At the Turning of the Year - 2000 October - HHM2000 (CD)

At the Turning of the Year 

w&m by Anne Hills 
©2000 Raven Heart Music / ASCAP; All Rights Reserved. Used by permission. 
I wrote this in hopes that it would get audiences singing! A sort of upbeat 
"Auld Lang Syne." - AH 

When the hunter and the bull are chasing down the setting sun 
Dissolving in an icy blue beyond the grey horizon 
We turn to feed the fading fire, dream deeply through the night 
And cherish songs that carry us from darkness into light 

   CHORUS 
And we will sing, we will sing at the turning of the year 
Knowing, knowing ... We are a short time here 
And so we'll sing, yes we'll sing at the turning of the year 
At the dancing, spinning, turning of the year 

When the greater and the lesser bear sleep soundly in the sky 
And the seven dancing Iroquois across the heavens fly 
We turn our backs against the wind that drives the bitter cold 
And celebrate the wonders that a new year will unfold 
   And we will sing ... 

When the evergreen stands silently against the broken land 
And the icicle, like Spring's cocoon, is spun by Winter's hand 
We turn to friends and family, and mourn the loved ones gone 
And gather them around us as we raise our voice in song 
   And we will sing ... 
   (Here together ... hand and heart) 

Now the solstice moon is like a pearl suspended in the lake 
Frozen underneath a spell no human hand can break 
We turn to ask forgiveness, and with gratefulness of heart 
Turn once again to welcome in the new year as it starts 

Candlemas Eve 

Lyrics by R. Herrick, music by unknown; P.D. A carol for February 1st 
found in the Oxford Book of Carols. The lyrics are attributed to 
R. Herrick (1591-1674). The tune is from an old church-gallery book 
discovered by the Rev. L.J.T. Darwall. - CM 

Down with the rosemary and bays 
Down with the mistletoe 
Instead of holly now upraise 
The greener box for show 
The holly hitherto did sway 
Let box now domineer 
Until the dancing Easter day 
Or Easter's eve appear 

Then youthful box which now hath grace 
Your houses to renew 
Grown old, surrender must his place 
Unto the crisped yew 
When yew is out then birch comes in 
And many flowers beside 
Both of a fresh and fragrant kin 
To honor Whitsuntide 

Green rushes then and sweetest bents 
With cooler oaken boughs 
Come in for comely ornaments 
To readorn the house 
Thus times do shift, thus times do shift 
Each thing his turn does hold 
New things succeed, new things succeed 
As former things grow old 

The Winter It Is Past 

Traditional, with additional words by Robert Burns 
We heard this song sung by Archie Fisher who says it is a Scottish 
version of the Irish Song "The Curragh of Kildare." - CM 

Oh the winter it is past and the summer's come at last 
And the small birds sing on every green tree 
And their little hearts are glad but mine is ever sad 
Since my true love is far away from me 

Oh the rose among the briar by the water running clear 
Brings joy to the linnet and the bee 
And their little hearts are blessed but mine can know no rest 
Since my true love is far away from me 

For my love is like the sun, in the firmament doth run 
Forever constant and true 
But his is like the moon that wanders up and down 
And every month it is new 

All you who are in love and cannot it remove 
I pity the pain that you endure 
For experience lets me know that your hearts are full of woe 
And a sorrow no mortal can cure 

Forget-Me-Not 

w&m by Anne Hills & Michael Smith 
©1992, 1998 Raven Heart Music / ASCAP; All Rights Reserved. Used by 
Permission. I think people begin to notice and become more passionate 
about flowers as they get older. All of a sudden I'm looking up names 
and buying Field Guides, amazed at the variety. - AH 

Marigold and roses, columbine and twining morning glory 
Lavender, sweet william, forget-me-not 
Violet and daisy, buttercup and lily-of-the-valley 
Evening star and blue bell, forget-me-not 

There's a wind that's calling, from the north sometimes 
And it's no matter how fair the weather 
It wakes me from my sleeping, I'm restless to be moving 
From the place where we lie together 

When I was a little girl, I could hold the moon 
Do it just by lifting, lifting up my hand 
To the sky at night, as I lay by my window 
Just the stars and I together 

Love don't turn your face 
Don't wander far from this place 
The moon, she walks the sky 
She leads the way from you and I 

Marigold and roses, columbine and twining morning glory 
Lavender, sweet willliam, forget-me-not 
Violet and daisy, buttercup and lily-of-the-valley 
Evening star and blue bell, forget-me-not 

