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Beneath A Phrygian Sky Lyrics

The moonlight it was dancing
On the waves, out on the sea
The stars of heaven hovered
In a shimmering galaxy

A voice from down the ages
So in haunting in its song
These ancient stones will tell us
Our love must make us strong

The breeze it wrapped around me
As I stood there on the shore
And listened to this voice
Like I never heard before

Our battles they may find us
No choice may ours to be
But hold the banner proudly
The truth will set us free

My mind was called across the years
Of rages and of strife
Of all the human misery
And all the waste of life

We wondered where our God was
In the face of so much pain
I looked up to the stars above
To find you once again

We travelled the wide oceans
Heard many call your name
With sword and gun and hatred
It all seemed much the same

Some used your name for glory
Some used it for their gain
Yet when liberty lay wanting
No lives were lost in vain

Is it not our place to wonder
As the sky does weep with tears
And all the living creatures
Look on with mortal fear

It is ours to hold the banner
Is ours to hold it long
It is ours to carry forward
Our love must make us strong

And as the warm wind carried
Its song into the night
I closed my eyes and tarried
Until the morning light

As the last star it shimmered
And the new sun’s day gave birth
It was in this magic moment
Came this prayer for mother earth

Reprise:

The moonlight it was dancing
On the waves, out on the sea
The stars of heaven hovered
In a shimmering galaxy

A voice from down the ages
So in haunting in its song
The ancient stones will tell us
Our love will make us strong
Song Info
Submitted by
kagerou On Dec 06, 2006
5 Meanings

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Cover art for Beneath A Phrygian Sky lyrics by Loreena McKennitt

I believe this is a song of love over coming all obsticals and how one most hold strong to it

Cover art for Beneath A Phrygian Sky lyrics by Loreena McKennitt

This song is so epic. The visuals this song gives are of a lover returning home from a battle in a far off land.

Cover art for Beneath A Phrygian Sky lyrics by Loreena McKennitt

Remarkably, the song is not about a love shared between 2 people. it is, however, a love that is common between two people for a common goal. in other words, the "i" in the song, and the "you" do not love each other. They share a love of the cause that they are fighting for. The song is about a continuous battle for freedom, a war. The song is sung from the viewpiont of a soilder, who tells the story of his general.

"We travelled the wide oceans Heard many call your name With sword and gun and hatred It all seemed much the same"

...refers to the journey that the troops have made, the enemies they have crossed, who have fought against them, calling out for the name and life of his general. The constant refence to the "banner" is just that, as the banner that would be carried in medieval times to signify sides, which was raised through the battle and carried proudly.

"Some used your name for glory Some used it for their gain Yet when liberty lay wanting No lives were lost in vain"

... tells of the cause that they fight for, how the prize of freedom is worth the bloodshed. It tells of their allies, and of their enemies.

It is a beautiful song told of war and bloodshed, and the undenying push for freedom. It is an incredibly powerful song, as most of Loreena's are.

Song Meaning
Cover art for Beneath A Phrygian Sky lyrics by Loreena McKennitt

Loreena said the following about this song: "As someone who has simply pursued her muse through an informal excavation of the past, I find that the historical landscape is littered with themes of war, peace, love, self-determination, liberty, identity, home, and cultural, religious and spiritual interactions. This song is rumination on how, over time and space, our basic needs as human beings seem to have remained the same: a need for identity, for belonging, for liberty, for spiritual engagement, for ways to resolve conflicts of interest."

So "you" in the song is this spiritual engagement (whether it's God or whatever you believe in) and "we" is humanity.

Song Meaning
Cover art for Beneath A Phrygian Sky lyrics by Loreena McKennitt

It is about the Knights Templar who went on crusades. Some of them took their wives and together they walked and rode all the way from France and England to the Holy Land.

 
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