Wings of Ash

Wings of Ash

We sisters wake up with the day

And rise in fire to the sun

The eldest burns in red and gold

The second shines orange in the dawn

I am the youngest Firetouched

Awhirl with white and smoky blue

And though my sisters love me dear

They mourn my skybright hue.

In spring we call wild birds to bower

In summer song the wildflower

In autumn cry that coloured wilt

In winter silence soft and stilled.

`````````````````````````````````````````````

My elder sisters loved the dawn,

And flew amid the morning rays

They lived to bask in fading dusk

But I loved clear skies lit ablaze

One morning we woke not to light

But from a hunting-horn and bay

before we left our hollow oak

The eldest said that we must stay

In spring we call wild birds to bower

In summer song the wildflower

In autumn cry that coloured wilt

In winter silence soft and stilled.

We hid inside our mother oak

Our wings of fire wrapped in shade

While hound and horn gave out the call

That was our duty to be made

Would that the huntsmen passed us by

But day by day as if by whim

They hunted in our quiet grove

my sisters grew darker and dim.

In spring we call wild birds to bower

In summer song the wildflower

In autumn cry that coloured wilt

In winter silence soft and stilled.

I knew my sisters couldn't last k

So when the seventh morning came

I told them fly to the northern oak and

Use the sun while their wings still flame

“Oh sister sister say not so

We’ll make it all

“No I shall lead them to the south

And catch the their eye withblue”

In spring we call wild birds to bower

In summer song the wildflower

In autumn cry that colouredk wilt

In winter silence soft and stilled.

The skylit up and the horns rang out

Over the hunt I sore set forth

The men gave chase as I flew south

And hoped my sisters passage north

Before I'd flown an hour out

My flames so weak from fear and rest

I perched upon a white birch limb

And felt an arrow pierce my breast

In spring we call wild birds to bower

In summer song the wildflower

In autumn cry that coloured wilt

In winter silence soft and stilled.

I am a Phoenix of the sun

No bird of flame will greet the earth

The scorching wood will hit the ground

But I will rise in ashen mirth

The blue tinged flames of sapphire gleam

Fade softly from my gentle white

My heart is cold, my wings of ash

Now powder grey in morning light

In spring we call wild birds to bower

In summer song the wildflower

In autumn cry that coloured wilt

In winter silence soft and stilled.

Nightingale Song

Nightingale Song

I was a young and happy lass

Who roamed the hill and dale

And at the dawn i'd sit And sing

With a lonesome nightingale

Will o will o will I be

Free to nest

In the green oak tree

Will o will o will I fly

High above

In the open sky

In winter I was found outside

There singing on the hill

By a lord of great and Ill renown

Who asked me call him will

Up and on his steed we rode,

And trapped within his hand

He brought me to his castle walls

To sing at his demand

Chorus

All winter long he brought me out

To sing for any bread

And silence met so cold and harsh

A palm held overhead

My heart broke soft my skin marked firm

I longed for silence sake

But locked inside a cage of stone

My voice, it would not break.

Chorus

And in the spring the nightingale

Found Nest up on the hill

And lifted up his voice in song

But soon the air went still

Where was the lass who used to sing

He asked the Fox and hare

They said where she had winter slept

Her song clear in the air

Chorus

You will o will you will o will

Came nightingales reply

He grabbed a rope full forty feet

And flew up to her side

He waited on the earth below

And watched her climb by hand

The lord's voice called if I cannot

Have you then no one can.”

Chorus

She fell into the open air

He cut the rope she grasp

before she reached the ground below

Arms caught her safe and fast

Where once a nightingale had stood

Now stood a fair young man

They fled together from the keep

And to the wooded land.

Ch

Now when you walk along the hill

At first light in the dawn

Sometimes you'll hear two voices raise

In nightingale's song

Andrew Scarhart and Othar Morganson, with apologies to Ivar Battleskald

Once came a warrior,
Fresh from the bar;
Reeling, before his king he came;
When he had risen, he was still drunk
And these words he slurred unto his king:

I was bored on the list field,
I got smashed at the war
And the booze has been flowing all night;
Though some say my wits will grow rusted and dull,
I will drink like a mad dog tonight.

The king's men were pissed off,
They all drew their swords,
Ready to beat up this rude knight,
But the king wouldn't let them, 'cause he was drunk too
And these words he said unto his men:

You were bored on the list field,
You got smashed at the war
And the booze will be flowing all night;
Though some say your wits will grow rusted and dull,
You must party like mad dogs tonight.

The king's men were rallied,
They all drained their cups;
Calling for more, they soon were drunk;
When off in the distance
They heard their ladies' call
And they sang this song as they did flee:

We were bored on the list field,
We got smashed at the war
And the booze has been flowing all night;
Though some say our wits will grow rusted and dull,
We will drink all the Mad Dog tonight.

All through the night, then,
The king's men did drink;
By dawn, they looked distinctly green;
Though their bodies were on the list field,
Their heads were spinning round
And they groaned this song as they did hurl:

We were bored on the list field,
We got smashed at the war
And the booze (it) kept flowing all night;
Though it's true our wits have grown rusted and dull,
We partied like good knights last night.

A Riddle

My pretty maid, fain would I know
What thing it is 'twill breed delight;
That strives to stand, that cannot go,
That feeds the mouth that cannot bite.

With a humbledum, grumbledum, humbledum, hey -
Humbledum, grumbledum, humbledum, hey!

It is a pretty pricking thing,
A pleasing and a standing thing;
It was the truncheon Mars did use,
A bedward bit that maidens choose.

It is a friar with a bald head,
A staff to beat a cuckold dead;
It is a gun that shoots point-blank,
It hits betwixt a maiden's flank.

It is a shaft of Cupid's cut,
'Twill serve to rove, to prick, to butt;
'Twas ne'er a maid but by her will
Will keep it in her quiver still.

It has a head much like a mole's
And yet it loves to creep in holes
The fairest maid that e'er took life
For love of this became a wife.

For music go to 
http://www.horntip.com/mp3/1700s/1700ca--1954_when_dalliance_was_in_flower_01_(LP)/09_a_riddle.htm

Celia's Song ~ A Catch

When Celia was learning on the spinet to play,Her tutor stood by her

to show her, 

to show her

to show her, to show her the way. 

She shook not the note, which angered him much
And made him cry, and made him cry Zounds! 

'Tis a long prick - 

a long prick, 

a long prick'd note you touch! 

Surprised was the lady to hear him complain
And said, and said, and said

I will shake it, 

I will shake it

when I come to't again.

Hey Ho The Wind and the Rain ~ Twelfth Night / Festes

When that I was and a little tiny boy,
    With hey, ho, the wind and the rain,
A foolish thing was but a toy,
    For the rain it raineth every day.

But when I came to man’s estate,
    With hey, ho, the wind and the rain,
‘Gainst knaves and thieves men shut the gate,
    For the rain it raineth every day.

But when I came, alas! to wive,
    With hey, ho, the wind and the rain,
By swaggering could I never thrive,
    For the rain it raineth every day.

But when I came unto my beds,
    With hey, ho, the wind and the rain,
With toss-pots still had drunken heads,
    For the rain it raineth every day.

A great while ago the world begun,
    With hey, ho, the wind and the rain,
But that’s all one, our play is done,
    And we’ll strive to please you every day.

Last of the Giants ~ George R. R. Martin

Lyrics:
Oh, I am the last of the giants, my people are gone from the earth.
The last of the great mountain giants, who ruled all the world at my birth.

Oh, the smallfolk have stolen my forests, they've stolen my rivers and hills...
And they've built a great wall through my valleys, and fished all the fish from my rills.

In stone halls they bum their great fires, in stone halls they forge their sharp spears.
Whilst I walk alone in the mountains, with no true companion but tears.

They hunt me with dogs in the daylight, they hunt me with torches by night.
For these men who are small can never stand tall, whilst giants still walk in the light.

Oh, I am the last of the giants, so learn well the words of my song.
For when I am gone the singing will fade, and the silence shall last long and long.