Swinton May Song 

Traditional English, from the Watersons 
We learned this carol from the Watersons' album For Pence and Spicy Ale. 
It's a carol from Yorkshire meant to be sung on or about May Eve, when 
villagers traveled from house to house singing, visiting, and hoping 
to collect a little food, drink, and money ... kind of what we do. - CM 

All in this pleasant evening together come as we 
For the summer springs so fresh and green and gay 
We'll tell you of the blossom and of buds on every tree 
Drawing near to the merry month of May 

Rise up the master of this house all in your chain of gold 
For the summer springs so fresh and green and gay 
We hope you're not offended with your house we'll make so bold 
Drawing near to the merry month of May 

Rise up the mistress of this house with gold all on your breast 
For the summer springs so fresh and green and gay 
And if your body is asleep we hope your soul's at rest 
Drawing near to the merry month of May 

Rise up the children of this house all in your rich attire 
For the summer springs so fresh and green and gay 
And every hair all on your head shines like a silver wire 
Drawing near to the merry month of May 

God bless this house and arbor, your riches and your store 
For the summer springs so fresh and green and gay 
We hope the Lord will prosper you both now and evermore 
Drawing near to the merry month of May 

So now we're going to leave you in peace and plenty here 
For the summer springs so fresh and green and gay 
We will not sing you May again until another year 
For to drive you these cold winter nights away 

Goodbye to the Roses 

Poem by Margaret Mantle, music by Jenny Armstrong; ©1995 
Jenny Armstrong comes from a wonderful family of musicians. Her melody 
for this poem makes it even more poignant. - AH 

Putting the garden to bed 
Saying goodbye to the roses 
Autumn leaves haloed in auburn and red 
Weep fire for the year as it closes 

   CHORUS 
Saying goodbye to the roses 
Saying goodbye to the flowers 
Saying goodbye to the roses 
Weep fire for the year as it closes 

Time is the thief in the falling leaf 
The chill on a dream grown cold 
The love that was new when the year was new 
May be old when the year is old 

Autumn is hard for the one who grieves 
And hard for the waiting heart 
Summer's a lover who always leaves 
Before it's the right time to part 

Winter will pass like a sad slow song 
Soon a new Spring will start 
Nothing endures the whole year long 
Save hope in the willing heart 

Away Ye Merry Lasses 

w&m by Georje Holper, ©1989; All Rights Reserved. Used by permission. 
You might have heard this song during one of our early tours. We did it for a 
while and it got nudged out, but the witches of fall brought it back just in 
time. We learned it from Linda Waterfall's Flying Time recording. - AH 

I told me mum I was goin' out 
She asked what I was all about 
I asked if I could take the broom 
I'm going to meet the girls 
Oh, the moon is wax tonight 
and don't ya like the fellas? 
I prefer the girls tonight 
I'm goin' to ride the wind 

   CHORUS 
'Cause it's the girls' night out 
Away ye merry lassies 
Get your brooms, get 'em out 
We'll ride the wind tonight 
Oh it's the girls' night out 
Away ye merry lassies 
Get your brooms, get 'em out 
We'll ride the wind tonight 

My sister is so bold and free 
She asked if she could come with me 
I saw her up above the trees 
A-goin' to ride the wind 
Oh, the moon is wax tonight 
And don't ya like the fellas? 
I prefer the girls tonight 
I'm goin' to ride the wind 

   CHORUS 

As we were goin' out the gate 
We saw my dear old mother 
Ridin' the broom and hummin' a tune 
Goin' to meet the girls 
Oh, the moon is wax tonight 
And don't ya like the fellas? 
I prefer the girls tonight 
I'm goin' to ride the wind 

   CHORUS 

Uncle Dave's Grace 

lyrics by Peter Berryman, music by Lou Berryman 
©1999; All Rights Reserved. Used by permission. 
We are Berryman groupies, and love so many of their songs it's 
hard to choose just one. Peter says this is based on an actual 
event ... but all their songs are. - CM 

"We gather together to ask the Lord's blessing" 

Thanksgiving day, Uncle Dave was our guest 
He reads the Progressive which makes him depressed 
We asked Uncle Dave if he'd like to say grace, 
A dark desolation crept over his face 
"Thanks," he began as he gazed at his knife, 
"To poor Mr. Turkey for living his life 
All crowded and cramped in a great metal shed 
Where life was a drag then they cut off his head 

