, sister, you go South, back now to our home
And I will wear the skin of the bear, forever more to roam
Oh sister, sister, you go North, back now to our home
And I will wear the skin of the snake, forever more to roam
Oh sister, sister, you go West, back now to our home
And I will wear the wings of the lark, forever more to roam
There were two women walk walking in the West
Watching the waving foam
There goes my sister who is the Seal
I’ll meet her on some far shore
There were two women walk walking in the North
Saw the footprints in the snow
There goes my sister who is the Bear
One day with her I’ll go
There were two women went walking in the South
Heard the rattling in the sand
There goes my sister who is the Snake
One day I’ll return to this land
There were two women went walking in the East
Heard the melody on the breeze
There goes my sister who is the Lark
One day with her I’ll fly free
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5. |
North Branch River
04:26
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Where did the hills go?
Where did the hills go, my sweet darling?
Maybe they flowed like the North Branch River
Maybe they flowed down to the sea
Where did my time go?
Where did my time go, my sweet darling?
Maybe it flowed like the North Branch River
Maybe it flowed down to the sea
Where did my love go?
Where did that love go, my sweet darling?
Maybe it flowed like the North Branch River
Maybe it flowed down to the sea
Where did that home go?
Where did that home go, my sweet darling?
Maybe it’s fallen like a leaf on the litter
Maybe it’s blown into the breeze
Where did that dream go?
Where did that dream go, my sweet darling?
Maybe it’s fallen like a leaf on the litter
Maybe it’s feeding the new grown seeds
Where did that hurt go?
Where did that hurt go, my sweet darling?
Maybe it flowed like the North Branch River
Maybe it flowed down to the sea
Where did that child go?
Where did that child go, my sweet darling?
Maybe she's grown like a wild mountain forest
Maybe she's grown like the wild trees
Maybe she flows like the North Branch River
Maybe she flows down to the sea
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6. |
The Elf Knight
05:53
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The elfin knight stands on yon hill
And he blows his horn both loud and shrill
And the wind has blown,
the wind has blown it all away
If I had that horn to play my fill
And could with the lad on that wild hill
Oh the wind would blow,
the wind would blow it all away
So he said, you can have your fill
If you do one thing for me and do it well
And the wind will blow…
You must make me the finest shirt
Without a seam or a stitch of your work
And the wind will blow…
You must wash it in yonder well
Where the water’s never flowed nor fell
And the wind will blow…
You must dry it upon a tree
Without help of the sun or a warming breeze
And the wind will blow…
When you’ve done just as I’ve said,
You can come and lay beside my bed
And the wind will blow,
the wind will blow it all away.
I said, I’ll do just as you please
If you could do just one little thing for me
And the wind will blow,
the wind will blow it all away.
Here I sit upon fertile land
and you think you can plow it without raising your hand
but the wind will blow..
Now you plant it with salt and stone
And you sit and you wait for your crop to grow
But the wind will blow…
Now you store what you’ve reaped in the sea
And you say you can bring it dry to me
But the wind has blown,
the wind has blown it all away
If you can do just what you’ve said
You can come and lay beside my bed
But the wind has blown,
the wind has blown it all away
The wind has blown,
the wind has blown it all away..
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Fern Maddie Vermont
fern maddie is an old-time balladeer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter. she lives in the woods of northern vermont (n'dakinna) where she makes music and tends goats.
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