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The album The Lost Words: Spell Songs concludes with this song, ‘The Lost Words Blessing.’ It is offered both in hope and light, and in grief for the losses and dark times yet to come.
Karine Polwart suggested the idea of a blessing that borrows images and phrases from many of The Lost Words spells by Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris (Bluebell, Dandelion, Fern, Heather, Heron, Kingfisher, Lark, Otter, Raven and Starling), as well as from new spells (Goldfinch and Grey Seal). The form is inspired by blessings in Scottish Gaelic, particularly from a beautiful collection of charms and incantations called Carmina Gadelica.
Filmed by Elly Photography and edited by Ben Davis.
Running time: 3 minutes
Email subscribers may click on the title of this post to watch the video.
Lyrics:
Enter the wild with care, my love And speak the things you see Let new names take and root and thrive and grow And even as you travel far from heather, crag and river May you like the little fisher, set the stream alight with glitter May you enter now as otter without falter into water Look to the sky with care, my love And speak the things you see Let new names take and root and thrive and grow And even as you journey on past dying stars exploding Like the gilded one in flight, leave your little gifts of light And in the dead of night my darling, find the gleaming eye of starling Like the little aviator, sing your heart to all dark matter Walk through the world with care, my love And sing the things you see Let new names take and root and thrive and grow And even as you stumble through machair sands eroding Let the fern unfurl your grieving, let the heron still your breathing Let the selkie swim you deeper, oh my little silver-seeker Even as the hour grows bleaker, be the singer and the speaker And in city and in forest, let the larks become your chorus And when every hope is gone, let the raven call you home
How I love this!
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Beautiful!
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Saw this shortly after meditating. Beautiful. I continue to be delighted, amazed, and sometimes horrified by what I sed here, but today the song was what I needed. Thank you.
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Oh what pure beauty!
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