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The Battle of Morfa Rhuddlan

from Root, Seed, Thorn and Flower by Anne Lister

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about

A Welsh melody (Dafydd y Gareg Wen) and a song about a more-than-usually pointless battle.

lyrics

Over the sea the sun is now setting,
Leaving a streak of blood red in the sky
The only sound now the lonely waves lapping
And far above us one lone seagull’s cry
All of the glamour of shields, swords and armour,
All shrunk to nothing in the last rays of day
All of the war cries of the last battle,
All of the bloodstains are now washed away.

Tell me the tales of the warriors and heroes,
Tell me sad stories of the deaths of the kings
All of them subjects for myths and for legends,
All of the songs for your minstrels to sing
And where are they now the men who should hear them
All gone like autumn leaves to rot in their graves
Leaving their farms and their lands to lie empty
Leaving sad widows and fatherless babes.

And decade by decade the memory grows dimmer
Of the reasons for fighting and how just was the cause
Of the men in each army, except for the leaders
And who were the winners of these minor wars
And where are the borders that you died defending?
Where are the lands that you won and lost?
All of the ideals that men fought and died for
Vanished into time, while time counts the cost.

Stand by the shore now and hear the sea counting
Watch the froth of red from the rays of the sun
Think how little’s changed since the battle was fought here
Try to find a battle that really was won.
Try to find a reason for the building of weapons
Try to find some justice for the slaughter of men
Try to put a value on the world and its future
And they’ll give you reasons for murder again.

credits

from Root, Seed, Thorn and Flower, released April 29, 2022
Steafan Hannigan - cymbals, bendir and deff
David K - National Tricone guitar

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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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