1. |
Lammas Fair
03:59
|
|||
The wind blows through
The Hitching Stone
And sounds for Lammas Fair
We’ll bless the grain
And burn the wheel
Breathe the harvest air
The site we camp
Will blur the lines
From the red rose
To the white
Send out smoke to the parting sky
On a waning summer’s night
The sound of hooves
Upon the lanes
Will echo across the moor
And so we gamble
Make our claim
On the racing of the horse
So take the road
From Buckstone gate
And over Cowling hill
For Lammas Fair
Will mark the time
Of the new grain and the mill
|
||||
2. |
Return to the Sky
02:42
|
|||
In the valley spills
The running of the hills
The rain has left it’s scar upon the ground
Flow into the town
Below and overground
Drain the glass you held in your hand
And wait for passing clouds
To stop you in their shroud
Halt you on your way across the land
It’ll be a long way around
Since falling to the ground
To make your way back up towards the sky
The Winter never came
And Summer cried for rain
But seas are rising faster by the year
And away into the North
A frozen land has thawed
The water here was never meant to run
So cycle and spin
With no end you can’t begin
We’ll see you as you make your way around
Return to the sky
Disappear as you fly
And fall again tomorrow just the same
|
||||
3. |
Travelling for a Living
04:04
|
|||
Well the ground it is cold now
The harvest is done
We’ll move with the seasons
Rise with the sun
And we’ll walk to the town
For to see out the year
We’ll starve in the lanes
If we try to stay here
With our scythes we cut wheat
In the cruel August sun
We moved on to crops when
The scything was done
And we dug in your ground
For the root crops and leeks
Breaking our backs boys
For ten bob a week
We’ll toil the next year
Just the same as before
Though travelling people
We always stay poor
And we’re welcome to camp
When there’s jobs to be done
But when the work’s over
It’s get up move along
It’s the same for all those
Who have left their own lands
Travelled to work here
Offered their hands
Though the skills they are needed
There’s those who complain
It’s a deep rooted illness
A national shame
|
||||
4. |
Fools Gold
04:31
|
|||
Spending your days
You’re wasting away
You’ve been looking for fools gold
Chasing the line
And all of this time
You’ve been looking for fools gold
Up at the top of the hill
You look around for the life you sold
Down with your head in the well
You’re getting tired and growing old
You left yourself blind
With nothing to find
You’ve been looking for fools gold
Deeper you fall
Believe in it all
You’ve been looking for fools gold
All of your love it has gone
You look around for the life you sold
Run from the glare of the sun
You’re getting tired and growing old
Trap and ensnare
Pretending to care
You’ve been looking for Fools Gold
Keep them in line
You never were kind
When you were looking for fools gold
Up at the top of the hill
You look around for the life you sold
Down with your head in the well
You’re getting tired and growing old
|
||||
5. |
Blackthorn
04:01
|
|||
6. |
Death and the Lady
03:40
|
|||
As I was walking one day one day
I met an aged man all on the way
His head was bald and his beard was grey
His clothing made of the cold earth and clay
His clothing made of the cold earth and clay
I said old man what man are you
What country do you belong unto
My name is death have you not heard of me
All kings and princes bow down unto me
And you fair maid must come along with me
Oh I’ll give you gold I’ll give you pearls
I’ll give you costly rich robes to wear
If you will spare me but one little while
And give me time my life for to mend
And give me time my life to amend
Oh I want no gold I want no pearls
I want no costly rich robes to wear
I will not spare but one little while
Or give you time your life for to amend
Give you time your life to amend
In six months time this fair maid died
Let this be put on my tombstone she cried
Here lies a poor distressed maid
Who in her blooms she was led astray
Her clothing made of the cold earth and clay
Her clothing made of the cold earth and clay
|
||||
7. |
Nine Herbs Charm
04:17
|
|||
Nine herbs charm recite the spell
Nine herbs charm will serve you well
Against all poison of the land
That takes your mind and binds your hand
Binds your hands
Nine herbs charm will heal your soul
Nine herbs charm prepare the bowl
Strip the leaves from off the stalk
The face of death will never talk
Will never talk
Take the mugwort leaves combined
With fennel mayweed cress and thyme
Three times whisper Woden’s word
Taste the magic take the herbs
Take the herbs
|
||||
8. |
Given Time
04:45
|
|||
We’ll try and find what they call
A basic grasp of understanding
For right now all I seem to recall
Are the basic modes of new distraction
It’s seeming harder to hold back the flow
This endless stream of information
Meanwhile our anxiety grows
From all these ways of interaction
Given time we’ll try
Given time we’ll find
A clarity of mind
Step into our lives
There’s seldom time to question our own
Well worn path or new direction
But look beyond the surface we’re shown
To the place we’re all too scared to mention
Given time we’ll try
Given time we’ll find
A clarity of mind
Step into our lives
|
||||
9. |
The Brisk Lad
05:21
|
|||
Oh I am a brisk lad and my fortune is quite bad
In fact it is wondrous poor
And it’s I do intend my fortune to mend
And I’ll build me a house down on the moors my brave boys
And I’ll build me a house down on the moors
My father he keeps fat oxen and sheep
And a neat little nag on the downs
And in the middle of the night when the moon does shine bright
There’s a wonder of jobs to be done my brave boys
Oh there’s a wonder of jobs to be done
So it’s I’ll roam around on some other man’s ground
And take a fat Ewe from his pack
And with the aid of my knife I’ll shorten it’s life
Carry it home on my back my brave boys
Oh Ill carry it home on my back
My children shall pull the skin from the wool
And I’ll carve it up to the bones
And when the constable do come I’ll stand there with my gun
Swear all I have is my own my brave boys
Swear all I have is my own
|
||||
10. |
Coming of the Spring
03:26
|
|||
Intuition brought me here
I supposed you wouldn’t mind
We’ll take the road for hours
But I had to much time
And you might leave the table
But I won’t leave the wine
I won’t leave the wine
Belief it took me there
Blown in by the wind
A chance for conversation
A time to hear you sing
The changes of the weather
The coming of the spring
The coming of the spring
With a winter spent in words
Writing of the lines
A new beat inspiration was never far behind
A meeting of two worlds and
A joining of the minds
Joining of the minds
|
Henry Parker Leeds, UK
Henry Parker's contemporary take on folk, which he explores via thoughtful yet deeply accomplished guitar playing, unfurls
and moves much like the landscape itself - mirroring the unpredictable, yet beautifully flowing, rolling hills and valleys of his hometown, the Aire Valley in West Yorkshire.
RnR Magazine - ★★★★★
Shindig! Magazine -★★★★
"guitar virtuosity and confident song-craft"
... more
Streaming and Download help
Henry Parker recommends:
If you like Henry Parker, you may also like:
Bandcamp Daily your guide to the world of Bandcamp