To the West

[learnteach]

A Great song by Leigh Ann Hussey.



This song was commanded by my Prince at the time I was Bard of the Mists, Brandon d'Arundel, in the year AS XVIII. After a seven-year hiatus from the Society, I completed the song at Twelfth Night, AS XXVI.

A brief word of explaination: Arthur, St. Brendan, Bran Mac Febal, and hundreds more down the ages have sought or traveled to the Land of the Ever-Living, the Otherworld, or simply the life they could not have where they already were. They all went westward to seek that land; we live in it.


The hawk soars high o'er yonder hill,
the stag bells in the glen,
the whale chants wild in waters chill,
the bear dreams in her den.
They call me to return again,
they set me on my way

chorus:
Where the twilight seals the day,
to the West, to the West,
I am summond as the dreamers come before.
With my wounds all healed away,
like the sun I will rest,
where my vision leads, along the Western shore.

I'll bless the bonny ship that brings
me leave and liberty
to wend the way of saints and kings
and souls across the sea
I'll seek the voice that sings to me
and draws me on my way

(chorus)
My eyes shall see my fortune clear,
My tongue shall rightly tell,
My heart shall hold my dreaming dear,
My hands shall build it well.
The land they sought, where now we dwell
Is ever on the way

(chorus)

Permission to copy and distribute granted, provided this notice is preserved: copyright 1992, Leigh Ann Huss

Comments

[semy-of-pearls.livejournal.com]

Every time I go to an event, Neva asks me to sing that. I was there when LA, Elton and Wander first performed it. I got to hear them practice it and learned the counter melody.

We need to sing it at Investiture.

[callistotoni.livejournal.com]

Thank you for posting that. I was hoping someone would; I'll be thinking of that song a lot today.

[ermine-rat.livejournal.com]

I will need to think this over a lot more before I can make any sense of this.

[cvirtue.livejournal.com]

Are there music files online anyone can listen to? I looked around a bit this morning, but didn't find any.

[falzalot.livejournal.com]

I just posted one to YouSendIt in my LJ. Haven't seen any others, though.
- alys

[tsgeisel.livejournal.com]

http://annwn.nithaus.org/

Elton made the Annwn catalog, and then some, available a little while ago. Although he requests that you download, not stream.

[cvirtue.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I'd wandered around Elf Hill this morning, but didn't find the way there.

[aimeric.livejournal.com]

I'm just...stunned. And this is someone I've never met. But I can't count how many times the choir's sung TtW, and how there's always a crowd to join in and sing along. It never fails to give me a sense of coziness, of family and belonging. *sigh* Wish I'd had the chance to meet her.