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Seven Star Green

by Rebsie Fairholm

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1.
Cursed be they that have ruined a fair land, And cursed be they that have sealed up the wells, And cursed be they that abandoned the Gods hands,  And build a strange place for their people to dwell.   Cursed be your breath and cursed be your breathing, Cursed be your eyes and cursed be your sight, Cursed be your hands that have blackened the harvest, And closed the old ways to the joy and the light.   Cursed be your name all cursed and forgotten, Cursed beyond memory, place, or recall, And dust be your souls out of Nothing begotten, Nothing to no-thing, and Nothing to All.   Now cursed are they that have ruined our fair land, And cursed are they that have sealed up our wells, And cursed are they that abandoned our Gods hands, And built a strange place for the children to dwell. Lyrics © R J Stewart
2.
Our captain cried all hands away tomorrow Leaving us girls behind in grief and sorrow What makes you go abroad fighting for strangers? When you could stay at home and free from dangers You courted me a while just to deceive me And now you've gained my heart you mean to leave me Oh there's no trusting men, not my own brother So girls if you would love, love one another I'd roll you in my arms my dearest jewel So stay at home with me and don't be cruel Down on the floor she fell like one that was dying The house was filled with grief sighing and crying The drums are beating love the pipes are playing I must be on my way no longer staying Dry off those briny tears and leave off weeping And happy we shall be at our next meeting
3.
See now how a city street condemns As the drizzle thickens on the Thames You're counting the railings like missed chances While the public don't give second glances Through the haze of the wine you know where you should be And a monocled dandy wants you round for tea Power is what luxury affords Ten thousand gets you in the House of Lords Or plied with cake and a dose of tea-time violence Served with a slice of permanent silence Please don't take it personal my dear It's how they deal with rebels here The night slips down the drainpipe with the rain And shadows brush the floorboards once again Wheel the bedstead back over the carpet And nothing ended here and nothing started
4.
Come all you fair and tender girls That flourish in your prime Beware, beware, keep your garden fair Let no man steal your thyme For when your time it is past and gone He'll care no more for you And every place where your thyme was waste Shall spread all o'er with rue For a woman is a branchy tree And man a clinging vine And from her branches carelessly He'll take what he can find
5.
Dawn alchemy Rises to be Pauses in the window And sets herself free A vision on a fragile thread of chi Star of delight Ploughed beyond sight In the murmurs of longing halflight A song of wisdom sweet Cracks like twigs Beneath our horses' feet Perigee Organdie Alchemy Roses borne of night Lilies spun from light Twine on the bowers of love As imagination sings An alchemical angel takes its wings Green in the tree Dream to the sea And the nautilus deep in the sand With its spiral hid inside Silken rainbow burnish With its face towards the tide Perigee Organdie Dream to Be Alchemy
6.
Pavane 05:12
Belle qui tiens ma vie Captive dans tes yeulx Qui m'as l'ame ravie D'un soubz-ris gracieux Viens tost me secourir Ou me fauldra mourir Pourquoy fuis tu mignarde Si je suis pres de toy Quand tes yeulx je regarde Je me perds dedans moy Car tes perfections Changent mes actions Tes beautéz et ta grace Et tes divins propos Ont eschauffé la glace Qui me geloit les os Et ont remply mon cœur D'une amoureuse ardeur Approche donc ma belle Approche toy mon bien Ne me sois plus rebelle Puis que mon cœur est tien Pour mon mal appaiser Donne moy un baiser Je meurs mon Angelette Je meurs en te baisant Ta bouche tant doucette Va mon bien ravissant A ce coup mes espritz Sont tous d'amour espris
7.
Minstrel Boy 06:12
The minstrel boy to the war is gone In the ranks of death you'll find him His father's sword he hath girded on And his wild harp slung behind him Land of Song! cried the warrior bard Tho' all the world betrays thee One sword, at least, thy rights shall guard One faithful harp shall praise thee The minstrel fell, but the foeman's chain Could not bring that proud soul under The harp he lov'd ne'er spoke again For he tore its chords asunder And said No chains shall sully thee Thou soul of love and brav'ry Thy songs were made for the pure and free They shall never sound in slavery
8.
Central Line 01:24
Central Line Everybody loves the Central We know why It'll get you east to west The quickest and the reddest It's the Central Line No potential deviation It's flat and horizontal The line of least resistance A crime to call it crimson 'cause it isn't It's the Central Line Goes from Epping to West Ruislip Hear it's nice there It used to be much longer It used to go to Ongar It's the Central Line London's very own equator But it's not that straight It's got the sharpest curve along it Between Shepherd's Bush and White City It's the Central Line Forty-nine different stations Stationed on it And as for Oxford Circus The busiest station on the network, maybe on earth Lyrics © Praveen Manghani
9.
Oh love is teasing and love is pleasing And love's a treasure when first it's new But as love grows older at length grows colder And fades away like the morning dew I left my mother and I left my father I left my brothers and sisters too I left my home and my fond relations I left them all for the love of you Now if I'd known before I courted That love had been so hard to hold I'd have locked my heart in a box of silver And bound it fast with a key of gold Oh love is teasing and love is pleasing And love's a treasure when first it's new But as love grows older at length grows colder And fades away with the morning dew
10.
As it fell out on a bright holiday Small hail from the sky did fall Our Saviour asked his mother dear If he might play at ball “At ball, at ball my own dear son It's time that you were gone And don't let me hear of any misdoing At night when you come home" So it's up the hill and down the hill To play with the ball ran he And there he asked three rich young lords “Come play at ball with me” Oh, we are lords and ladies sons Born in a bower and hall And you are nothing but a poor maid's child Born in an ox's stall. “If you're all lords and ladies sons Born in your bower and hall I'll make you believe in your latter end For I'm an angel above you all” So he made him a bridge of the beams of the sun And over the water crossed he These rich young lords followed after him Drowned they were all three So it's up the hill and down the hill These rich lords' mothers run “Oh Mary mild, fetch home your child For ours he's drowned each one" So Mary mild fetched home her child And laid him across her knee With a handful of green withy twigs She gave him slashes three Oh withy, oh withy, oh bitter withy You've caused me to smart And the withy shall be the very first tree That shall perish at the heart
11.
Don't go No, no, my love I hear you above Don't go Don't know how long since I died Or how I can know I'm shut inside But I hear you above And I'm longing For the world that I love For belonging I can't forget I can't let go Let me return Don't go Oh, to see the birth of Spring Feel it soften Or even to feel the earth Just outside my coffin I dream of the sky Of ascent And I ache for your skin And I'm helpless within This torment I need to breathe I need to be free Of this body I cannot scream Can only dream Even the dreams they smother I can't break through Can't reach you Or any other I can't forget I can't let go Let me return Don't go No, no, my love I hear you above Don't go To all strangers passing by Here lies a ghost that cannot fly So sing her a lullaby That she may rest Lyrics © Slumbering
12.
This ae nighte, this ae nighte Any nighte and alle Fire and fleet and candle-lighte And Christe receive thy saule When thou from hence away art past Any nighte and alle To Whinny-muir thou com'st at last And Christe receive thy saule If ever thou gavest hosen or shoon Any nighte and alle Then sit thee down and put them on And Christe receive thy saule But if hosen or shoon thou ne'er gav'st nane Any nighte and alle The whinnes will prick thee to thy bare bane And Christe receive thy saule When thou from hence away art past Any nighte and alle To Brig o' Dread thou com'st at last And Christe receive thy saule If ever thou gavest meat or drink Any nighte and alle The fires will never make thee shrink And Christe receive thy saule But if meat or drink thou ne'er gav'st nane Any nighte and alle The fires will burn thee to thy bare bane And Christe receive thy saule This ae nighte, this ae nighte Any nighte and alle Fire and fleet and candle-lighte And Christe receive thy saule glossary: this ae nighte = this one night fleet = floor or hearth Whinny-muir = moorland covered with nasty prickly spiky stuff hosen and shoon = socks and shoes (useful for crossing prickly spiky moorland) whinnes = gorse spikes bane = bone Brig = bridge

