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 earthShe bears the scars of our fears and our follies
Breathe gently of the air
Lie gently in the water
Touch gently to the fire.
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 earthYou were born of Her, She gave you being
Breathe gently of the air
Lie gently in the water
Touch gently to the fire.
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 earthI have always loved this song, which has a really beautiful tune and a great message.
Breathe gently of the air
Lie gently in the water
Touch gently to the fire.
Source: The Neith Network Library which also has several other poems / songs by the same author:
- Carolyn Hillyer: House Of The Weavers - I come to you
- Carolyn Hillyer: Turquoise Lady - Sweet mother ocean
- Carolyn Hillyer: Night Woman - She is woman who sees
- Carolyn Hillyer: Magdalene, Magdalene
- Carolyn Hillyer: A Sister's Passion - The doorway is narrow
- Carolyn Hillyer: Jaguar - Ee-oo-ee, ee-oo-ee
- Carolyn Hillyer: Rise Of The Corn - I sing the ripening corn to you
- Carolyn Hillyer: Secret Stream - I am a secret stream
- Carolyn Hillyer: Sacred Marriage - In forest heart the Man of Leaves is dancing
- Carolyn Hillyer: Egypt Dust - I knocked at the door of the Three Guardians
- Carolyn Hillyer: Angels of the rising dawn
- Carolyn Hillyer: Tread Gently - Drum your footsteps to the sacred mountain
- Carolyn Hillyer: Mother Of The Moor - Small river brings me to your gate
- Carolyn Hillyer: Give Me Wild - Way, way, way, o-hey
- Carolyn Hillyer: Heron Valley - There's a Maiden coming in
- Carolyn Hillyer: A Mystery Unfolding - Fox passing through the purple dusk
- Carolyn Hillyer: Holly Woman - She is the eye of the storm
- Carolyn Hillyer: The Mask - The travellers spoke in this way
- Carolyn Hillyer: Two Drumbeats - Through the softening night
- Carolyn Hillyer: I (Am The Spirit) - I…, I…, I…, I…, I…
- Carolyn Hillyer: The Fish And The Moon - So she journeyed to sit at the ocean edge
- Carolyn Hillyer: Filled By You - We float in a water with no shore
- Carolyn Hillyer: Little bird on your maiden flight
- Carolyn Hillyer: Celebration Road - Someone is running at the edge of the world
And her website, where you can buy her CDs, is Seventh Wave Music.
A very beautiful song. Thank you for posting.
ReplyDeleteVery 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.
ReplyDeleteI have sung the following as a meditation from time to time. It's by New Model Army album "The Ghost of Cain"
ReplyDeleteWhen 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
Very beautiful...I have sung the following "Ballad" by New Model Army, from the Album "Ghost of Cain" as a meditiation in worship
ReplyDeleteWhen 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
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
ReplyDeleteWhen 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
Yes, good song, if somewhat despairing in tone.
ReplyDelete