"Thanks," he went on, "for the grapes in my wine 
Picked by sick women of seventy-nine 
Scrambling all morning for bunch after bunch 
Then brushing the pesticides off of their lunch 
Thanks for the stuffing all heaped on my fork 
Shiny with sausage descended from pork 
I think of the trucks full of full of pigs that I see 
And can't help imagine what they think of me" 

Continuing, "I'd like to thank if you please 
Our salad bowl hacked out of tropical trees 
And for this mahogany table and chair 
We thank all the jungles that used to be there 
For cream in our coffee and milk in our mugs, 
We thank all the cows full of hormones and drugs 
Whose calves are removed at a very young age 
And force-fed as veal in a minuscule cage 

"Oh thanks for the furnace that heats up these rooms 
And thanks for the rich fossil fuel it consumes 
Corrupting the atmosphere ounce after ounce 
But we're warm and toasty and that is what counts 
I'm grateful," he said, "for these clothes on my back 
Lovely and comfy and cheap off the rack 
Fashioned in warehouses noisy and cold 
In China by seamstresses seven years old 

"And thanks for my silverware setting that shines 
In memory of miners who died in the mines 
Worn down by the shoveling of tailings in piles 
Whose runoff destroys all the rivers for miles 
We thank the reactors for our chandelier 
Although the plutonium won't disappear 
For hundreds of decades it still will be there 
But a few more Chernobyls and who's gonna care?" 

Sighed Uncle Dave, "though there's more to be told 
The wine's getting warm and the bird's getting cold" 
And with that he sat down as he mumbled again 
"Thank you for everything, amen" 
We felt so guilty when he was all thru 
It seemed there was one of two things we could do 
Live without food, in the nude, in a cave, 
Or next year have someone say grace besides Dave 

Solstice Round 

w&m by Cindy Mangsen; ©2000 Compass Rose Music / BMI 
All Rights Reserved. Used by permission. 

She who can love both sun and moon 
Joyful in both seed and bloom 
Sound and silence, dark and light 
Has nothing to fear from the long winter's night 

Darkness take flight 
Earth dreams of light 
Fire burn hot and bright 
On the longest night of the year 

The Snow 

w&m by Allen Power; ©1999 Night Wind Music / BMI 
All Rights Reserved. Used by permission. 
Al Power has been a friend of the trio since we first formed, giving us 
"Waiting for Isabella," a favorite from our "Voices" CD. With this song 
he challenged himself to write a traditional sounding, scary ballad 
(knowing that is Cindy's favorite kind). We think he succeeded! - AH 

The snow, the snow, it covers the ground 
The birches shiver and bend 
And the west wind wails with a mournful sound 
Of a spirit lost on the land 

I met my love on a sweet April morn 
When the heather returned to the hills 
He called me beauty, a rose among thorns 
And I gave my heart with a will 

He worked by day in Aberdeen town 
And late returned to my bed, 
Though his kisses lingered as soft as the down 
Strange voices came into my head. 

"Beware, beware," sang the whistling lark. 
"Sweet lies," cried the nighthawk above. 
"False heart, false heart," the ravens did bark. 
"Poor fool, poor fool," cooed the dove. 

Late one night as I sat by the fire 
With the voices loud in my ears 
The door flew open, the flames rose higher 
And a demon's form did appear. 

He bared his claws and his eyes burned red 
He spoke with the voice of the crow, 
"Before this sunrise your love will lie dead, 
And peace you never will know." 

I pulled a pistol from under my cloak 
A pall fell over his face 
His body crumbled in fire and smoke 
But my love lay dead in his place. 

And now, the voices have left me alone 
The birds are solemn and still 
And I roam this wide world of ice and of stone 
To cool the fires of hell. 

The snow, the snow, it covers the ground 
The birches shiver and bend 
And the west wind wails with a mournful sound 
Of a spirit lost on the land 

The Druggist 

w&m by Joel Mabus; ©1997 Joel Mabus / Fingerboard Music / BMI 
(All Rights Reserved. Used by permission.) 
I heard Joel Mabus do this at a festival a number of years ago and was 
thrilled that he had recorded it. It would have been a hard one to 
learn via the phone lines. - AH 

So, now you have a cold, 
You didn't do as you were told 
You went out without galoshes in the rain. 
And you spent your late nights boozing, 
Instead of home a'snoozing 
And now you've just begun to feel the pain. 
The viruses inside of you, 
Are multiplying two by two 
And dance the Macarena in your brain. 
You're eyelids thick and droopy, 
Your nose is raw and soupy 
You ask for my advice. 
Let me explain ... 

