A new Pagan Song! (Filk)

I was listening to a collection of Irish Rebel songs, and ran across one tune, called Rising of the Moon. It struck me that it needed to become a pagan song...so, I filked it. It's very '80s paganism in it's tone...but what the heck.

You can listen to the tune from a MIDI file (you can probably turn it into a ring tone!), see the sheet music and original lyrics at this site:

http://sniff.numachi.com/~rickheit/dtrad/pages/tiRISEMOON;ttRISEMOON;ttWEARGREN.html

And now, the piece...

Rising of the Moon
Lyrics: Farrell McGovern
Tune: Traditional Rebel Song (Rising of the Moon and/or Wearing of the Green)
Copyright (K) Use as you like, just remember me...

Come tell me Sum'ner Farrell
Tell me why you hurry so?
Hush a bhuachaill, hush and listen
And his cheeks were all aglow
I've orders from the priestess
Get you ready quick and soon
The coven's set to gather
At the rising of the moon

The rising of the moon
The rising of the moon
The coven's set to gather
At the rising of the moon

Come tell me Sum'ner Farrell
Where the gatherin' is to be
At the old spot by the river
Quite well known to you and me
And by way of signal token
Whistle loud this pagan tune
And gate into the circle
At the rising of the moon

The rising of the moon
The rising of the moon
And gate into the circle
At the rising of the moon

From many tented hovels
Came the pagans through the night
A'following the moonbeams
Of the blessed Lady's light
Murmurs ran along the valley
Like the banshee's lonely croon
The pentacles were flashing
At the rising of the moon

The rising of the moon
The rising of the moon
The pentacles were flashing
At the rising of the moon

All along that singing river
Children of the Goddess met
And in a sacred circle
Many holy spells were set
A mighty call for healing
while a piper called the tune
A God and Goddess heard them
At the rising of the moon

The rising of the moon
The rising of the moon
Our planet needs a'healing
With the rising of the moon

The rising of the moon
The rising of the moon
And The God and Goddess hear us
At each rising of the moon

Happy Turkey Day!

To all of my fellow Americans, HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

To all of my fellow Canadians, We already had our's in October, so a Happy Belated Thanksgiving.

I found a great kids site that explains the difference between the two...so in the interest of education, here are two quotes from the site that explain things so that each side of the 49th Parallel know why the other celebrates this holiday.

US:The First Thanksgiving
Let's go back to the year 1620. A bunch of pilgrims had just come over from England because they were bullied for their strict religious beliefs there and they thought America would give them a chance to start a new life. They landed at Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts on their ship, the Mayflower. Their first year in America really sucked - they couldn't find food and nearly half of the 102 people who first came over were dead by the next fall. But in 1621 things started to look better - they had a huge harvest with a ton of food. To celebrate, they held a huge feast and invited a group of Indians who had helped the Pilgrims get through that first difficult year. It was quite the party - three days of pigging out on venison, various birds, fish, fruit, and vegetables. That was the first Thanksgiving.

http://www.kidzworld.com/site/p1521.htm

CANADA:How It Began
The origins of Canadian Thanksgiving are more closely connected to the traditions of Europe than of the United States. Long before Europeans settled in North America, festivals of thanks and celebrations of harvest took place in Europe in the month of October. The very first Thanksgiving celebration in North America took place in Canada when Martin Frobisher, an explorer from England, arrived in Newfoundland in 1578. He wanted to give thanks for his safe arrival to the New World. That means the first Thanksgiving in Canada was celebrated 43 years before the pilgrims landed in Plymouth, Massachusetts!

http://www.kidzworld.com/site/p2614.htm

Please visit each for more information.

ttyl