Music Etcetera

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  • The Parade / Flag Day

    2/15/2026

    https://mbouchard.com/FAWM/The_Parade.mp3

    Gather at windows 

    Watch the parade

    Starting with sirens

    Ending with flag

    Here come all the pat’riot feet

    Cross enameled plain

    Defending each halcyon sky

    Of our brave domain.

    Sing the chorus

    Count the stars

    Count the ones who

    Count as ours

    As they march along

    March along

    March along

    Those are dancers all in black

    Their batons tightly gripped 

    with no slack

    Rifle choreography 

    Is what you’re supposed to see

    So block the street 

    Wave the flag in

    Paramilitary drag

    Gather at windows 

    Watch the parade

    Starting with sirens

    Ending with flags

    Here come all the pat’riot feet

    Cross the enameled plain

    Defending each halcyon sky

    Of our brave domain.

    Sing the chorus

    Count the stars

    Count the ones who

    Count as ours

    As they march along

    March along

    March along

    They have magicians

    Of great skill

    Masters of deception

    It’s a thrill!

    They will make you laugh to tears

    While your neighbor disappears

    So block the street

    Wave the flag

    So they do not lollygag

    Pull the masks down to 

    show their face

    It’s the same – they come from

    One bland base

    They don’t care where they tread

    Lawns and people left for dead

    So block the street

    Wave the flag 

    As they pass the dog will wag

    Proud proud living loud 

    Share your feelings 

    With the crowd

    All that sounds

    Are the applause

    Cheering on your

    Master’s cause

    Little men

    Little lives

    Little children 

    Little wives

    Little failures 

    Building lies

    But the tear gas

    Clears our eyes

    Now how did you get 

    your bright white grin

    Times are hard but you don’t 

    look too thin.

    All of that clapping

    Hurt your hand?

    I see you wrapped it in

    Your armband

    So block the street

    Wave the flag

    While you can enjoy the lag

    Gather at windows 

    Watch the parade

    Starting with sirens

    Ending with flags

    Here come all the pat’riot feet

    Cross the enameled plain

    Defending each halcyon sky

    Of our brave domain.

    Sing the chorus

    Count the stars

    Count the ones who

    Count as ours

    As they march along

    March along

    March along

    Those are dancers all in black

    Their batons tightly gripped 

    with no slack

    Rifle choreography 

    Is what that’s supposed to be 

    So block the street 

    Wave the flags for

    Paramilitary drag

    Sing the chorus

    Count the stars

    Count the ones who

    Count as ours

    As they march along

    March along

    March along

    5 / 3  a

    6 / 3 a

    7

    Pull the masks down to see their face

    It’s the same – they all come from

    One bland base

    (but they’ll make you laugh to tears) 

    Painted bloody red 

    Pull the pin for tears of laughter 

    Ignore all the dead.

    How did you get

    Painted with your dark grin

    Times may be hard

    But you don’t look too thin.

    Give your hands hurt

    From the game to that you play

    You dropped your ice cream

    On the ground

    Will you pick it up

    And lick it up

    When you think

    No one’s around?

  • The Show Goes On

    https://mbouchard.com/FAWM/the_%20show_goes_on.mp3

    2/10/2026

    Bring your pennies

    See the show

    Drink in all a girl should know 

    Stare in silence 

    As you learn 

    Danger lurks at every turn

    Mirror mirrors every where

    Dance and warp 

    Straight through your stare

    Sound and light at every turn

    Their glazed eyes

    Show no concern

    Their glazed eyes

    Show no concern

    Mirror mirror who is there

    Rouging cheek and curling hair

    In the flickering shaded light

    Staining lips with eyes closed tightly. 

    And the show goes on nightly

    Funhouse ladder, twist and turn

    Feelings smolder, passions burn

    Innocent, you didn’t yearn 

    For the secrets, for the lies,

    for the coy ringmaster’s eyes,

    Or their escape between your 

    Mirror mirror, who is there

    Rouging cheek and curling hair

    In the flickering shaded light

    Staining lips with eyes closed tightly. 

    And the show goes on nightly

    You’re amazing

    You’re the star

    Center ring and there you are

    Spotlight powered

    By your spark

    Bought their tickets in the dark

    Mirror mirrors everywhere

    Youth and beauty

    Bought to share

    Opulence covers the cage

    To hide the death

    That soothes their rage

    To hide the death

    That soothes their rage

    Mirror mirror, who is there

    Rouging cheek and curling hair

    In the flickering shaded light

    Staining lips with eyes closed tightly. 

    And the show goes on nightly

    Mirror, mirror, who is there

    Rouging cheek and curling hair

    In the flickering shaded light

    As we all sleep so tightly.

    And the show goes on nightly

    Mirror, mirror, who is there

    Rouging cheek and curling hair

    In the flickering shaded light

    As we all sleep so tightly.

