Cymbeline Lyrics By Loreena Mckennitt

By William Shakespeare (c. 1609)

Fear no more the heat o' th' sun
Nor the furious winters rages;
Thou thy wordly task hast done,
Home art gone, and ta'en thy wages.
Golden lads and girls all must,
As chimney-sweepers, come to dust.

The sceptre, learning, physic, must
All follow this and come to dust.

Fear no more the frown o' th' great;
Thou art past the tyrant's stroke.
Care no more to clothe and eat;
To three the reed is as the oak.
The sceptre, learning, physic, must
All follow this and come to dust.

All lovers young, all lovers must
Consign to thee and come to dust.

Fear no more the lightning flash,
Nor th' all-dreaded thunder-stone;
Fear not slander, censure rash;
Thou hast finished joy and moan.
All lovers young, all lovers must
Consign to thee and come to dust.

Banks Of Claudy Lyrics By Loreena Mckennitt

As I walked out one morning
All in the month of May
Down by a flowery garden
I carelessly did stray
I overheard a young maid
In sorrow did complain,
All for her absent lover
Who plows the raging main.

I boldly stepped up to her
And put her in surprise.
I know she did not know me
I being in disguise

I says, "Me charming creature,
My joy, my hearts delight,
How far have you to travel
This dark and dreary night?"

"I'm in search of a faithless young man.
Johnny is his name.
And along the Banks of Claudy
I'm told he does remain."

"This is the Banks of Claudy
Fair maid where on you stand.
But don't depend on Johnny
For he's a false young man.

Oh don't depend on Johnny
For he'll not meet you here.
But tarry with me in yon green woods
No danger need you fear.

Oh it's six long weeks or better
Since Johnny left the shore
He's crossing the wild ocean
Where the foam and the billows roar.

He's crossing the wild ocean
For honour and for fame.
But this I've heard, the ship was wrecked
All on the coast of Spain."

Oh it's when she heard this dreadful news
She flew into despair.
by the wringing of her milk white hands
And the tearing of her hair.

Saying "If Johnny he is drowned
No man on earth I'll take,
But through lonesome groves and valleys
I'll wander for his sake."

Oh it's when he saw her loyalty
No longer could he stand
He flew into her arms saying
"Betsy I'm the man."
Saying "Betsy I'm the young man
The cause of all your pain
But since we've met on Claudy Banks
We'll never part again."

The Stockford Carol Lyrics By Loreena Mckennitt

Loreena McKennitt
Loreena McKennitt: troubador harp

Kellswater Lyrics By Loreena Mckennitt

Here's a health to you bonny Kellswater
Where you get all the pleasures of life
Where you get all the fishing and fowling
And a bonny wee lass for your wife.

Oh it's down where yon waters run muddy
I'm afraid they will never run clear
And it's when I begin for to study
My mind is on him that's not here.

And it's this one and that one may court him
But if any one gets him but me
It's early and late I will curse them
The parting lovely Willie from me.

Oh a father he calls on his daughter
Two choices I'll give unto thee
Would you rather see Willie's ship a'sailing
See him hung like a dog on yonder tree.

Oh father, dear father, I love him
I can no longer hide it from thee
Through an acre of fire I would travel
Along with the lovely Willie to be.

Oh hard was the heartbreak I'm finding
She took from her full heart's delight
May the chains of old Ireland come find them
And softly their pillows at night.

Oh yonder there's a ship on the ocean
And she does not know which way to seer
From the east and the west she's a-blowing
She reminds me of the charms of my dear.

Oh it's yonder my Willie will be coming
He said he'd be here in the spring
And it's down by yon green shades I'll meet him
And among wild roses we'll sing.
For a gold ring he placed on my finger
Saying love bear this in your mind
If ever I sail from old Ireland
You'll mind I'll not leave you behind.

Here's a health to you bonny Kellswater
Where you get all the pleasures of life
Where you get all the fishing and fowling
And a bonny wee lass for your wife.

The Lady Of Shalott Lyrics By Loreena Mckennitt

By Alfred Lord Tennyson (1843)

On either side the river lie
Long fields of barley and of rye,
That clothe the wold and meet the sky;
And thro' the field the road run by
To many-towered Camelot;
And up and down the people go,
Gazing where the lilies blow
Round an island there below,
The island of Shalott.

Willows whiten, aspens quiver,
Little breezes dusk and shiver
Thro' the wave that runs for ever
By the island in the river
Flowing down to Camelot.
Four grey walls, and four grey towers,
Overlook a space of flowers,
And the silent isle imbowers
The Lady of Shalott.