   CHORUS 
You need to take acetaminophen 
Or just a little aspirin acetylsalicylic for the pain 
A dose of guaifenesin, plain and simple Robutussin 
To liquify the mucus membranes 
Oxymatazoline or phenylpropanolamine 
To open up the sinuses and such 
Then try to recoup with a little chicken soup 
Call your mother cause it pays to keep in touch 

You have tried those new age therapies, 
And herbal homeopathies 
High colonic nozzles and the rest. 
But those echinacean potions 
And royal jelly lotions 
Have failed to tame the panther in your chest. 
Those crystal packing druids 
Cannot abate the fluids 
That drizzle from your nostrils to your vest. 
The answer it is plain to see, 
Is found within my pharmacy 
So, step right in and be my guest. 

   CHORUS 

Corn, Water & Wood 

w&m by Carol Elliott & Wendy Waldman 
©1991 Dorshire Music / Loupgarou Publishing / Moon & Stars Music 
/ Zomba Songs, Inc. / BMI 
All Rights Reserved. Used by permission. 
This was sung around a campfire at Tom Noe's house in Texas, 
and I fell in love with it. - CM 

I was in the arroyo gathering strays 
You know cowboys and cattle don't get holidays 
And I would have been finished except for one little guy 
Who kept leading me farther away 
I went up on the mesa, across the ravine 
Past the Indian ruins and muddy red stream 
And I stopped for a minute 'cause I was bone tired 
And I guess that I started to dream 
I saw three painted horses, three dark skinned men 
With masks made of clay and voices like wind 

Singing we seek the soul of all that is good 
We come bearing corn, water and wood 
Stop and behold all that is good 
Give thanks for the corn, water and wood 

I'm an old trail hound and always believed 
That your boots and your saddle are all that you leave 
No miracles happen, no angels appear 
But I'd swear three men were standing there 
I shook myself over, had I been asleep? 
That's just three pueblo children tending their sheep 
And they yelled "Merry Christmas" and they were leading my stray 
And their voices rang through the mesquite 

Singing we seek the soul of all that is good 
We come bearing corn, water and wood 
Stop and behold all that is good 
Give thanks for the corn, water and wood 


Years 

w&m by Beth Neilsen Chapman; 
©1990 Warner-Refuge Music, Inc. / Macy Place Music / ASCAP 
All Rights Reserved. Used by permission. 
Priscilla had been doing this song on our winter tour and we 
liked it so much we added our voices and asked to include it 
on the new recording. - AH 

I went home for Christmas to the house that I grew up in 
Going back was something after all these years 
I drove down Monterey Street and felt a little sadness 
When I turned left on Laurel and the house appeared 
And I snuck up to that rocking chair 
Where the Winter sunlight slanted on the screened-in porch 
And I stared out past the shade tree 
That my laughing Daddy planted on the day that I was born 

   CHORUS 
And I let time go by so slow 
And I made every moment last 
And I thought about years 
How they take so long 
And they go so fast 

Across the street the Randol's oldest daughter must have come home 
Her two boys built a snowman by the backyard swings 
I thought of old man Randol and his Christmas decorations 
And how he used to leave them up till early spring 
And I thought about the summers 
That I paced that porch and swore I'd die of boredom there 
And I thought of what I'd give to feel 
Another summer linger where a day feels like a year 

   CHORUS 

Then the door flew open and my Mother's voice was laughing 
As she called back to my daddy, "Come and look who's here" 
And I thought about years ... 

Winter's Come and Gone 

w&m: Gillian Welch & David Rawlings 
©1998 Irving Music / Say Uncle Music / Cracklin' Music / Admin. 
by Bug Music / BMI 
All Rights Reserved. Used by permission. 
Priscilla brought this song to our attention but it was so short. Since 
Gillian Welch's songs are so "in the tradition" it was easy to pair it 
up with "Mississippi Sawyer" which I learned from the banjo playing of 
my dear friend Tyler Wilson. - AH 

Oh little red bird - come to my window sill 
Been so lonesome - shaking that morning chill 
Oh little red bird - open your mouth and say 
Been so lonesome - just about flown away 

   CHORUS 
So long now I've been out 
In the rain and snow 
But winter's come and gone 
A little bird told me so 

Oh little blue bird - pearly feather breast 
Five cold nickels' - all I got left 
Oh little blue bird - What am I gonna do 
Five cold nickels - ain't gonna see me through 

   CHORUS 

Oh little black bird - on my wire line 
Dark as trouble - in this heart of mine 
Poor little black bird - sings a worried song 
Dark as trouble - 'til winter's come and gone 

   CHORUS (2x)