We were written like a villain into story Notoriety, little glory We the victims of an evil allegory Impropriety, never sorry As the servant who would be a queen The unrequited lover The barren bride abandoned Or the secondary mother We are damned because it’s our fault That you never stop to think The way we do when we see weakness And she stops to take a drink I am bitter (I am bitter) I am bitterness as cold as ice I am jealous (I am jealous) I am jealousy as old as night I want better I want better than your charming life I am other (I am other) I am otherwise a carving knife We were written to be foils and to be foiling Ever burning, ever boiling We the reason for your necessary toiling Needful learning and recoiling As the succubus who drains and draws The faery who entices The witch who weaves in darkness Or the demoness of crisis We are terrifying spectres There beneath the milky sheen Of our flawless imperfection You have never really seen I am bitter (I am bitter) I am bitterness as cold as ice I am jealous (I am jealous) I am jealousy as old as night I want better I want better than your charming life I am other (I am other) I am otherwise a carving knife You use me to draw a line Pay attention, little heroine It matters more this time You abuse me, break me down In an endless sea of back story I never make a sound I am bitter (I am bitter) I am bitterness as cold as ice I am jealous (I am jealous) I am jealousy as old as night I want better I want better than your charming life I am other (I am other) I am otherwise a carving knife I am other (I am other) I am otherwise a carving knife