    And the show goes on

    And the show goes on

  • Enough

    https://mbouchard.com/FAWM/Enough.mp3

    2/07/26

    ynough

    Enough

    Enough of darkness

    Enough

    Enough of doubt

    Enough

    Enough of silence

    When you need 

    to scream it out.

    Enough

    Enough of this

    Enough of waiting for 

    the perfect kind of bliss.  (Photogenic bliss?)

    Enough 

    Enough of you

    Pressed against the glass

    Like everything is through.

    How much have you known

    How much have you grown

    While sitting in the darkness?

    Oh we can see, We know

    That time can only flow

    In a shape of sharpness. 

    Enough

    Enough of this

    Enough of waiting for the perfect kind of bliss

    Enough

    Rumination

    Enough of your

    Self-led abdication

    Enough

    We don’t have to be omniscient

    To know you are sufficient 

    Enough 

    You are enough

    Definitions of cunctation:

    • noun:   the act of procrastinating; putting off or delaying or deferring an action to a later time

  • Where Is the Bird

    https://mbouchard.com/FAWM/Where_is_the_Bird.mp3

    2/04/26

    Where is the bird that sang her song

    Boldly from the briar

    Where the bird that flew along

    In a murmurating choir?

    Where is the bird from the barley break?

    Where is the bird that gathered corn

    Surely she will not me forsake

    Who sang to me each morn?

    All color drained in a season too harsh.

    Winter has come, long and hard

    Branches shatter beneath the ice

    Bitterness haunts the gate of each yard

    As Wind rattles reeds of the frozen marsh.

    Will there come summer, will there be spring?

    When will the green rise up at last?

    Will winged choirs return to sing

    Or is their time now past? 

    Where is the bird that sang her song

    Boldly from the briar

    Where the bird that flew along

    In a murmurating choir?

    Where is the bird from the barley break?

    Where is the bird that gathered corn

    Surely I will not she forsake

    Who sang to me each morn?

  • The Light Flows

    The Light Flows

    The Light Flows

    2024-02-14

    The colors of dawn cut through
    the inky darkness of black and blue.
    I thought it was the Rising Sun,
    but it was you
    It was you

    Lux Aeterna
    Is the same
    from all sides
    Lux Aeterna
    in your brilliance
    Nothing dies.

    Shine down for a thousand lives
    in the place where nothing dies
    pulled into the whirlpool vest.
    in the light where no one cries,

    Chorus;
    Bright star here
    Angels, monsters
    what’s unclear
    burning up with holy fire.
    blessed penitent aspire
    luminous sparkling soul
    making whole
    making whole

    silence in the rushing din
    come and let the light flow in
    lift us from the vessels’ grasp
    another life we will begin.

    Bright star here
    Angels, monsters
    what’s unclear
    burning up with holy fire.
    blessed penitent aspire
    luminous sparkling soul
    making whole
    making whole

    Come to me with icy fire
    the light in you my soul desire
    lay your hands upon my head
    spark the flame that will inspire.

    Lux Aeterna
    Is the same
    from all sides
    Lux Aeterna
    in your brilliance
    Nothing dies.

    This is a song for one of the members of our D&D party, Donar, who is a cleric of the Luxon, a force of light and rebirth.

    (It’s part of the Critical Role game universe.)

    He’s played by a beloved friend, who also has a lot of light in his being and I’m grateful for him. We recently had an adventure that involved the Luxon beacons and it’s been on my mind.

    #nerd_folk #nerdy #dungeonsanddragons #folk #bard #minstrel #criticalrole #gamer

    (I have a tune in mind, but I’m feeling pressed for time and at least want to get lyrics up even without a recording.)

  • Luna

    Luna

    2024-02-14

    Luna

    You traded your power and praise
    for swift nights and dangerous days.
    She gave you a cloak of wings
    and took the songs that you might sing
    to her breast.
    She knows all
    she knows best.

    Luna
    Bright as brightest day
    Ruling in the realms of fae
    Fear and beauty are the same,
    Illuminated by her flame
    In her name
    Luna

    Follow the light of the moons
    the way your voice followed tunes.
    Gather up your tools of war.
    This is what she wants you for
    at her breast
    she knows all
    she knows best

    Luna
    Bright as brightest day
    Ruling in the realms of fae
    Fear and beauty are the same,
    Illuminated by her flame
    In her name
    Luna

    Piles of dust adorn your heart
    crack the cocoon ere you start
    Swear faith to the flash of steel
    Everything you dreamed is real
    At her breast
    She knows all
    She knows best

    Fleet one fly
    spread your wings
    and block the sky
    hold the blade to my breast.
    She knows all
    she knows best.


