Saturday 11 June 2011

Tread gently on the earth

a song by Carolyn Hillyer (tune on YouTube)

Drum your footsteps to the sacred mountain
Lay down on the bleeding earth and sigh
Breath the rhythm of the Mother sleeping
Listen to Her dream, She whispers: Come alive!
Tread gently on the earth
Breathe gently of the air
Lie gently in the water
Touch gently to the fire.
She bears the scars of our fears and our follies
The dark night hovers and the world sits blind
But the waters flow and the moon is singing
Daughter winds are gathering and hope is high.
Tread gently on the earth
Breathe gently of the air
Lie gently in the water
Touch gently to the fire.
You were born of Her, She gave you being
She healed your body and brought your soul fire
As the Mother wakes we must awaken with Her
We will fade away if we let Her die.
Tread gently on the earth
Breathe gently of the air
Lie gently in the water
Touch gently to the fire.
I have always loved this song, which has a really beautiful tune and a great message.

Source: The Neith Network Library which also has several other poems / songs by the same author:
And her website, where you can buy her CDs, is Seventh Wave Music.

6 comments:

Daniel said...

A very beautiful song. Thank you for posting.

Yewtree said...

Very evocative, isn't it? I have heard it sung a few times around Pagan camp-fires. But I could see it going down well in Unitarian circles, too :) But then I sang the Unitarian hymn Mother Spirit, Father Spirit to some Wiccans and they liked it a lot.

RevDan said...

I have sung the following as a meditation from time to time. It's by New Model Army album "The Ghost of Cain"

When they look back at us and they write down their history
What will they say about our generation?
We're the ones who knew everything and still we did nothing
Harvested everything, planted nothing.
Well we live pretty well in the wake of the goldrush
Floating in comfort on waves of our apathy
Quietly gnawing away at Her body
Until we mortgage the future, bury our children
Storehouses full with the fruits we've been given
We send off the scrag-ends to suckle the starving
But still we can't feed this strange hunger inside
Greedy, restless and unsatisfied.

I was never much one for the great "Big Bang" theory
Going out in a blaze of suicidal glory
Not foolish and brave, these leaders of ours
Just stupid and petty, unworthy of power;
Just a little leak here and a small error there
Another square mile poisoned forever
A series of sad and pathetic little fizzles
And out go the lights, never to return.
The affair it is over, the passion is dead
She stares at us now with ice in Her eyes
But we turn away from these bitter reproaches
And take up distractions to forget what we're doing

I stand on these hills and I watch Her at night
A thousands square miles, a million orange lights
Wounded and scarred, She lies silent in pain
Raped and betrayed in the cold acid rain
And I wish and I wish
We could start over again
Yes I wish and I wish
We could win back Her love once again

RevDan said...

Very beautiful...I have sung the following "Ballad" by New Model Army, from the Album "Ghost of Cain" as a meditiation in worship

When they look back at us and they write down their history
What will they say about our generation?
We're the ones who knew everything and still we did nothing
Harvested everything, planted nothing.
Well we live pretty well in the wake of the goldrush
Floating in comfort on waves of our apathy
Quietly gnawing away at Her body
Until we mortgage the future, bury our children
Storehouses full with the fruits we've been given
We send off the scrag-ends to suckle the starving
But still we can't feed this strange hunger inside
Greedy, restless and unsatisfied.

I was never much one for the great "Big Bang" theory
Going out in a blaze of suicidal glory
Not foolish and brave, these leaders of ours
Just stupid and petty, unworthy of power;
Just a little leak here and a small error there
Another square mile poisoned forever
A series of sad and pathetic little fizzles
And out go the lights, never to return.
The affair it is over, the passion is dead
She stares at us now with ice in Her eyes
But we turn away from these bitter reproaches
And take up distractions to forget what we're doing

I stand on these hills and I watch Her at night
A thousands square miles, a million orange lights
Wounded and scarred, She lies silent in pain
Raped and betrayed in the cold acid rain
And I wish and I wish
We could start over again
Yes I wish and I wish
We could win back Her love once again

RevDan said...

I have sung the following "Ballad" by New Model Army from the album "Ghost of Cain" as a meditation in the past...In fact I seem to remember singing in ecumenical worship at Luther King House

When they look back at us and they write down their history
What will they say about our generation?
We're the ones who knew everything and still we did nothing
Harvested everything, planted nothing.
Well we live pretty well in the wake of the goldrush
Floating in comfort on waves of our apathy
Quietly gnawing away at Her body
Until we mortgage the future, bury our children
Storehouses full with the fruits we've been given
We send off the scrag-ends to suckle the starving
But still we can't feed this strange hunger inside
Greedy, restless and unsatisfied.

I was never much one for the great "Big Bang" theory
Going out in a blaze of suicidal glory
Not foolish and brave, these leaders of ours
Just stupid and petty, unworthy of power;
Just a little leak here and a small error there
Another square mile poisoned forever
A series of sad and pathetic little fizzles
And out go the lights, never to return.
The affair it is over, the passion is dead
She stares at us now with ice in Her eyes
But we turn away from these bitter reproaches
And take up distractions to forget what we're doing

I stand on these hills and I watch Her at night
A thousands square miles, a million orange lights
Wounded and scarred, She lies silent in pain
Raped and betrayed in the cold acid rain
And I wish and I wish
We could start over again
Yes I wish and I wish
We could win back Her love once again

Yewtree said...

Yes, good song, if somewhat despairing in tone.