Only reapers, reaping early,
In among the beared barley
Hear a song that echoes cheerly
From the river winding clearly;
Down to tower'd Camelot;
And by the moon the reaper weary,
Piling sheaves in uplands airy,
Listening, whispers ''tis the fairy
The Lady of Shalott.

There she weaves by night and day
A magic web with colours gay.
She has heard a whisper say,
A curse is on her if she stay
To look down to Camelot.
She knows not what the curse may be,
And so she weaveth steadily,
And little other care heat she,
The Lady of Shalott.

And moving through a mirror clear
That hangs before her all the year,
Shadows of the world appear.
There she sees the highway near
Winding down to Camelot;
And sometimes thro' the mirror blue
The knights come riding two and two.
She hath no loyal Knight and true,
The Lady of Shalott.

But in her web she still delights
To weave the mirror's magic sights,
For often thro' the silent nights
A funeral, with plumes and lights
And music, went to Camelot;
Or when the Moon was overhead,
Came two young lovers lately wed.
'I am half sick of shadows,' said
The Lady of Shalott.

A bow-shot from her bower-eaves,
He rode between the barley sheaves,
The sun came dazzling thro' the leaves,
And flamed upon the brazen greaves
Of bold Sir Lancelot.
A red-cross knight for ever kneel'd
To a lady in his shield,
That sparkled on the yellow field,
Beside remote Shalott.

His broad clear brow in sunlight glow'd;
On burnish'd hooves his war-horse trode;
From underneath his helmet flow'd
His coal-black curls as on he rode,
As he rode down to Camelot.
From the bank and from the river
He flashed into the crystal mirror,
'Tirra lirra,' by the river
Sang Sir Lancelot.

She left the web, she left the loom,
She made three paces thro' the room,
She saw the helmet and the plume,
She look'd down to Camelot.
Out flew the web and floated wide;
The mirror crack'd from side to side;
'The curse is come upon me,' cried
The Lady of Shalott.

In the stormy east-wind straining,
The pale yellow woods were waning,
The broad stream in his banks complaining.
Heavily the low sky raining
Over tower'd Camelot;
Down she came and found a boat
Beneath a willow left afloat,
And around about the prow she wrote
The Lady of Shalott.

And down the river's dim expanse
Like some bold seer in a trance,
Seeing all his own mischance -
With a glassy countenance
Did she look to Camelot.
And at the closing of the day
She loosed the chain, and down she lay;
The broad stream bore her far away,
The Lady of Shalott.

Heard a carol, mournful, holy,
Chanted loudly, chanted lowly,
Till her blood was frozen slowly,
And her eyes were darkened wholly,
Turn'd to tower'd Camelot.
For ere she reach'd upon the tide
The first house by the water-side,
Singing in her song she died,
The Lady of Shalott.

Under tower and balcony,
By garden-wall and gallery,
A gleaming shape she floated by,
Dead-pale between the houses high,
Silent into Camelot.
Out upon the wharfs they came,
Knight and Burgher, Lord and Dame,
And around the prow they read her name,
The Lady of Shalott.

Who is this? And what is here?
And in the lighted palace near
Died the sound of royal cheer;
And they crossed themselves for fear,
All the Knights at Camelot;
But Lancelot mused a little space
He said, "she has a lovely face;
God in his mercy lend her grace,
The Lady of Shalott."

Night Ride Across The Caucasus Lyrics By Loreena Mckennitt

Ride on Through the night Ride on
Ride on Through the night Ride on

There are visions, there are memories
There are echoes of thundering hooves
There are fires, there is laughter
There's the sound of a thousand doves

In the velvet of the darkness
By the silhouette of silent trees
They are watching, they are waiting
They are witnessing life's mysteries

Cascading stars on the slumbering hills
They are dancing as far as the sea
Riding o'er the land, you can feel its gentle hand
Leading on to its destiny

Take me with you on this journey
Where the boundaries of time are now tossed
In cathedrals of the forest
In the words of the tongues now lost

Find the answers, ask the questions
Find the roots of an ancient reee
Take me dancing, take me singing
I'll ride on till the moon meets the sea

The Bonny Swans Lyrics By Loreena Mckennitt

A farmer there lived in the north country
a hey ho bonny o
And he had daughters one, two, three
The swans swim so bonny o
These daughters they walked by the river's brim
a hey ho bonny o
The eldest pushed the youngest in
The swans swim so bonny o