    This song is another dedication to a member of our gaming group, a goblin who started out as a bard but made an agreement with a queen of the fae, accepting her favor and occasionally being her agent outside of the fae realms.

    Fae are alien and dangerous. They have whims that are beyond the understandings of mortal creatures. This particular powerful lady’s appearance is like that of a luna moth, with great green wings that wrap around her like a cloak.

    When her favor alighted on our goblin friend, we found him in a cocoon. When he came out, he had a cloak that was reminiscent of gray mothwings, and he was no longer a bard, but was instead a rogue.

    This character is now much more serious and more dangerous than the original character, and the double sword of his promise to her is one that hangs over our entire party.

    This song is for Geri, our goblin.

    I have a tune in mind but haven’t had time to record it.

    #nerd_folk #dungeonsanddragons #singer_songwriter #minstrel #bard

  • Architecture Notes for Four Voices

    Architecture Notes for Four Voices

    2024-03-01

    https://mbouchard.com/FAWM/Archtecture-Notes-for-Four-Voices.mp3 

    Architecture Notes

    Chicken itza gift get the best you can
    Guatemala double gourd canteens and plastic ones
    Vetreuvius
    Kufus mother tethered 2500bc.
    Obsidian blades.

    Chicken itza gift get the best you can
    Guatemala double gourd canteens and plastic ones

    Vetreuvius
    Kufus mother tethered 2500bc.
    Obsidian blades.

    ** Chichén Itzá, Vitruvius, Khufu’s mother

    These #lyrics are from some weird voicemail note I left myself. I couldn’t make heads or tails of it but I kept it for some reason. It’s #vocals and #acapella and an #acoustic_one_take for four voices (all me) based on this odd little note.

    Reading it, the words had a bizarrely catchy rhythm, and I started kind of singing them and then figured, what the heck. Just record it. So I did.

    I guess this is that reason. “Lucky 13” of FAWM 2024 – a Fugue on Architecture Notes for Four Voices.

    (Also, the “lyrics” are *exactly* as found in my phone notepad, spelling, phrasing, line breaks, etc.)

  • The Last Few Hours

    The Last Few Hours

    2024-03-01

    https://mbouchard.com/FAWM/The-End-is-NearFAWM24.mp3 

    well its the last / few hours
    before the end is near
    im not sure what / to do
    with it rushing rapidly here

    there’s no slowing time
    no matter the rhythm / or the rhyme
    may as well reach for the sublime
    and let it it go, go, go
    yeah there’s no slowing time
    no matter the rhythm / or the rhyme
    may as well reach for the sublime
    and let it it go

    Sometimes there’s no great conclusion
    that doesn’t lead to a contusion
    every day’s another, deeper, darker bruise
    some say time’s an illusion
    but they don’t know the exclusion
    when even when there’s no score you’re sure you’ll lose

    Closing out FAWM 2024 with a little #fawmtronica #electronica #pop song.

    These lyrics came when I should have been getting ready for bed, but was lamenting that I hadn’t met my goal of 14. This song came in with a little pity party for me and it’s a dark little thing, for all its cheer. But, it did give me song 11, and paved the way for song 12! So, ironically it wasn’t even actually the end, which I totally thought it would be!

    I will probably revise the demo at some point, since it’s a bit messy and slapdash, but it gets the idea across that I want, overall.

  • Os Cantores da Noite (The Night Singers)

    Os Cantores da Noite (The Night Singers)

    2024-02-26

    https://mbouchard.com/FAWM/P.perizi-FAWM24.mp3 

    Os Cantores da Noite (The Night Singers)

    Eukaryota
    Animalia
    Chordata
    Amphibia
    Anura
    Ranidae
    Pelophylax
    P. perezi

    This is a piece of #fawmtronica inspired by the natural sounds of Iberian Water Frogs, which I was absolutely obsessed with during a recent visit to the Azores. I took quite a bit of audio, not sure what I’d do with it.

    Well, turns out I did this with it.
    I was trying to capture the textures of the frog sounds in the synths, and the mix of order and chaos of the whole sense of them together.

    It’s all built in Garageband, no samples other than the underlay of frogs and one standard GB riser/chop set.

    I wanted to have some vocal line, but struggled to figure out what do to. So I decided to just use the entire scientific name of the star of the performance, the Iberian Water Frog, or Perez’s frog (Pelophylax perezi).

    Which probably makes this the nerdiest thing I’ve ever made. And that’s saying something. #nerdy stuff, this.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perez%27s_frog

  • A Tale I Have for You

    A Tale I Have for You

    2024-02-26

    https://mbouchard.com/FAWM/A-Tale-For-You.mp3 

    Ox murmurs,
    Winter pours,
    summer is gone :
    Wind high, sun low ;
    sea resounding.

