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Mummers Dance Lyrics
When in the springtime of the year
When the trees are crowned with leaves
When the ash and oak, and the birch and yew
Are dressed in ribbons fair
When owls call the breathless moon
In the blue veil of the night
The shadows of the trees appear
Amidst the lantern light
Chorus:
We've been rambling all the night
And some time of this day
Now returning back again
We bring a garland gay
Who will go down to those shady groves
And summon the shadows there
And tie a ribbon on those sheltering arms
In the springtime of the year
The songs of birds seem to fill the wood
That when the fiddler plays
All their voices can be heard
Long past their woodland days
Chorus
And so they linked their hands and danced
Round in circles and in rows
And so the journey of the night descends
When all the shades are gone
"A garland gay we bring you here
And at your door we stand
It is a sprout well budded out
The work of our Lord's hand"
Chorus x 2
When the trees are crowned with leaves
When the ash and oak, and the birch and yew
Are dressed in ribbons fair
In the blue veil of the night
The shadows of the trees appear
Amidst the lantern light
We've been rambling all the night
And some time of this day
Now returning back again
We bring a garland gay
And summon the shadows there
And tie a ribbon on those sheltering arms
In the springtime of the year
That when the fiddler plays
All their voices can be heard
Long past their woodland days
Round in circles and in rows
And so the journey of the night descends
When all the shades are gone
And at your door we stand
It is a sprout well budded out
The work of our Lord's hand"
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I love this so so much! Its just so beautiful. I can remember when I first heard this song~i was entranced with it. Loreena has such a beautiful voice.
its such a beautiful song! i love it so much!!!
its based on the celtic tradition of mumming, which are when a group of peformers dress up in masks and attach ribbons to their clothes and and setting out on a procession to neighbouring homes singing songs and carrying branches of greenery. It's primarily associated with springtime and fertility.
some of the lines come from a song traditionally sung in Abingdon in Oxfordshire.
Agreed! Glassie's "All Silver No Brass" is a great read about the tradition.
Agreed! Glassie's "All Silver No Brass" is a great read about the tradition.
hmm... cool
This song is awesome. Loreena is a great singer and I love her music.
Beautiful. I actually hear it on my Pop radio station like once so many months or years, which is saying a lot considering it's a pop station.
i heard this song before, but now know who sings it. anyway, i usually dont listen to this type of music but ive got no choice (living in Philly, mummers parades, etc). this song has its places in me - thats all I can say.
it doesnt matter that the lyrics dont translate well in the song (ive been trying to find the name and artist for 2 weeks now!)... its beautiful and hypnotic... shes a siren.
canadian enya or not, this has worked its way into my regular rotation.
This is an amaaaaaazing song, I love it so much! Wow, it's one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard, if not THE. I have it under the name "Wiccan Dance".
Awesome song. Heard it before, lost track of it, recently heard it on the radio once again, became an instant fan. I love Celtic music, and this may be one of the best mainstream Celtic songs out there. Thankfully this song broke through to a wide audience.
I'm pretty sure this song might be about the pagan holiday Beltane.
The first verse contains a hint in this direction. Ash, oak, birch, and yew are four types of trees that were considered holy by Druids and are still venerated by some neo-pagan groups.
The tradition of mumming is apparently associated with the holiday May Day in some regions. May Day is basically the same thing as the neo-pagan Beltane.
At any rate, some neo-pagan groups definitely incorporate mummers in their modern Beltane celebrations.
A dear friend just sent me this song. It is beautiful and now has more meaning.
A dear friend just sent me this song. It is beautiful and now has more meaning.