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Demeter's Daughter

from Spreading Rings by Anne Lister

/

about

Kore, or Persephone, the daughter of the corn goddess Demeter, was carried off by Pluto, or Hades, the lord of the Underworld. The ultimate mother-in-law problem.

lyrics

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.

credits

from Spreading Rings, released April 30, 2020
Voice and guitar - Anne
Second guitar - Terry Mann
Irish and Highland pipes, and drums - Steafan Hannigan.

license

all rights reserved

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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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