lyrics

Prelude

Prelude

the moon was hiding in the trees
the stars were drowning in the sea
and all our memories were dreams
and all our tragedies just scenes performed a thousand times before.

of all the paths that led to now
so many angles would show us how
this geometry has shaped our minds
where all the numbers will combine to prove that I’m the same as you

so many paths have led to now

The Garden

falling asleep under an apple tree
my thoughts fly away over the southern seas
as the shadow of the church tower dims
to the murmur of the evening hymns

in another land the princess in her castle dreams
of all the other things that once upon a time she could have been
she sends a prayer to the distant stars
puts her forehead on the window bars

and a sliver of the moon lies sleeping on the dew
as winter waits for the summer nights to darken
and the ancient fountain fills from silver-threaded rills
as the owl cries echo in the garden

shadows on the lawn dancing as the night wind blows
now the revellers have gone leaving us to waltz alone
through the hallways of elusive dream
until the morning takes you from me

but now the sun is in the air and there’s humming everywhere
in the meadow grass that soon the frost will harden
and though the world’s left you behind I’ve kept you in my mind
as I lie here with the statues in your garden

and the dawn is only a few hours away
and when I’m gone the memory will fade away
when I’m gone far away
when I’m gone

Dream on the GNER

we speed through our own ways through our own time that won’t turn back
and we fall to our futures like the leaves fall on the track

the rain beats the window as we whistle through the moor
and spires hide behind hills that roll like waves upon the shore

the trees make you wonder how the birds know where to fly
and the streams will carry water until the oceans run dry

the wind moves the wheat fields as the houses hurry by
and wires thread the pylons to feed the cities down the line

the train makes its own way through the valleys of weathered stone
and I’ll run alongside forever until I find my way home

First Light

soft fragile eyes reflex smile white sheets enfold you
so new to this world where have you been for so long

birds on the wing hear them singing for the first time
stars in the sky shine so bright shine so high

the silver moon on ancient boughs in quiet lanes waits for you
to open up you fragile eyes your tender mind your innocent tune

and though the road may be long and the markings unclear
we can follow the stars and we’ve no need to fear

for all the ghosts in the fields and the forest as night
will help show us the way and we’ll be home by first light

Winter Morning

frost in the morning in blankets on the fields where the birds sing hallelujah
and bring the dawn in before the church bells peel and the choir sings hallelujah

ice in the window and on the window sill where the sun gleams oh how the sun gleams
as in a hollow the morning mist hangs still and the birds fly through the light beams

and the dreams that we left outside have thawed out and turned out alright
like the nightmares we had last night have gone now the morning’s light

oh sweet babe we’ll keep you warm safe in our hearts evermore
and the winter will turn to spring as sure as the robins sing

from the hedgerows and all the naked fields in this quiet vale where the clouds sail
over the white hills to where the rivers freeze and the snow falls and the wind calls

hallelujah

Solstice

from a cairn release my soul out across the ocean
and with the wind I’ll share the sigh of all the words ever spoken

through the fog retrace our dreams when the dark skies deepen
in the ruins beside the sea lay me down with the sleeping

in the rock pools along the shore where the bright stars shiver
we shared our secrets with the sea as the moon lit the river

and in my dreams I’ll visit oft and wander through the gloaming
and you my love will be the sea and the summer winds blowing

The Night

bare bound the wolves gathered round as on the forest floor in leaves she lay
her skin pale her fingers frail as in the arms of the night we made her stay

dark now the candle’s gone out but in these dreams you get burned just the same
and you feel scared and so unprepared for the role that you’re playing in this game

and it’s so hard I know to keep on with the show when you feel just like hiding in a cave
but nothing in the dark can grow so give it just one more time we won’t solve our woes by flying away

so quiet now the stars have come out these constellations have led so many home
but they’re light years away from our fears the dark inky seas we sail alone

over the sea and foam bright lights will call us home as the heart longs for the scenes of yesterday
when under the waves we go some of the dreams that we leave behind might float and help the lost to find their way

when all the stars implode and all these dreams erode who knows what’ll remain without the light
but now that we’re here I hope that the sun might heal our scars and help to ease our fear of the night

and though we might still be scared of the night
we’ll be safe in each other’s arms until morning light

(Song for) The Quiet Moon

winter moonlight pale through the window midnight hour chimes in the hall
and as the fire burns low so the shadows flicker quietly upon the wall

in the church the choir were singing softly for a still small voice of calm
and in the bedroom mother’s praying dearly so that her angels don’t come to harm

in the garden the moonlight is reflected from a frost lying on the lawn
and on the cobwebs hanging undetected shining quietly into the dawn

now in the firelight trying to remember all the faces I used to know
in a dorm room on a cold night in december lying in this same moon’s glow

of the children safe and asleep around me some are married and one is gone
as the embers glow dimly through the darkness still the quiet moon keeps shining on

sing a soft tune for the quiet moon