    Very red raying
    has concealed
    Cold has caught wings of birds ;
    Ice-frost time:
    wretched, very wretched.
    Oh what a tale I have for you

    * * *

    Wild is the sea mount
    Plowing the black ground
    Stars light the morning
    Amid the wind-wild sound
    Fill the ship till she rides low
    Set sail on the tide’s best blow
    Again I watch as he will go
    Again I watch as he will go

    *ch

    Sharp are the sea spikes
    Salt stings as the beast strikes
    Rising up through the ices
    Avoiding the ash pikes
    Round the ship on the whale-road
    Flip the oar and then unload
    Worthy fight for a great ode
    Worthy fight for a great ode

    *ch

    Search for motion on the bar
    Bitter winds bring scent of tar
    Listen for the snap of sail
    Watch beneath the winter star
    Do I see scraps of a mast?
    Threads of sail rolling past?
    Will he return as I asked?
    Will he return as I asked?

    This is an #acoustic_one_take on the Sutton Hoo #lyre with #vocals, tuned to DFGACD, in the #folk and #traditional style. It’s kind of #story touched with #history since the lyrics are a blend of very old and new.

    A friend visiting Iceland was sending me photos this past week, and the sea there was quite peaceful, while I was traveling myself to a place where the waves were wild. So I’ve got the sea on my mind.

    I also was doing some research on early Irish writings, and came across the the eulogy of Choluim Chille, believed to be the oldest text in Irish, having been written shortly after his death in 597. It appears in “The Amra Choluim Chilli of Dallan Forgaill” by Dallan Forgaill, Saint, 6th cent. As translated by John O’Beirne Crowe in 1871. (However, the text is believed to have been more likely written in the 9th century.) There was a snippet of verse in translation that captivated me:

    “A tale I have for you. Ox murmurs, Winter pours, summer is gone : Wind high, cold : sun low ; Cry is attacking, sea resounding.

    Very red raying has concealed form, Voice of geese [barnacles] has become usual : Cold has caught wings of birds ; Ice-frost time : wretched, very wretched.

    A tale I have for you.”

    Immediately I thought of the long, flat line of black sand in Vik, Iceland and of a ship sailing away from it. As the voyage is beginning, the singer watches their lover leave in the cold of winter. I considered the dangers of the ocean, the waves and the sea monsters (which are less terrifying than some waves, or which maybe are also waves themselves, made differently manifest). The singer contemplates the season, and wonders what has become of their beloved, looking for any hint they might find to answer them.

  • Our Lady Rose

    Our Lady Rose

    2024-02-17

    https://mbouchard.com/FAWM/Our-Lady-Rose-Aneleda-Falconbridge.mp3

    Her soul glows like the blossom
    That blooms in summer’s warm
    She’s soft as pussy willow,
    As fierce as any storm.
    Her heart’s large as forest
    Her smile melts winter’s cold
    Her hair reflects the autumn trees
    And the hearty marigold.
    Our Rose ever blooming our rose

    Clever as the raven
    As busy as the bee
    Looking out for everyone,
    A soul of quality.
    There are many ways of being
    In this big world, I suppose.
    Wish all were as generous
    As our Lady Rose.

    Her soul glows like the blossom
    That blooms in summer’s warm
    She’s soft as pussy willow,
    As fierce as any storm.
    Her heart’s large as forest
    Her smile melts winter’s cold
    Her hair reflects the autumn trees
    And the hearty marigold.

    The rose is never fragile,
    It’s lovely but its thorn
    Is ever at the ready
    For any who would scorn
    A person who is needy
    for kindness or for aid,
    The lowest in spirit
    Find their temper swayed.

    She carries bread and cookies,
    Of lemons and fine flour,
    Her joy in hospitality
    Perhaps her greatest power.
    The gifts that she delivers
    Are affection manifest.
    Her love is never ending,
    We Are well and truly blessed.

    Her soul glows like the blossom
    That blooms in summer’s warm
    She’s soft as pussy willow,
    As fierce as any storm.
    Her heart’s large as forest
    Her smile melts winter’s cold
    Her hair reflects the autumn trees
    And the hearty marigold.
    Our Rose
    Her love is never ending
    Our Rose is a garden ever tending
    Our Rose

    Sometimes you realize that you feel a certain way when you see someone, and you never tell them.

    I wrote this song to tell someone.

    #folk #emotional #singer_songwriter #love #friendship #acoustic

    The guitar part was created using samples by BradoSanz shared on Looperman at https://www.looperman.com/loops?mid=BradoSanz that were augmented with some additional synth acoustic guitar pieces in GarageBand.

    Note: my beloved friend Rose passed away yesterday, Feb 19. The day I posted this, her daughter played it for her. I deeply hope she heard it.