PART I: LITTLE DOLL Verse 1 When I was but eight years old Mother gone and growing cold Left a blessing in her stead With her dying breath she said: Vasilisa, take this doll It will be your wherewithal Share your troubles, wait and see Heed the words it says to thee Verse 2 Father married yet again Being handsomest of men To a widow with two girls Jealousy beneath their curls Vasilisa, they would say Each and every single day Do the work a servant should More than what you thought you could Chorus Little doll, I’ll gladly give All my fortune to you Tell me now how I should live Advise what I must do: “Feed me morsels from your plate “I will make the crooked straight “Go to sleep, my sweet, believing “Morning’s wiser than the evening” Verse 3 Years went by of much the same Such a beauty I became Suitors came and banished, went My stepmother’s rage was spent: Vasilisa will remain ‘Til her sisters husbands gain Not for her a happy life Find yourselves another wife! Chorus Little doll, I’ll gladly give All my fortune to you Tell me now how I should live Advise what I must do: “Feed me morsels from your plate “I will make the crooked straight “Go to sleep, my sweet, believing “Morning’s wiser than the evening” Bridge Little doll, I’m so forlorn Weathered, weary, weak and worn: “Vasilisa, take your ease “Lay beneath the arching trees “I’ll perform your every chore “Even when they cry for more “Faithful as a blessing, sure “Of a mother’s love so pure” Chorus Little doll, I’ll gladly give All my fortune to you Tell me now how I should live Advise what I must do: “Feed me morsels from your plate “I will make the crooked straight “Go to sleep, my sweet, believing “Morning’s wiser than the evening” PART II: BLESSED IS BEST Verse 1 Father’s a merchant, he’s going away Here with my step-family I must stay I know they hate me They try to deflate me But I keep on thriving anyway Verse 2 Moved to a new house that borders the wood They send me in gathering, unlikely for my good Hoping I’ll cry there Or lie down and die there But I keep returning back home as I should Lift Out went the light, so my sisters said “You, Vasilisa, will go in our stead “Into the woods to the witch’s house “Bring us a fire, you wretched mouse!” Chorus I am justly terrified Of taking up this quest I would be in danger Were it not for being blessed Little doll, with glowing eyes Help me now to win my prize I will see tomorrow, yes If you will tell me what is best Verse 3 Shaking I entered the forest alone Walking the path that my doll had shown me One step, another Until I discovered Baba Yaga’s home! Verse 4 There were skulls on the fence posts with eyes all aflame Femurs for doorposts and gates of the same “Fie, I can smell her!” A voice came to tell her “Now give me the reason you came! “Or I’ll eat you” Lift “Grandmother, I come to fetch home a light “Grant me a favour this long, dark night” “If you remain I will do as you ask “If you fulfil without fault each task!” Chorus I am justly terrified Of taking up this quest I would be in danger Were it not for being blessed Little doll, with glowing eyes Help me now to win my prize I will see tomorrow, yes For you will tell me what is best Verse 5 Every bright morning the doll set to work No little detail or duty was shirked “How is this possible? “This is impossible!” Baba said, “Child, you’ve a curious quirk!” Verse 6 “Well, I have a secret, a motherly blessing” “Ah, that is the answer and no need for guessing “Be off with you, dear “I’ll have no blessed ones here “But take home a skull with MY blessing” Lift When I arrived home they were still in the dark “Yaga has gifted us all with this spark!” Flaring its eyes the old skull stared them down ‘Til three piles of ashes lay cool on the ground Chorus I was justly terrified Of taking up this quest And I’d have been in danger Were it not for being blessed Little doll, with glowing eyes You have helped me win my prize I will see tomorrow, yes For you will tell me what is best PART III: I CAN TELL Verse 1 There is nothing left For me in this place Haunting memories And empty space So I’ll go to town Find somewhere to wait For father’s return At a future date Verse 2 A kind-hearted woman Childless and bent Offered me shelter And board without rent I said, “Bring me some flax “The best you can buy “For if I sit idle “Of boredom I’ll die” Refrain I can tell you what is coming I know what will happen next For I can read my future fortune Like the pages of a text Verse 3 Spinning so quickly This thread so fine “But how will I comb it “Little doll of mine?” “An old comb and a shuttle “And a horse’s mane “I’ll make you a loom “If you bring me the same” Verse 4 So I wove the linen And bleached it so white It passed through a needle Like thread so light “Grandmother, sell this “Make back what I owe” “No never, my child “To the tsar it will go” Refrain I can tell you what is coming I know what will happen next For I can read my future fortune Like the pages of a text Verse 5 The tsar was amazed And accepted the gift Rewarded the woman With all she could lift He said, “Make me some shirts!” But his seamstresses said “You must find someone else “To sew them instead” Verse 6 So the linen was given Back into my care And I sewed a dozen fine shirts Then I declared “You can take these all back now “To the tsar while I dress “For I’ve known all along “That my work would impress” Refrain I can tell you what is coming I know what will happen next For I can read my future fortune Like the pages of a text Verse 7 Down came the tsar Demanding to meet The woman who had sewn His shirts so sweet I said, “I am the lady “For whom you seek” His mouth went dry And his knees went weak Verse 8 “Vasilisa “You’ll be my wife! “And I will change forever “Your dreary life” “I could do far worse” I thought, “than this “All thanks to my little doll “I have all I could wish” Refrain I can tell you what is coming I know what will happen next For I can read my future fortune Like the pages of a text

She had mud caked to the hem of her dress It was wet Her boots squelched through it As she dragged it thick ‘cross my kitchen floor Every step was deliberate Her long coat was thin like she’d worn it in spring It was frayed It had rained and rained Back when she had walked on her final day Her wild hair framed a face that wasn’t there She followed me home from the cemetery She watched me sleep She was the basement creak She was the woman in the window with the cavernous stare Round every corner she was everywhere She was rage and wrath and so dispossessed Holding fast to the body she’d left When she stared me down she leaned into it And what she said to me I will never forget She said, you can see me And you can hear me And if you can see and hear me then you know I didn’t die willingly I didn’t die willingly She followed me home from the cemetery She watched me sleep She was the basement creak She was the woman in the window with the cavernous stare Round every corner she was everywhere When I looked into her hollowed out eyes I saw the tear I saw the sticks in her hair I heard a voice say You can sever all ties and solve the crime Make your vengeance mine I said, I can see you And I can feel you But I can’t undo what’s been done to you And I can’t do what you ask me to I can’t do what you’re asking me to do She followed me home from the cemetery She watched me sleep She was the basement creak She was the woman in the window with the cavernous stare Round every corner she was everywhere She followed me home She watched me sleep She was the basement creak She was the woman in the window with the cavernous stare Round every corner she was everywhere Round every corner she was everywhere She followed me home She followed me home I can see you But I can’t help you

