Get all 10 Anne Lister releases available on Bandcamp and save 35%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Root, Seed, Thorn and Flower, A Twist in the Story, The Quiet People, Waiting for the Hero, Singing on the Wind, Prometheus, No Signposts., A Flame in Avalon, and 2 more.
1. |
Cregennan
04:07
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What is stronger than the wind and fights against stormy weather?
A small bird's feather.
What's smaller than your feet, but rises when giants walk past?
A blade of grass.
What ebbs and flows, and changes and grows, but never loses its shape?
A mountain lake.
And who are you to talk to me of strength and power?
Aren't you shamed by mountain flowers?
And still I searched to find a stronger wind
To move the world with what was in my songs
To change the universe with what I say
But I acknowledge now that I was wrong.
And I thought - I've always loved you.
How could I forget I've always loved you?
I'll lean my back against some rocks
Put my head against the turf
And listen to the lullaby of Mother Earth.
And still I thought life was a battle to win
And still I thought life was a challenge to face
But now I've seen the leaves follow the wind
Life's more a flowing current than a race.
My songs will be as strong as wind
As small as flowers in the mountain grass
And move like ripples on windswept water
To touch your heart as you walk past.
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2. |
Pilgrimage
04:06
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Went on a pilgrimage one summer's day
Went on a pilgrimage a long, long way away
Went seeking courage and all I found was faith
Went seeking freedom and all I found was grace
Went seeking friendship - all I found was your sweet face
Pilgrimage takes you to the far side of dreams.
Went on a pilgrimage to save my soul
Went on a pilgrimage to heal the aching hole
Went to find forgiveness and all I found was trust
Went seeking knowledge and all I found was dust
Went seeking gold and found it under tarnished rust
Pilgrimage takes you to the far side of dreams.
Where do you run to when you reach the sanctuary door?
Where do you run to when you know you've been that place before?
Where do you run to, and where can you hide
When all that you're running from is somewhere inside?
Went on a pilgrimage and travelled fast
Went on a pilgrimage to join my future to my past
Went seeking answers and found there was no proof
Went seeking mysteries and found there was no truth
Went to high places and built myself a roof
Pilgrimage takes you to the far side of dreams.
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3. |
Demeter's Daughter
03:24
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Picking flowers in the field, in the springtime of the year
I heard the sound of chariot wheels, and was afraid with nothing to fear
And there he stood with his face like coal, his eyes as dark as a night in hell
And there he stood with his eyes like flames, and said "Fair lady, I wish you well."
They say he forced me, but that's not true - of my free will I followed him down
To his dark place beneath the hill, to his dark palace below the ground
And there he loved me and I loved him, though all the world there was icy dark
We never noticed the light was dim with the bright light inside our hearts.
They say above us the world grew cold, the leaves and flowers began to die
The fruit trees withered and grew old, and darkling clouds covered all the sky.
My mother worked hard and tried to find the pathway leading down from the sun
And long she travelled with troubled mind until she walked where we once had run.
I still remember the dreadful hour she stood before us and begged me leave
Her dress of sunlight, her face a flower, his face behind me so full of grief
We made a bargain and made it sure, we made a contract and made it sound
That I would stay with her for half the year, the other half come below the ground.
It was so good at first to see the sky, to walk in sunlight and hear the lark
But not so good to have to say goodbye to my love down there in the dark
Yes it's true then that life is good, and I've learnt the lesson it can teach
That you can never have all you want, and you never want what's within reach.
The fairest flower that ever grows, grows far deep inside a bush of thorns
And happiness then is like the rose, for without pain nothing good is born.
To know the daylight you must know dark, to know the flowers you must know weeds
You cannot meet again unless you part, or eat a pomegranate without seeds.
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4. |
The Nightingale
04:05
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The Breton minstrels sing this song. The name they call it is Laustic
Frenchmen call it the Rossignol, but Nightingale's the name for you and me.
There were two merchants in a town. One was single and one had a wife.
The single man loved the woman so. She loved him dearer than she loved her life.
They lived in houses side by side, separated by a big high wall
The only contact that the lovers had was standing on the balconies and that was all.
The only contact that the lovers had was listening to the sweet nightingale
That every evening would sing his song. The notes echoed over hill and dale.
Can you hear the nightingale sing? Can you hear the nightingale's song?
Can you hear the nightingale sing and watch him as he flies?
So the summer evenings they went past, and the winter evenings went on by
Till one night the husband woke and found his wife staring at the evening sky.