Oh sister, oh sister, pray lend me your hand
with a hey ho a bonny o
And I will give you house and land
the swans swim so bonny o
I'll give you neither hand nor glove
with a hey ho a bonny o
Unless you give me your own true love
the swans swim so bonny o


Sometimes she sank, sometimes she swam
with a hey ho and a bonny o
Until she came to a miller's dam
the swans swim so bonny o


The miller's daughter, dressed in red
with a hey ho and a bonny o
She went for some water to make some bread
the swans swim so bonny o


Oh father, oh daddy, here swims a swan
with a hey ho and a bonny o
It's very like a gentle woman
the swans swim so bonny o
They placed her on the bank to dry
with a hey ho and a bonny o
There came a harper passing by
the swans swim so bonny o


He made harp pins of her fingers fair
with a hey ho and a bonny o
He made harp strings of her golden hair
the swans swim so bonny oHe made a harp of her breast bone
with a hey ho and a bonny o
And straight it began to play alone
the swans swim so bonny o


He brought it to her father's hall
with a hey ho and a bonny o
And there was the court, assembled all
the swans swim so bonny o
He laid the harp upon a stone
with a hey ho and a bonny o
And straight it began to play lone
the swans swim so bonny o


And there does sit my father the King
with a hey ho and a bonny o
And yonder sits my mother the Queen
the swans swim so bonny o
And there does sit my brother Hugh
with a hey ho and a bonny o
And by him William, sweet and true
the swans swim so bonny o
And there does sit my false sister, Anne
with a hey ho and a bonny o
Who drowned me for the sake of a man
the swans swim so bonny o

The Highwayman Lyrics By Loreena Mckennitt

The wind was a torrent of darkness among the gusty trees
The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon the cloudy seas
The road was a ribbon of moonlight over the purple moor
And the highwayman came riding,
Riding, riding,
The highwayman came riding, up to the old inn-door
He'd a french cocked hat on his forehead, a bunch of lace at his chin
A coat of claret velvet, and breeches of brown doe-skin
They fitted with never a wrinkle; his boots were up to the thigh!
And he rode with a jewelled twinkle,
His pistol butts a-twinkle,
His rapier hilt a-twinkle, under the jewelled sky
Over the cobbles he clattered and clashed in the dark inn-yard
And he tapped with his whip on the shutters, but all was locked and
barred;
He whistled a tune to the window, and who should be waiting there
But the landlord's blackeyed daughter,
Bess, the landlord's daughter
Plaiting a dark red love-knot into her long black hair
"One kiss, my bonny sweetheart, I'm after a prize tonight,
But I shall be back with the yellow gold before the morning light;
Yet if they press me sharply, and harry me through the day,
Then look for me by the moonlight,
Watch for me by the moonlight,
I'll come to thee by the moonlight, though hell should bar the way"
He rose upright in the stirrups; he scarce could reach her hand
But she loosened her hair I' the casement! His face burnt like a brand
As the black cascade of perfume came tumbling over his breast; and he
kissed its
Waves in the moonlight, (oh, sweet black waves in the moonlight!)
The he tugged at his rein in the moonlight,
And galloped away to the west
He did not come at the dawning; he did not come at noon,
And out o' the tawny sunset, before the rise o' the moon,
When the road was a gypsy's ribbon, looping the purple moor,
A red-coat troop came marching,
Marching, marching
King George's men came marching, up to the old inn-door
The said no word to the landlord, the drank his ale instead,
But they gagged his daughter and bound her to the foot of her narrow
bed;
Two of them knelt at the casement, with muskets at their side!
There was death at every windows,
And hell at one dark window;
For bess could see, through the casement, the road that he would ride
They had tied her up to attention, with many a sniggering jest;
They had bound a musket beside her, with the barrel beneath her breast!
"Now keep good watch!" And they kissed her
She heard the dead man say
Look for me by the moonlight
Watch for me by the moonlight
I'll come to thee by the moonlight, though hell should bar the way!
She twisted her hands behind her, but all the knots held good!
She writhed her hands till her fingers were wet with sweat of blood!
They stretched and strained in the darkness and the hours crawled by
like years!
Till, now, on the stroke of midnight,
Cold, on the stroke of midnight,
The tip of one finger touched it!
The trigger at least was hers!
Tlot-tlot! Had they heard it? The horse-hoofs were ringing clear
Tlot-tlot, in the distance!
Were they deaf that they did not hear?
Down the ribbon of moonlight, over the brow of the hill
The highwayman came riding,
Riding, riding!
The red-coats looked to their priming!She stood up straight and still!
Tlot, in the frosty silence! Tlot, in the echoing night!
Nearer he came and nearer! Her face was like a light!
Her eyes grew wide for a moment!
She drew one last deep breath,
Then her finger moved in the moonlight,
Her musket shattered the moolight,
Shattered her breast in the moonlight and warned him with her death!
He turned; he spurred to the west; he did not know she stood
Bowed, with her head o'er the musket, drenched with her
Own red blood! Not till the dawn he heard it; his face grew grey to hear
How bess, the landlord's daughter,
The landlord's black-eyed daughter,
Had watched for her love in the moonlight, and died in the darkness
there
Back,he spurred like a madman, shrieking a curse to the sky
With the white road smoking behind him and his rapier
Brandished high! - blood-red were the spurs I' the golden noon;
Wine-red was his velvet coat,
When they shot him down on the highway,
Down like a dog on the highway,
And he lay in his blood on the highway, with the bunch of lace at his
throat.
Still of a winter's night, they say, when the wind is in the trees,
When the moon is a ghostly galleon, tossed upon the cloudy seas,
When the road is a ribbon of moonlight over the purple moor
A highwayman comes riding,
Riding, riding,
A highwayman comes riding, up to the old inn-door.