  • White Honey

    White Honey

    2024-02-04

    Lyrics

    Swarms of stars
    Glittering past Mars
    Captured in memoirs.
    Covering the scars
    That once
    Were ours.
    That once
    Were ours.
    Unvoid breeze,
    Falling to my knees
    A gathering unease
    Droning like the bees
    That flash,
    a frieze.

    White honey
    Like gold
    Melts in a thousand suns
    All sweetness unsold
    As the honey runs
    Down the skies
    It multiplies
    The caramel of your eyes
    Love

    Flying so close
    Seeking solar dose
    Dancing vorticose
    Never otiose,
    Yet still,
    Morose.
    Yet still,
    Morose.

    White honey
    Like gold
    Nectar lullaby
    In spite of the cold
    By answer liquify
    Down the skies
    To crystalize
    Sparkling in the rise,
    Love.

    Hex community
    Solidarity
    Viviparity
    To Singularity
    Love
    White honey love
    See the colony
    Fly iridescently
    In brilliant clarity
    Love white honey
    love

    White honey
    Like gold
    Melts in a thousand suns
    All sweetness unsold
    As the honey runs
    Down the skies
    It multiplies
    The caramel of your eyes
    Love
    white honey
    love
    white honey
    love
    white honey
    love

     

    This song is part of the #oraclechallenge in which I was given a single card from The Dream Weaver’s Oracle. The card I got from @writeandwrong portrays two bees, facing each other and reaching for each other with all twelve legs. Behind them is a large, magenta flower, with a white center that surrounds the bees, and looks like stars and bubbles. It reads “When the ones you need fly close.”

    The lyrics came quickly, and a #vocal tune, but the accompaniment was a struggle. I finally decided I was making things too complicated ( Ia really am a #singer_songwriter)so I had GarageBand lay down a simple drum track and then I added in keyboard and a spare harmony. It turned out a little #jazz and #folk as a result.

    I’m pretty pleased with the result of this!

    (Fascinatingly, there’s another card in the deck that I saw in the thread *after* writing this song, “If the taste is sweet and good” which features a cosmic honeycomb dripping down on the moon.)

  • Prismatica

    Prismatica

    2024-02-04

     

    What springs forth from you
    What divides from you?
    What are you sending out?
    Bright and shining bursting forth from you
    Light
    Manifested light
    Is this an indication
    Of your situation, or
    Or is this not what you want to be in the reflection
    Refracted dark
    You can see it in the mirror
    O look can you hear her
    Wanting to set free
    The singularity
    Tell me
    Do you want this?
    To stare into the abyss
    Knowing its there to remind you
    Dear, I wouldn’t look right now
    Behind you
    Wouldn’t look right now
    Behind you.
    Manifestations
    Do you find a
    Light heat sound
    The refractions of everything around you
    Are there things that you want that you are indications
    Of the brilliance that surrounds you.
    Manifestations
    Manifestations
    Manifestations
    Or do you have some fight in you?
    Let the darkness burst on through
    The prisms that are inside you,
    Inside you
    Inside you
    What
    Will you do
    When the light
    Hits you?

    I found this #skirmish after it was already done, but I loved the concept of what the “refraction would look like if you put your darkest, ugliest parts up to a prism?” So this would be not in the skirmish, but inspired by the #Refraction skirmish topic.

    I fell into the topic first by looking for a major/minor twist and delicate #electronic sounds. I layered in some #synth and the whole thing got a bit out of hand. There are small echoes and pieces just out of sync (I hope that’s not the muse’s theme this year!) which I think add to the sense of overall conflict. It features both sweet and #dark #vocals considering what is reflected after it’s entered the subject.

    Honestly, I’m not unhappy with the directed chaos that resulted from this. It’s fat, mercurial, and I think meets the brief. It’s also pretty literal and, at a full 5 minutes, kind of long, even for a sonic tug-of-war between darkness and light.

    It’s also very much not my normal sound, though every FAWM I seem to find my “sound” gets more and more all over the place.

  • Cyclical Thoughts

    Cyclical Thoughts

    2024-02-04

    https://mbouchard.com/FAWM/CyclicalThoughts.mp3 

     

    Walking up there then down.
    Forget why you came around.
    Moving through the whole day
    never making a single play,
    as your mind (your mind) slips away.

    I always wondered what I’d do
    if I was around in your shoes
    I always wondered
    what I’d do
    what I’d do
    if I was in your shoes
    if I was in your shoes

    Walking up there then down.
    Forget why you came around.
    Moving through the whole day
    never making a single play,
    as your mind (your mind) slips away.

    You always seem so very styled.
    I never thought that you’d go wild.
    You always seem
    so very styled,
    very styled.
    Who thought that you’d go wild,
    thought that you’d go wild?

    fa la la
    fa la la

    I always felt you’d come undone
    When you had beaten everyone
    I always felt you’d
    come undone
    come undone
    When you beat everyone
    You beat everyone

    Walking up there then down.
    Forget why you came around.
    Moving through the whole day
    never making a single play,
    as your mind (your mind) slips away.