The moon is risen, I can see your pebble path Leading brightly through the trees Stepping stones to safety Or at least to what is known But tonight there is nothing left to guide you Lose your way, my little children Build your fire higher May it keep you from the wolves Never fear, I will be your salvation Come near, eat your fill of my elation Nibble, nibble, like a mouse Who is nibbling at my house? Be ye friend or be ye foe Now you’ve come you’ll never go In the sunlight rosy windows sugar-spun Frosted eaves and ginger shingles Candy-petal gardens In the bright and dappled glade Come inside, oh, my poor diminished darlings Let me warm you by the hearth-flame Trust me, you’ll feel better When you’ve had a good night’s sleep While you’re sleeping I will weave for you a spell You are bound to my command, you will serve me well Never will you wander for this castle is a cage You can’t escape an orphaned fate and you’ve reached the final page You mistook the spider’s web for one last safety net Never fear, I will be your salvation Come near, eat your fill of my elation Nibble, nibble, like a mouse Who is nibbling at my house? Be ye friend or be ye foe Now you’ve come you’ll never go Nibble, nibble like a mouse Nibble, nibble like a mouse Nibble, nibble, like a mouse Who is nibbling at my house? Be ye friend or be ye foe Now you’ve come you’ll never go

There’s something wicked in the cellar Something wicked on the stairs There’s something wicked in the mirror But no one in this household cares There’s something wicked on the doorstep Something wicked in the wings There’s something wicked in the spotlight And this is how wicked sings It’s not in the flesh you’ll find poison It’s down in the pips if you swallow too much Salvation’s in moderation But it’s not (so they say) in the touch You can’t fall from grace with one little taste Believe me, I’ve already tried From the juice on my lips to the curve of my hips I promise you babe it’s no lie I've heard that they call me a serpent A mother of demons and kind A dragon, a raven, a nightmare They’ve never quite made up their minds Oh I’ve got a wingspan and sure I’ve got claws I know how to get things done I can see in the dark where I practice my arts This is how wicked comes So let’s weigh the pros and the cons here Oh that’s right you can’t - you don’t know what you are You have all the proper potential But that alone won’t get you far If you want to see what you’ll otherwise be Your eyes they’ve got to be clear You’ve been created to sate not be sated Just who is the enemy here? Oh I've heard that they call me a serpent A mother of demons and kind A dragon, a raven, a nightmare They’ve never quite made up their minds Oh I’ve got a wingspan and sure I’ve got claws I know how to get things done I can see in the dark where I practice my arts This is how wicked comes There’s something wicked in your mind dear Something wicked in your heart There’s something wicked in us all That keeps us from breaking apart There’s something wicked in defiance Something wicked in control There’s something wicked in awareness That we are the queens of our souls Oh I've heard that they call me a serpent A mother of demons and kind A dragon, a raven, a nightmare They’ve never quite made up their minds Oh I’ve got a wingspan and sure I’ve got claws I know how to get things done I can see in the dark where I practice my arts This is how wicked comes There’s something wicked on the doorstep Something wicked in the wings There’s something wicked in the spotlight And this is how wicked sings Something wicked this way comes

A hedge witch without a hedge Is like a shiny little knife without an edge The potential to grow wild is there Somewhere A hedge witch without a hedge Is like a shiny little knife without an edge The potential to grow wild is there Somewhere, I swear Would you believe it? There's mushrooms in your stew I picked them just for you today I'm pretty sure that These mushroom aren't the kind To make you lose your mind One sec, lemme check A hedge witch without a hedge Is like a shiny little knife without an edge The potential to grow wild is there Somewhere A hedge witch without a hedge Is like a shiny little knife without an edge The potential to grow wild is there Somewhere, I swear And when I asked you To bring me in the plate Out by the garden gate today Had I neglected To warn you of the plants That kill you on first glance? One sec, lemme check A hedge witch without a hedge Is like a shiny little knife without an edge The potential to grow wild is there Somewhere A hedge witch without a hedge Is like a shiny little knife without an edge The potential to grow wild is there Somewhere, I swear Somewhere, I swear Somewhere, I swear Somewhere, I swear