He said "My love, what are you doing there? What causes you to stray from my bed?"
"I'm listening to the sweet nightingale. It gives me pleasure." is all she said.
The husband was a jealous man. He caused his huntsmen to set traps.
And they set snares and they set cages to catch the tiny little nightingale.
He took the little bird to his wife, a trembling body still warm in his hand
Took the bird and he broke its neck. Threw her the body so she'd understand.
She sent the little bird to her love. Wrote a letter to tell him the tale
How a husband's jealous heart couldn't stand a tiny little nightingale.
He built a casket of ebony, all inlaid with jewels rare.
Laid the little bird there to rest, and carries it with him now everywhere.
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5. |
Dragons
04:18
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I have seen them on the winds of morning
On rosy clouds of dawn I've seen them fly.
I have seen them - their eyes dark with firelight
Their wings flashing sunlight across the sky.
Don't talk to me of reality, don't talk to me of lies
If all you saw were clouds across the sky.
I have heard them in the silence of moonlight
In the calm of first daylight I heard them sing
I have heard them, telling riddles and mysteries
Legends and history, their voices ring.
Don't talk to me of fantasy, don't talk to me of truth
If all you heard was rain upon the roof.
And when I'm sitting old and grey by the fireside at home
I'll remember the.beating of their wings
And walking over mountain slopes, dreaming and alone
I'll hear in my head the strange sweet songs they sing.
I have watched them, landing on mountain sides
Sitting still as statues carved from gold
I have watched them, prouder than eagles
More powerful than elements, strange and old
Don't tell me I'm imagining, don't tell me that I'm wrong
If you have never heard a dragon's song.
I have met them on many a long journey
Throughout a long apprenticeship to learn my skill
I have met them, and recognised my family
Poetry and mythology, they're living still.
Don't talk to me of scientists, don't tell me that they're right
If you have never seen a dragon flight.
If you have never seen a dragon.
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6. |
The Seventh Angel
05:55
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I saw my first angel on the flying trapeze, glitter and spangles from his head to his toes
Spinning and turning, head hands and knees, and a spotlight as a halo wherever he goes
And the seventh angel was laughing
The seventh angel was laughing
The seventh angel was laughing
With his clown's ruby red nose.
I saw my next angel at the age of thirteen, ready and ripe then for falling in love
Smiling, a pop star on a grey tv screen
And his spotlight shone brighter than the heavens above
And the seventh angel was dancing ...
And Gabriel, Raphael, Azrael, guard the path that I tread
And Dedrael, Azrafael, Michael, guard the path from my head to my heart.
My friend saw the third angel clearer than me, kneeling in church with a cup of red wine
She said that his aura was bright as could be and I would be blessed with a vision some time
And the seventh angel was singing ...
The fourth and the fifth angels passed in a haze, all of my growing time, so much to learn
Following signposts, head in a daze, passion in my fingertips, flames have to burn
And the seventh angel was dreaming...
The sixth angel answered my call on the phone, held out a lifeline when no-one was there
His wings folded round me when I was alone, his voice whispered comfort when no one else cared
And the seventh angel was crying ...
And now that i'm older, although I'm not wise, I look around me some nights in my room
I know what I'll see with my everyday eyes, I know who I'll find in the darkness and gloom
The seventh angel is smiling ...
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7. |
Wide Horizons
03:18
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Wide Horizons, and a dusting of clouds. There's no clear line where the sea should be
You fly your kite high up in the clouds. Why should that frighten me?
I've lived my life in cramped tiny rooms, with just four walls and a door
My life restricted in busy city streets. Forgotten there could be more ...
Now we're walking high up in the hills. There's no clear line where the path should be
You fly your kite high up in the hills. Why should that frighten me?
Last night sleeping I reached for your hand, wanted you wrapped round my heart
Your body curling round to keep me safe - you're so far away when we're apart.
Wide horizons make me scared to look far. There's no clear line where our lives should be.
You fly your kite of love high in the clouds. Why should that frighten me?
Now when I dream I dream you are here. I dream you're just within touch.
Waking comes harder now with every new day, to find I could need you so much.
Wide horizons and a dusting of clouds. There's no clear line where the dreams could be.
I'll fly my kite high up in the clouds and we'll find out what we can see ...
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8. |
La Folie Tristan
04:22
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The first time we saw him was at the Whitsun feast.
He came inside like a bird from the storm.
His harp wrapped in rags and his clothes all in tatters
The queen said "Come near the fire - keep yourself warm."