     

    Cyclical Thoughts is an # electronic-based piece with a leaping accompaniment line leading the #voice through the looping lyric.

    This is a fully from-scratch piece made in GarageBand, and it’s kind of an #emo song that’s both dark and sunny at the same time. I was going for a kind of #synthpop sound, with a heavy #synth bassline and obvious electronic drums.

    There are little moments of dissonance and the rhythm creates, for me, a slightly unsteady feeling, as if I’m newly on land after being on a boat.

  • Three Little Birds

    Three Little Birds

    Three Little Birds

     

    Three Little Birds fly away from home

    Three Little Birds out all on your own

    Six tired wings flutter through the dark.

    Will they quench the fire

    Or will they set the spark?

     

    Granny’s cage has broken

    Little birds fly free

    Keep your flock together

    Roost in yonder tree

    Be watchful of the falcon

    Be watchful of the fox

    Be watchful of the children

    with their slings and rocks.

     

    Ch

     

    Keep the good book near you

    Read the word it holds

    Keep your faith in family

    No matter what unfolds

    Find wisdom in the letters

    Find wisdom in the words

    Find wisdom in the secrets

    That protect three little birds.

     

    Ch

     

    Hush now little baby

    Hush now don’t you cry

    If you catch a mockingbird

    Release it to the sky.

    Twelve claws will defend you

    Six bright eyes will see

    Three little birds will sing a tune

    Made for family.

     

    Ch

    Ch

     

  • St Bridgid stand before me

    St Bridgid stand before me

     St Bridgid Stand Before Me

    Lyrics

    St Bridgid stand before me
    St Bridgid stand behind
    Illuminate the darkness
    Illuminate my mind
    Bring comfort to the mother
    bring comfort to the child
    Lay blessings on our conflicts
    ‘Till all be reconciled.

    She gave the lepers apples
    And fed the starving man
    By trading great treasures
    Her healing she began
    She hung upon a sunbeam
    The cloak that got the land
    And made the great oak holy
    Touched by her pure hand

    Give in love’s equality
    For failings come atone
    That all will have their needs met
    Strike silver against stone.
    Grant kindness to your neighbor
    Forgiveness to your kin
    That the winter cold be broken
    And the sunlight ushered in.

    St Bridgid stand before me
    St Bridgid stand behind
    Illuminate the darkness
    Illuminate my mind
    Bring comfort to the mother
    bring comfort to the child
    Lay blessings on our conflicts
    ‘Till all be reconciled.

    Leave out a fine silk ribbon
    the night that heralds spring
    that the lady when she’s walking
    Lay hands upon the string
    To bring us protection
    and to keep us from ill
    Through her feast day passes
    she is with us still

    Brigid bring us bounty
    Of milk and butter gold
    Generosity to creatures
    Protection from the cold
    Thankfulness for water
    From which will come the beer
    And patience with each other
    Throughout the growing year.

    St Bridgid stand before me
    St Bridgid stand behind
    Illuminate the darkness
    Illuminate my mind
    Bring comfort to the mother
    bring comfort to the child
    Lay blessings on our conflicts
    ‘Till all be reconciled.

     

    Unsure where to start, I decided to lean into the day, which is the Feast of St. Brigid and Imbolc. This modern prayer to St. Brigid includes references to many of the miracles attributed to her.

    Here’s a translation of a document which contains all over her miracles if anyone is interested. It’s pretty entertaining.

    https://brigitssparklingflame.blogspot.com/2015/01/vita-sanctae-brigitae-cogitosuss-life.html

    I accompanied myself on a reproduction of an Anglo-Saxon style six-string #acoustic #lyre, which would have been an instrument played in the time of the original St. Brigid, 451 – 525 CEE. (The oldest lyre found in England dates before 450 CE.) The tune is, of course, modern #folk and not remotely medieval, even if the subject is.

    I am just learning to play this instrument, and I’m still not comfortable with it yet, especially when strumming it, rather than plucking like playing the harp.

    My voice is recovering from being in a very large indoor event a few days ago, so it’s rougher than I prefer, but it’s FAWM, so I gotta just do what can be done! #firstfruits must come from somewhere!

    This was darn near a #folk #acoustic_one_take – I had to edit out one section that I really made a mess of, so it’s a one-point-five take.