Husband had I and wife had he Each with our children on our knees But I didn't fight when he came for me Dreaming as one that we were free I and my lover we hatched a plan Wrapped up my youngest and swiftly ran Started anew on a foreign land This miner's lady with gold in her hand, oh The sun it is setting down into the waves The currents are crossing What is it he craves? I must possess you, my beauty, he raved It is pulling me under And I cannot be saved Two children born to him and I Under the neighbours' watchful eyes Showing them all our most practiced disguise One step ahead of all our lies, oh The sun it is setting down into the waves The currents are crossing What is it he craves? I must possess you, my beauty, he raved It is pulling me under And I cannot be saved Well I remember my last day Out with my lover on the bay Safe in our home our two children did play Only this son of mine did stay, oh Oars in the water make no sound Here's where my boat turns upside down Here's where my son and I were drowned Haunting the shore where we never were found, oh The sun it is setting down into the waves The currents are crossing What is it he craves? I have possessed you, my beauty, he raved It is pulling me under And I cannot be No, we cannot be Oh, he's the only one tonight Who will be saved But not from me No, not from me Ah, oars in the water

Teach me to embrace a shadow Hold me in your hands, immobile Ask me to uncover wisdom Pull me into bleakest night Temporary madness All-consuming sadness Nightmare inescapable Dorcha, she comes Wounds, she will cauterize Epona's Wild Daughter rides Owl-borne through every storm Dorcha, she comes Driving on toward the darkness Facing paralytic terror Gazing into the black mirror Searching for the road ahead Temporary madness All-consuming sadness Nightmare inescapable Dorcha, she comes Wounds, she will cauterize Epona's Wild Daughter rides Owl-borne through every storm Dorcha, she comes Share the journey now with me Starry-crowned epiphany Unearth remains that haunt the heart Unflinchingly Understand the rage in me The sage I'll be The mage you see Bring to light the page to be yet written Temporary madness All-consuming sadness Nightmare inescapable Dorcha, she comes Wounds, she will cauterize Epona's Wild Daughter rides Owl-borne through every storm Dorcha, she comes

Strip it back All the layers and opacities Masking incapacities I have played many parts to the bone Now let the beetles do their holy work Tell the story ridge by quirk I commit to every start But then I wind up here again Time for a reset to factory specs Before I know what happens next Under the red Away from the lens I get to reset and start again Pack it in Cut my losses and my atrophies And my barely dry catastrophes I can break any mold if I try Now that the fissures are invisible Counting every syllable I'm convinced the story's told But then I wind up here again Time for a reset to factory specs Before I know what happens next Under the red Away from the lens I get to reset and start again Start again Start again

Child of summer Flower-born Winter is coming You’re weary and worn Come share my hearth It’s safe underground And the leaves are falling down, my child The leaves are falling down Tell me about your adventures, child How did you come to this field? You must be hungry, you’re wasting away After your many ordeals Sit by the fire, tell me how does that feel? You won’t survive in this weather, child Stay here with me, earn your keep I have been gathering all summer long Close your eyes and go to sleep You nevermore will have cause to weep Child of summer Flower-born Winter is coming You’re weary and worn Come share my hearth It’s safe underground And the leaves are falling down, my child The leaves are falling down What a help you have been, child There is someone you should meet He’d make a wonderful husband As wealthy as you are sweet Go prepare dinner, you’re in for a treat Why do you bitterly cry, child? You’ll be a bride in the spring Life in the tunnels is safer You’ll never want for a thing All of our days will grow brighter when you sing Down in the darkness, you will sing Down in the darkness, you will sing Down in the depths of the darkness You’re the most beautiful sound Stay with us here, deep underground Child of summer Flower-born Winter is coming You’re weary and worn Come share my hearth It’s safe underground And the leaves are falling down, my child The leaves are falling down

