A traditional-style folk song in honour of the sea - with a dark, fairy-tale twist.
Lyrics and production: Somhairle Kelly
Music and vocals: Elly Hadaway
|
The fourth song from my 2015 EP, "Tell Me Where the Ocean Went". Somhairle and I love living in Derby in many respects, but it's as far from the sea as it's possible to get while living in mainland Britain, and we miss it! Selkies (or silkies) are mythological creatures who live as seals in the sea but shed their skins to become human on land. In many stories about them, someone steals their skins, exiling them from their home element.
|
1. If I was a turn-stone,
I'd hop along the shore,
I'd pick and pry and lift up stones,
And never wish for more.
2. If I was a seagull,
I'd circle and I'd dive,
I'd preen and I would swagger round,
The proudest bird alive.
3. If I was a stormcloud,
I'd shout and boom and sing,
I'd plant my fleeting glory-trees,
And love the light they bring.
4. If I was a lighthouse,
I'd shine so gleaming bright,
For every sailor's my dear love,
To come home safe tonight.
5. If I was a seal,
I'd tumble and I'd play,
I'd love the rough and dancing waves,
And every stormy day.
6. If I was a limpet,
I'd cling so very tight,
I'd never leave my homely rock,
But hold with all my might.
7. If I was a wave, now,
I'd dance on black-rock sand,
I'd jump and splash and ramble round,
And court the lovely land.
8. If I was a cliffside,
I'd crumble and I'd fall,
For when the waves come out to play,
Then who would stand so tall?
9. If I was a boulder,
I'd call and call the sea,
For every wave that touches land,
It takes a part of me.
10. If I was a selkie,
I'd harrow every beach,
For someone took my skin away,
And left it out of reach.
x |
|
 |
|