    ( Anyway, this is actually kind of a bold start for me, because I’m in rough voice on an instrument I don’t play well, at 1am, and it’s my FAWM debut for 2024. Actually, I guess that’s a pretty good start after all for a #singer_songwriter . =) )

  • Lady, There Is Nothing I Can Give You

    Lady, There Is Nothing I Can Give You

    2024-03-01

    Lady, there is nothing I can give you

    I do not have a castle
    Or a field heavy with wheat
    I haven’t any finery
    Or a tourney to compete
    I cannot make a show of anything that I can’t do
    I can make a show of loving you

    Lady, there is nothing i can give you
    That you cannot attain yourself
    But give me leave to lavish you with love
    Lady, I am humble, but I swear on all above
    To treasure every hour I can take
    To bring you every joy that I can make
    Lady, there is nothing I can give you but me

    I am no great warrior
    I’ll never be a king
    My lands don’t have a winery
    Don’t even have a ring
    Cannot make a show of everything I can’t do
    But I can make a show of loving you

    But I have fields of daisies
    And more books than any mage
    But I will sing you poetry
    And lift words from the page
    I will make a show of everything you do
    Everything

    ch

    I have a job that’s boring but leaves all my nights free
    I can cook delightful things with honey from the bee
    I will make a show of everything that you can do
    Of everything to show how I love you.

    ch
    Feb 2024

    Delicate little courtly #lovesong with #vocals by a #bard or #minstrel in the #acoustic tradition. Eventually I’ll play this on the harp or lyre, but I went digital for this demo.

    It’s based on a snippet that I sketched earlier this month “Lady there is nothing I can give you you cannot attain yourself, But give me leave to lavish you with love.”

    It’s cold, and spring is coming, so a lovesong felt like a nice way to end FAWM.

  • Hand at My Back

    Hand at My Back

    Hand at My Back

    The wind blew hard
    o’re tree and stone
    I walked into the storm
    The sky a bruise before me
    The barley laying prone
    Rows of gold
    crushed in the cold
    Its song a bitter moan

    Pushing straight through
    The endless drone
    I wrestled with my thoughts
    The path once laid before me
    Snows long had overblown
    My knees came down
    on frozen ground
    But I was not alone

    I felt your
    hand at my back
    Like the warmth of the sun
    It felt just like midsummer
    as my strength was done
    You brought me fire
    When I was barely embers
    Now my whole soul remembers
    To what it can aspire
    With your hand
    at my back.

    The crystal spires
    Were overgrown
    I brought about the scythe
    The glinting blade before me
    Against the winter throne
    Algific rite
    Welcomed the blight.
    I reaped what they had sown.
    Beneath still stars
    The curse was shown
    I advanced as I watched
    The silent host before me
    Began to move and groan
    Without remorse
    Knowing the source
    Like barley they were mown.

    I felt your
    hand at my back
    Like the warmth of the sun
    It felt just like midsummer
    as my strength was done
    You brought me fire
    When I was barely embers
    Now my whole soul remembers
    To what it can aspire
    With your hand
    at my back.

    I soon came to
    ‘Mid gelid bone
    I sang prayers old and new
    Rimy dead piled here before me
    With no way to atone
    Their sightless eyes
    Answered the skies.
    As green aurora shone

    I felt your
    hand at my back
    Like the warmth of the sun
    It felt just like midsummer
    as my strength was done
    You brought me fire
    When I was barely embers
    Now my whole soul remembers
    To what it can aspire
    With your hand
    At my back

    ——–

    FAWM26 NOTES
    This is a song about realizing who’s there for you, and knowing that they’re there for you, with you, even when you think that you’re alone.

    You can always draw on the strength of people who love you.

    This song is about an adventurer who has to take care of a blight of bitter cold. She’s alone, but when she falters, she’s given strength from those who are far away from her, allowing her to carry on, do the work, and start back home.

    It was initially inspired by a moment I had recently when my best friend literally had a hand on my back during an intense (in a good way) moment. The feeling of his huge hand giving me stability has been something I’ve continued to feel, long after that moment passed. I’ve always known that hand was there, but I’ve not had cause to think of it so literally before.

    It’s also partly dedicated to my D&D group, who are currently on a freezing island hoping to save the world and not die in the process. So that setting was on my mind – the epic fields swept with snow, the places where there’s nothing but trickery and desperation. And as long as one of us is there, we’re all there. Characters develop interesting relationships, and one of our group has been traveling for work, and I really miss his character (and him too, of course!) My husband is our game master, and I know that I have his hand at my back too – both in and out of game.

    #electronic #electropop #nerdfolk

    I wanted to start it with a nod to some of the fantasy epic prog rock songs, so the little acoustic guitar riff seemed perfect. Ultimately, I wanted it to be more modern, because that’s how it felt it wanted to be. It’s all done in LogicX with a mix of stock loop bits and a little hand played midi.