you know, it really creeps in you don’t notice it at first even when you’re on the lookout even when you’ve rehearsed it doesn’t feel like a big deal what is one little kiss? but then you’re up to your eyeballs you know you’re better than this suddenly you’re surrounded and there’s something in the tea consequently you’ve grounded where deference is currency and there’s something to be said for eloquence and tasty bread but I’ve always been suspicious when they tell me I gotta bow my head so then you take your first step and it turns into a dance and before you even know it you’re the hot new romance you hear them starting to whisper and they start keeping track a little voice in your head says now you can never go back suddenly you’re surrounded and there’s something in the tea consequently you’ve grounded where deference is currency and there’s something to be said for eloquence and tasty bread but I’ve always been suspicious when they tell me I gotta bow my head

I've been outspoken for most of my life I was an independent unconventional wife I am a daughter estranged by truth I've been the woman that I fantasized about in my youth And I can look back at the patterns Speckled freckled heckled by compliance And I can feel the fire Smoking choking stoking up my young defiance In that silent era To that silent era me I've fought depression for all of my adult life I've been a drinker, a taker, and danced to the rhythm with strife I've been addicted to the pleasure of pain I've been the picture, the mirror, the track and the oncoming train And I can look back at the patterns Speckled freckled heckled by compliance And I can feel the fire Smoking choking stoking up my young defiance In that silent era You didn't hear her but that scream left her throat All that she had to give's on the cutting room floor While you get your coat She memorized her lines note for dubbed-over note Do it again for the camera And this time emote And I can look back at the patterns Speckled freckled heckled by compliance And I can feel the fire Smoking choking stoking up my young defiance To be free From what they said I could be In that silent era To that silent era me

Sunrise again And for one brief moment I'm free and clear to start When nobody's here When nothing is hard Breathing again No longer beholden To who I was last night When I shed my skin When I felt that Bite How do I survive such spite? At least I know the culprit this time That tiny little voice inside Always swears It wasn't me I watch the snow Falling through sunlight Like I wish that I could be Silent I'd fly And happy I'd seem I want to know How to stop falling When everything starts to melt And tries to seep in Past everything I've Felt How do I survive this hell? I thought I knew the culprit so well That tiny little voice won't tell It just swears It wasn't me It just swears it wasn't me It just swears it wasn't me So I guess it's Rinse and repeat Once more for good measure Take a deep breath and cry Flirting with death Won't keep you alive Hold and retreat Dancing between them Till all of the world's a stage So what's in a girl? And what is on her Page? How do I survive these flames? It's time to give the culprit a name That tiny little voice I'll blame When it swears It wasn't me Oh it swears it wasn't me Swears it wasn't me But it was Oh it was We both know it was Always me

Nine hundred years ago living in Spain I married a man for his wealth and his name I worried his relatives, frightened his friends I angered his servants and made no amends I gossiped with neighbours, delighting in spite And never let on what I did every night They thought me a witch or a wandering waif But I kept my secret unbidden and safe I am ageless By the power of my skin I am seduction I can draw a lover in I am beauty So look deep into my eyes I’m your destruction But I will keep you tantalized My fury was potent and flattened my head My eyes they grew narrow and terror was spread Condemned if you crossed me, much worse than my bite Embrace me, my love, and I’ll wrap you up tight I am ageless By the power of my skin I am seduction I can draw a lover in I am beauty So look deep into my eyes I’m your destruction But I will keep you tantalized Don’t you want to play? Side to side I’ll sway I will haunt you night and day There is nothing you can do or say I am here to stay A woman by daylight, a snake in the dark As long as my skin doesn’t meet with a spark For all you would need to break free from my spell Is fire: a secret I never will tell I am ageless By the power of my skin I am seduction I can draw a lover in I am beauty So look deep into my eyes I’m your destruction But I will keep you tantalized I am ageless I am beauty I am seduction And I’m your destruction Look in my eyes I will keep you tantalized