about

When I was working on Seven Star Green I told people it was a straight follow up to Mind The Gap ... but it isn't, of course. It evolved into something I would have found difficult to imagine beforehand and was a constant voyage of discovery. This album is darker, richer and lusher than Mind The Gap. The music lost some of its innocence but gained a unique voice.

Some of the change was down to circumstance. I found myself without a mandolin player or a fiddler, and ended up replacing them with a rock guitarist and a cellist. Both of whom are brilliant musicians who brought their own vision to the project.

So it has the usual ethereal psych-folk ambience rooted in the British landscape, and soaring, haunting vocals. But this album finds a new complexity and sophistication, particularly in the instrumentation. Daniel Staniforth brings expressive cello to some songs, sumptuous flamenco guitar to others, while Dick Langford contributes fire-fingered electric guitar and some wildly original arrangements. And once again there is a "surprise" track which doesn't fit any definition of the genre ... but we like to raise two fingers to genres don't we?

credits

released August 1, 2009

Rebsie Fairholm: voice, piano, 12-string guitar, synths, percussion
Daniel Staniforth: cello, acoustic and classical guitars, bass, midi instruments, backing vocals on Central Line.
Dick Langford: electric guitar, bass, midi instruments

Produced and engineered by Daniel Staniforth with some mixing by Rebsie Fairholm and Dick Langford.

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Rebsie Fairholm Cheltenham, UK

Haunting psych-folk inspired by the English landscape and the spirits of the ancestors. I play 12-string guitar, harp, piano, cornamuse, whistle and whatever else comes to hand. Now working full time with Marvin B Naylor.

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