  • The Clock in the Hall is Always Running

    The Clock in the Hall is Always Running

    Tick tok
    The clock
    In the hall
    Is always running
    Its been
    Unlocked
    Because it
    Isn’t running
    Time is long
    But isn’t very cunning
    So she waits
    And she waits
    Sometimes I hear
    I hear her humming

    She walked a million miles
    Pacing through halls
    Going through the years
    Watching all the stars
    As they came and went
    She passed
    Passed throught all the memories
    Forgotten memories
    I know
    Inknow
    What it’s like to be forgotten
    Memories
    I know
    I know
    What it’s like to be
    Forgotten

    Tick tok
    The clock
    In the hall
    Is always running
    Its been
    Unlocked
    Because it
    Isn’t running
    Time is long
    But isn’t very cunning
    So she waits
    And she waits
    Sometimes I hear
    I hear her humming

    She lived here
    When everything was grand
    When the beach in front of the manor had sand
    She walked an alligator on a chain
    And she danced and made love in the rain
    But now
    She’s stuck here
    Going nowhere
    Nowhere
    But I know a thing or two
    About going
    going nowhere
    I know
    going nowhere
    Too

    Tick tok
    The clock
    In the hall
    Is always running
    Its been
    Unlocked
    Because it
    Isn’t running
    Time is long
    But isn’t very cunning
    So she waits
    And she waits
    Sometimes I hear
    I hear her humming

    Liner Notes

    So I’m super late to this skirmish since I only saw it tonight, but it inspired this song, the song that is number 14. The theme was supernatural, and I started thinking about the ghosts in houses in New England (where I live) and what that must be like, how tedious, really, when they probably had exciting lives (to some degree at least) before they were trapped being ghosts. So this song is about that.

    I like this demo more than I expected. I may refine lyrics on a future pass, and tighten up the verses, though I kind of like their musing quality…like what you say when nobody can hear you.

    #songskirmish, #SuperSkirmish, #022623F, #Supernatural 

    “THEME/TITLE: SUPERNATURAL
    Use in the title, or lyric or any way you interpret the word – witch, ghost, psychic, superpowers, esoteric, occult…” 

    It’s made with loops and snippets from the Garageband library and a handful of effects.

  • Into the Woods We Follow

    Into the Woods We Follow

    The king’s man took into the wood
    to catch some coneys, fleet and good
    He caught a flicker in his eye
    as flash of gold went bounding by.
    It was a stag with antlers tall,
    surely the lord of wood stags all.
    He left his hounds in thicket green
    Catch this creature he had seen

    With a hey ho to the wood we go
    for to catch him with the bolt and bow.
    With a hey hei watch him fly
    as the lord of the wood we follow.

    The king’s Lady on her palfrey white
    went a-riding in the sunshine bright.
    when came a sound upon the trail
    as doe of silver past did sail.
    To see the doe made her heart bloom
    and so she took off through the broom
    to touch with her own gentle hand
    this hind most lovely in the land.

    With a hey ho to the wood we go
    to see the hart in the summer’s glow.
    With a hey hei watch them fly
    as through the wood we follow.

    Into a clearing verdant green
    the golden stag ran, clearly seen.
    The silver doe met his stride
    as the Lady and king’s man did ride
    The king’s man poised to bring them down
    as gift to serve before the crown.
    The Lady saw his bolt on high
    and galloped ‘ere where the bold would fly

    With a hey ho to the wood we go
    though the hunt we now forgo.
    With a hey hei watch them fly
    as into the wood we follow.

    The lady’s hands rushed to her breast
    where now the bolt did redly rest.
    The yoman looked where the Lady fell
    amid the leaves of mossy dell,
    The golden hind did lift her head,
    and then his sliver lady lead
    the bold young hunter unto her side
    to pull the bolt ere lady die.

    With a hey ho to the wood we go
    to find them in a thicket low.
    With a hey hei watch them fly
    as into the wood we follow.

    Though it broke his heart in two
    He tore the wounding arrow through.
    as the Lady weakly swooned
    The doe’s kiss staunched the bleeding wound
    With queen, yet living, in his arms,
    the king’s man fled the clearing’s charms.
    At the charger’s side the palfrey ran
    from this kingdom not of man.

    With a hey ho to the wood we go to
    the realm of stag and merry doe.
    With a hey hei watch them fly
    as into the wood we follow.

    As the noble stag walked with his mate
    In the greeny wood with a steady gait
    The sun sank down and the bright moon shone
    And the clearing was once more alone.

     

    Liner Notes

    #harp #acoustic #folk #medieval #fantasy

    This is an old set of lyrics that needed work, as it was written as an exhaustively long ballad. I rediscovered them earlier in February, and I realized that with some editing, I could have a nice little “trad” folk song that would be good around a fire some cold evening.

    There’s a little mystical sense – the stag and his doe are clearly supernatural creatures — and the story has a happier ending than it could have. I’ve enjoyed spending time with this piece, setting it, and then making a more workable song from it.

    That greeny wood is a good place, especially in the bitter winter.