I want to dream like Mrs Butler dreams She walks in like a memory, strolling reality Or so it seems She walks out like a ghost Making the most of her see-through perambulation Haunting the house Haunting the house of her dreams So I imagine a house not too large A staircase and bookcases, old leather suitcases Wide open windows and chairs by the fire Crows on the rooftop and salt on the stovetop And herbs hanging down from the ceiling I want to dream like Mrs Butler dreams She walks in like a memory, strolling reality Or so it seems She walks out like a ghost Making the most of her see-through perambulation Haunting the house Haunting the house of her dreams Haunting the house of her dreams So I envision a garden run wild With mint and forget-me-not, monkshood and hollyhock Lavender, bedstraw and gold marguerite Crows in the seedbeds and wind blowing seedheads And bread left with cream by the hedgerow I want to dream like Mrs Butler dreams She walks in like a memory, strolling reality Or so it seems She walks out like a ghost Making the most of her see-through perambulation Haunting the house Haunting the house of her dreams Haunting the house of her dreams So I will conjure a place all my own A hedge witch’s haven, a life to be brave in Trees on the walls like the woods have come Wandering into my nemeton Witnessing all that I’m breathing out into the forest I want to dream like Mrs Butler dreams She walks in like a memory, strolling reality Or so it seems She walks out like a ghost Making the most of her see-through perambulation Haunting the house Haunting the house of her dreams Haunting the house of her dreams Haunting the house of her dreams

Estranged but still in view Opaque and looking through The wind brake there between A picture perfect scene And I can whisper like a zephyr And I can howl like a gale Go as dead as any calm Cut a twister-littered trail Any way the wind blows Couldn’t fight against the current if we tried Any way the wind blows Couldn’t fight against the current if we tried And we tried If I should forge ahead Deny the watershed Be tethered still in kind In body, heart and mind I would wither on the zephyr And I would cower in the gale Go as dead as any calm On a twister-littered trail Any way the wind blows Couldn’t fight against the current if we tried Any way the wind blows Couldn’t fight against the current if we tried Any way the wind blows Any way the wind blows Couldn’t fight against the current if we tried And we tried Tried Tried Tried

It was a dark and stormy day and she was glad Because it matched down to each blowing leaf the mood she had She had a dark and stormy way that made her smile A little thunder for the chaff she swept away awhile Leave me in peace No I will not go to seek What I've already found Leave me in peace As I sweep, sweep, sweep Out with the old In with the new year crowned A crowd began to pass her by and still she swept When they called out to her she stood and her own threshold kept The crowd began to thin till she was left alone To watch the sunset when the winter birds had all but flown Leave me in peace No I will not go to seek What I've already found Leave me in peace As I sweep, sweep, sweep Out with the old In with the new year crowned A star above her in the evening sky appeared It shone as boldly as the ones before now disappeared The star above her in the darkness burned so bright Taking its place among a billion suns of love and light Leave me in peace No I will not go to seek What I've already found Leave me in peace As I sweep, sweep, sweep Out with the old In with the new Out with the old In with the new Out with the old In with the new year crowned

My window on the world Is anchored to this spot I'm used to driving distances Across the map from dot to dot Now when I look up There's a ring of cedar trees around the sky Ever constant, ever changing As am I Even standing still Sundown and stepping out To touch the grass and breathe in She looked up So I looked up As 50 crows flew overhead So silently I would have missed them Otherwise Wingtips tipped in vibrant orange light Leaving me to bask In the afterglow of crows' flight Wingtips tipped in vibrant orange light Leaving me to bask In the afterglow of crows' flight Even standing still Even standing still Hawks and moths and butterflies Finches, jays and lullabies Vultures riding thermals high Hawks and moths and butterflies Finches, jays and lullabies Vultures riding thermals high Even standing still Even standing still Even standing still Even standing still All is flux and so am I Even standing still while I