He looked like a jester in his outfit of motley
Bells that would jingle everywhere that he'd walk
His eyes bright with something that you could call madness
But his accent was highborn when we heard him talk.
He had a harp and privately he would play songs of a love that was true but betrayed
Songs that caught at the heartstrings inside us all if we caught sound of the songs that he played.
There was a fine feast, the minstrel was summoned
To play before all of the ladies and lords
The queen's eyes were on him as he stood to tune his harp
She caught her breath as he played the first chords.
He sang "Do you remember the nights in the forest?
Do you remember the cave in the wood?
Do you remember the letter wrote on honeysuckle
Do you remember the parting, my love?"
And he sang "It is true then that love knows know masters
A jester may lie in the arms of a queen
And a madman ma tell all the truth that he wishes
And all of the courtiers will think it a dream."
For many days after the queen took harp lessons
Up in her chamber in the tower so high
Sometimes we'd listen and hear two voices singing
And one day the page boy saw the king cry.
Just the queen and the king guessed the truth of the riddle
While the rest of us laid wagers who the jester might be
And the jester and king fought a long and hard duel
And Tristan is wounded and fled to the sea.
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9. |
Spreading Rings
04:21
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Eternity is made up of little things
Not a bigger splash, but thousands of spreading rings
And through the eyes of all of us who care
You'll still look out, you'll still be smiling there
Time after time.
I can't believe in curtains after all
Can't believe in ending
Can't believe that night could ever fall
On all your warmth ascending
I do believe you've left behind some hopeful part of a peaceful mind
Which glows and sends a candle shine into tomorrow ...
Everything you've ever done lives on
Casts a living shadow
And every note and word of every song
Leaves a lasting echo
And everything you've done in hope
And everyone you've helped with love
Will light a candle up above
And go on shining.
And maybe we can never be reborn
Maybe time's a river
Flowing on past fields of growing corn
Changing shape forever
But somewhere there's a shape you made
And somewhere there's a debt you paid
And left a mark which will not fade
But goes on shining
And if there is a future for the soul
If there is some meaning
We can make the part into a whole
And call an end to dreaming
And everyone who's suffered pain
And everyone who's loved in vain
Will see the world turn round again
And walk forward smiling.
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10. |
Dream
03:56
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For years she took refuge in books
Seeing nothing but empty skies and clouds moving across
Aware of some sense of loss but not knowing why
And for years she would watch tv screens
Easier far to find heroes and heroines there
Reminding her how to care, but at one remove
And at night she would dream of a wide open sea
And herself in a boat travelling on
And some strange giant hand wold push her safe to land, and the dream would end
Then one day she noticed a door,
Standing open and beckoning her to walk through
Just what she'd been longing to do, but not sure she dared
And just when I thought she would go
She turned to look back, and that glance seemed to turn her to stone
She stood there a moment alone, and then the door closed.
And now she asks my advice
As if I know better, as if I could help her to find
Some kind of of balance of mind, when I'm struggling too
She tells me I'm lucky and free
And I'm standing high on this cliff top and holding on tight
Wanting to let go of the fight, not wanting to fall
And at night now I dream of the wide open sea
But I'm swimming, and I'm lost in the tide
Wanting some giant hand to pull me safe to land
Or send me a boat ... or send me a boat ... please send me a boat ...
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11. |
The Lady of Shallott.
08:17
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12. |
Advent
04:21
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They built castles by the sea to watch for them coming
They built houses by the sea to watch with hope
And years went by with no one coming
Years went by and no one came.
They built temples by the sea to watch for them coming
They built churches by the sea to watch with hope
And years went by with no one coming
Years went by and no one came.
And they sang songs, and they told tales
Vanished lands, dolphins and whales
Mermaids, seals, and church bells ringing
Buried treasure, mysterious singing ...
I go walking by the sea to watch for them coming
Still standing by the sea to watch with hope
Though years go by with no one coming
Years go by - I know they'll come.
Vanished heroes, bells in drowned steeples
Lands of plenty and missing people
Lyonesse, Atlantis and Avalon
Where are the roads now to walk on?
Come walking by the sea to watch for them coming
Stand next to me to watch with hope
Though years go by with no one coming
Years go by - some day they'll come.
Merlin, Morgan and good King Arthur
All the heroes from all the songs
Dreams that were and hope hereafter
Lyonesse, Atlantis and Avalon.
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Anne Lister Wales, UK
Anne is best known for her song "Icarus", recorded and performed by a number of different singers, including Martin Simpson and Nic Jones. "Astrolabe" is her ninth solo album.
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