Greensleeves Lyrics By Loreena Mckennitt

Traditional
Music Traditional, Lyrics by King Henry VIII

Alas my love you do me wrong
To cast me off discourteously;
And I have loved you oh so long
Delighting in your company.

Greensleeves was my delight,
Greensleeves my heart of gold
Greensleeves was my heart of joy
And who but my Lady Greensleeves.

I have been ready at your hand
To grant whatever thou would'st crave;
I have waged both life and land
Your love and goodwill for to have.

Greensleeves was my delight,
Greensleeves my heart of gold
Greensleeves was my heart of joy
And who but my Lady Greensleeves.

Thy petticoat of sendle white
With gold embroidered gorgeously;
Thy petticoat of silk and white
And these I bought gladly.

Greensleeves was my delight,
Greensleeves my heart of gold
Greensleeves was my heart of joy
And who but my Lady Greensleeves.

The Lark In The Clear Air Lyrics By Loreena Mckennitt

Trad. arr. by Loreena McKennitt
and Pat Mullin

Annachie Gordon Lyrics By Loreena Mckennitt

Harking is bonny and there lives my love
My heart lies on him and cannot remove
It cannot remove for all that I have done
And I never will forget my love Annachie
For Annachie Gordon he's bonny and he's bright
He'd entice any woman that e'er he saw
He'd entice any woman and so he has done me
And I never will forget my love Annachie.


Down came her father and he's standing at the door
Saying Jeannie you are trying the tricks of a whore
You care nothing for a man who cares so much for thee
You must marry Lord Sultan and leave Annachie
For Annachie Gordon is barely but a man
Although he may be pretty but where are his lands
The Sultan's lands are broad and his towers they run high
You must marry Lord Sultan and leave Annachie.


With Annachie Gordon I beg for my bread
And before I marry Sultan his gold to my head
With gold to my head and straight down to my knees
And I'll die if I don't get my love Annachie
And you who are my parents to church you may me bring
But unto Lord Sultan I'll never bear a son
To a son or a daughter I'll never bow my knee
And I'll die if I don't get my love Annachie.


Jeannie was married and from church was brought home
When she and her maidens so merry should have been
When she and her maidens so merry should have been
She goes into her chamber and cries all alone.


Come to my bed my Jeannie my honey and my sweet
To stile you my mistress it would be so sweet
Be it mistress or Jeanne it's all the same to me
But in your bed Lord Sultan I never will lie
And down came her father and he's spoken with reknownSaying you who are her maidens
Go loosen up her gowns
And she fell down to the floor
And straight down to his knee saying
Father look I'm dying for my love Annachie.


The day that Jeanne married was the day that Jeannie died
And the day that young Annachie came home on the tide
And down came her maidens all wringing of their hands
Saying oh it's been so long, you've been so long on the sands
So long on the sands, so long on the flood
They have married your Jeannie and now she lies dead.


You who are her maidens come take me by the hand
And lead me to the chamber where my love she lies in
And he kissed her cold lips till his heart it turned to stone
And he died in the chamber where his love she lies in.