The Seasons Lyrics By Loreena Mckennitt

Traditional English (nineteenth century)

Come all you lads and lasses, I'd have you give attention
To these few lines I'm about to write here.
'Tis of the four seasons of the year that I shall mention,
The beauty of all things doth appear.
And now you are young and all in your prosperity,
Come cheer up your hearts and revive like the spring.
Join off in pairs like the birds in February
That St. Valentine's Day it forth do bring.

Then cometh Spring, which all the land doth nourish;
The fields are beginning to be decked with green.
The trees put forth their buds and the blossoms they do flourish,
And the tender blades of corn on the earth are to be seen.
Don't you see the little lambs by the dams a-playing?
The cuckoo is singing in the shady grove.
The flowers they are springing, the maids they go a-Maying,
In love all hearts seem now to move.

Next cometh Autumn with the sun so hot and piercing;
The sportsman goes forth with his dog and his gun
to fetch down the woodcock, the partridge and the pheasant,
For health and for profit as well as for fun.
Behold with loaded apple-trees the farmer is befriended,
They will fill up his casks that have long laid dry.
All nature seems to weary nhow, her task is nearly ended,
And more of the seasons will come by and by.

When night comes on with song and tale we pass the wintry hours;
By keeping up a cheerful heart we hope for better days.
We tend the cattle, sow the seed, give work unto the ploughers,
With patience wait till winter yields before the sun's fair rays.
And so the world goes round and round, and every time and season
With pleasure and with profit crowns the passage of the year.
And so through every time of life, to him who acts with reason
The beauty of all things doth appear.

Ce He Mise Le Ulaingt,the Two Trees Lyrics By Loreena Mckennitt

By William Butler Yeats

Beloved, gaze in thine own heart,
The holy tree is growing there;
From joy the holy branches start,
And all the trembling flowers they bear.
The changing colours of its fruit
Have dowered the stars with merry light;
The surety of its hidden root
Has planted quiet in the night;
The shaking of its leafy head
Has given the waves their melody,
And made my lips and music wed,
Murmuring a wizard song for thee.
There the Loves a circle go,
The flaming circle of our days,
Gyring, spiring to and fro
In those great ignorant leafy ways;
Remembering all that shaken hair
And how the winged sandals dart,
Thine eyes grow full of tender care;
Beloved, gaze in thine own heart.

Gaze no more in the bitter glass
The demons, with their subtle guile,
Lift up before us when they pass,
Or only gaze a little while;
For there a fatal image grows
That the stormy night receives,
Roots half hidden under snows,
Broken boughs and blackened leaves.
For all thinks turn to bareness
In the dim glass the demons hold,
The glass of outer weariness,
Made when God slept in times of old.
There, through the broken branches, go
The ravens of unresting thought;
Flying, crying, to and fro,
Cruel claw and hungry throat,
Or else they stand and sniff the wind,
And shake their ragged wings: alas!
Thy tender eyes grow all unkind:
Gaze no more in the bitter glass.
Beloved, gaze in thine own heart,
The holy tree is growing there;
From joy the holy branches start,
And all the trembling flowers they bear.
Remembering all that shaken hair
And how the winged sandals dart,
Thine eyes grow full of tender care:
Beloved, gaze in thine own heart.

Come By The Hills Lyrics By Loreena Mckennitt

Come by the hills to the land where fancy is free.
And stand where the peaks meet the sky and the rocks reach the sea.
Where the rivers run clear and the bracken is gold in the sun.
And cares of tomorrow must wait till this day is done.

Come by the hills to the land where life is a song
And sing while the birds fill the air with their joy all day long.
Where the trees sway in time, and even the wind sings in tune.
And cares of tomorrow must wait till this day is done.

Come by the hills to the land where legend remains
Where stories of old stir the heart and may yet come again.
Where the past has been lost and the future is still to be won.
And cares of tomorrow must wait till the day is done.

Come by the hills to the land where fancy is free.
And stand where the peaks meet the sky and the rocks reach the sea.
Where the rivers run clear and the bracken is gold in the sun.
And cares of tomorrow must wait till this day is done.

Let All That Are To Mirth Inclined Lyrics By Loreena Mckennitt

Traditional English

Let all that are to mirth inclined
Consider well and bear in mind
What our good God for us has done
In sending his beloved Son

For to redeem our souls from thrall
Christ is the saviour of us all.

The twenty-fifth day of December
We have good cause to remember
In Bethlehem upon that morn
There was a blessed Messiah born

But mark how all things came to pass
The inn and lodgings filled was
That they could find no room at all
But in a straw-filled oxes stall.

Near Bethlehem some shepherds keep
Their flocks and herds of feeding sheep
To whom God's angels did appear
Which put the shepherds in great fear

With thankful heart and joyful mind
The shepherds went this babe to find.
And as the heavenly angel told
They did our saviour Christ behold.

Thre eastern wise men from afar
Directed by a glorious star
Came boldly on? and made no stay.
Until they came where Jesus lay.

And being come unto that place
Where the blessed Messiah was
They humbly laid before his feet
Their gifts of gold and incense sweet.

See how the Lord of heaven and earth
Shewd himself lowly in his birth:
A sweet example for mankind
to learn to bear an humble mind.

Let all your songs and praises be
Unto his heavenly majesty
And evermore amongst our mirth
Remember Christ our Saviour's birth.

Let Us The Infant Greet Lyrics By Loreena Mckennitt

Traditional English

Let us the Infant greet,
In worship before Him fall,
And let us pay Him homage meet,
On this His Festival.

Let us to the Infant sing,
And bring Him of gifts rich store,
Let us honour our Infant King,
With praise for evermore.

Let us to the Infant kneel,
And love Him with faithful love,
And let our joyous anthems peal,
For Him who reigns above,

Glad hymns in the Infant's laud,
Sing we to Him while we may,
In heaven where He is throned as God,
Our service He will pay.

Be we to the Infant true,
While we are dwelling on mould,
And He will give us our wages due,
A crown of purest gold.

Dante's Prayer Lyrics By Loreena Mckennitt

When the dark wood fell before me
And all the paths were overgrown
When the priests of pride say there is no other way
I tilled the sorrows of stone

I did not believe because I could not see
Though you came to me in the night
When the dawn seemed forever lost
You showed me your love in the light of the stars

Cast your eyes on the ocean
Cast your soul to the sea
When the dark night seems endless
Please remember me

Then the mountain rose before me
By the deep well of desire
From the fountain of forgiveness
Beyond the ice and fire

Cast your eyes on the ocean
Cast your soul to the sea
When the dark night seems endless
Please remember me

Though we share this humble path, alone
How fragile is the heart
Oh give these clay feet wings to fly
To touch the face of the stars

Breathe life into this feeble heart
Lift this mortal veil of fear
Take these crumbled hopes, etched with tears
We'll rise above these earthly cares

Cast your eyes on the ocean
Cast your soul to the sea
When the dark night seems endless
Please remember me
Please remember me

The King Lyrics By Loreena Mckennitt

Traditional English

Health, love and peace be all here in this place
By your leave we shall sing, concerning our King.

Our King is well-dressed in silks of the best
In ribbons so rare no king can compare.

We have travelled many miles over hedges and stiles,
In search of our King unto you we bring.

We have powder and shot to conquer the lot,
We have cannon and ball to conquer them all.

Old Christmas is past, twelve tide is the last
And we bid you adieu, great joy to the new.