One sorrow treads upon another's heels So fast they follow One willow grows along a glassy stream That flows by There are nettles in the daisies And thorns upon the rose Some girls sing in riddles Only Ophelia knows Doubt thou the stars are fire Doubt that the sun doth move Doubt truth to be a liar One lover beats upon another's heart So fast they follow One mother wakes to find a broken dream That flows by There are nettles in the daisies And thorns upon the rose Some girls sing in riddles Only Ophelia knows Doubt thou the stars are fire Doubt that the sun doth move Doubt truth to be a liar, to be a liar Doubt truth to be a liar, to be a liar One minnow lost upon another hook So fast they follow One widow winds along a silver stream That flows by There are nettles in the daisies And thorns upon the rose Doubt truth to be a liar Some girls sing in riddles Only Ophelia knows No muddy death for me Flowers hanging from the tree Madly I played the part Wild I am running free Nothing now will tarry me Doubt truth to be a liar There are nettles in the daisies And thorns upon the rose Some girls sing in riddles Only Ophelia knows There are secrets in the poppies That women know to save Some girls sing in riddles Over Ophelia's grave There are nettles in the daisies And thorns upon the rose Doubt truth to be a liar, to be a liar Some girls sing in riddles Only Ophelia knows Some girls sing in riddles But never doubt I love Only Ophelia knows Some girls sing in riddles Never doubt I love

I know where were the dragons sleep And they know what I stole If the cave was any deeper It would be a rabbit hole No one tried to stop me 'Cause no one saw me go But I'm running for my life Because the dragons always know Like a heart it fluttered Like a coal it glowed By the time the boat had crunched its keel upon the sand I'd hit the road I could feel it flicker I could feel it shake But there were miles yet to go Before I wanted it to wake (I know where the dragons sleep) I ran down the valley slope And up the other side To the boundary of the forest Where the darkest secrets hide No one came to find me 'Cause no one knows the way And I'm running for my soul Against the waning of the day Then I saw the clearing Then I saw the pyre And the shadows that were forming Like a circle round the fire This was now the moment This the firebrand There was just enough to watch it burn To cinders in my hands This was now the moment This the firebrand There was just enough to watch it burn To cinders in my hands (This the fire, this the firebrand) I know how the phoenix dies And she knows more than this How she gathers up her ashes To arise and find her bliss No one knows her history No one knows her name We may all be burning But we gather all the same (In her flame) (I know where the dragons sleep) Just enough to watch it burn Just enough to watch it burn Just enough to watch it burn To cinders in my hands There was just enough to watch it burn There was just enough to watch it burn There was just enough to watch it burn To cinders in my hands This was now the moment This the firebrand There was just enough to watch it burn To cinders in my hands (This the fire, this the firebrand)

(Samhain) From the storm cloud the rain falls From the tree branch the leaves are falling From the heavens the wind calls And the bean-sídhe’s voice is calling (Winter Solstice) Starlight shines upon us now Snowflakes fall to the ground Icicles hang from the pine tree bough Stillness and silence abound (Imbolc) Spindles and fingers reach into the bleak sky Life slumbers under a blanket of earth Kindle, awaken, let memory be shaken Midnight is passed; for light a rebirth (Spring Equinox) Bud, bud, open up now to the Sun, sun, warm up our bones Rain, rain, loosen the soil as a Bird, bird, daybreak intones (Bealtaine) Lie on the sweet grass and drink in the light Let your heart soar like a swallow in flight Lift up your eyes to the blossoming trees And breathe in the newness of life on the breeze (Summer Solstice) Climb, climb up to the hilltop To greet the rising sun Bask in its rays and sing out your praise Before the sweet darkness has come (Lughnasadh) Harvest the fruits of your labour in the morning Share in the feast of your bounty at noon Kick off your shoes and go dancing in the evening Welcome the night with a high, haunting tune (Autumn Equinox) Blustery the weather that brings us all together Beside the hearth we gather with thankfulness we sing When cold it is at night time and day’s a sunny bright time Then reddening the leaves are and fruit is ripening (Samhain) From the storm cloud the rain falls From the tree branch the leaves are falling From the heavens the wind calls And the bean-sídhe’s voice is calling