Mark Avison
Síðueldur
There’s many a saga and tale to be told
Of bloodshed and battles once fought long ago
Our island of glaciers, mountains and snow
Meet heaven and hell on the land far below
Cold rain blown across oceans and mountains and continents
Our story is cast on the third day of June
The mountain is torn in the late afternoon
The black breath of demons, of fire and of flame
The devil himself all our lives come to claim
Cold rain blown across oceans and mountains and continents
The sheep and the cattle lie dead in the fields
And smoky blue water a poison conceals
Our children are drowned in the cold light of day
And shadows are cast across silent decay
Cold rain blown across oceans and mountains and continents
There’s no one to save us, there’s no one to see
The death on the mountain the death on the breeze
There’s no one to save us, the gods justified
For ever remember the day the dance died
Cold rain blown across oceans and mountains and continents
Síðueldur
And over the far lands the sun wears a veil
The leaves turn to brown and the harvests they fail
How mighty are fallen, how innocent weep
A new revolution the promises keep
Cold rain blown across oceans and mountains and continents
Not Lonely Now
I’m not lonely now
I’m not lonely now
You climbed in through my window
I’m not lonely now
I’m not crying now
I’m not crying now
You climbed in through my window
I’m not crying now
I’m not sleeping now
I’m not sleeping now
You climbed into my dreams and
I’m not sleeping now
Almost there
Just a little line to bring me to your door
Another little sign to make you think there could be more
There’s always been a breeze to help us drive the clouds away
Just beyond the trees and cross the stream without delay
Don’t you ever tire of fooling me around
Balanced on a wire someday we’re going to hit the ground
Looking for a clue to guide us through these twists and turns
Nothing left to lose. The summit cairn is where we learn so
Hold my hand we’re almost there
Through the scree tread carefully and you will see
We’ll find a way back down
Every little lie is written on your face
Every alibi has broken down to your disgrace
It’s never been a crime to let it take your breath away
I’m giving you the time to make it right in every way so
Hold my hand we’re almost there
Through the scree tread carefully and you will see
We’ll find a way back down
The Voice of Loch Katrine (lyrics by Polly Avison)
Take your time next time treading this old pass
Breathe in the gorse, the gold light up your path
Brightly aurora flirt with the dark night
Be you by water or a mountain height
What can you hear o’er howling of wind?
Carried down stream the voice of Loch Katrine
She was our sweet heart, she knew all the town!
She grew so bonny, her beauty was renowned
But still more lovely, more lovely than that face
She would start singing: Sorrow, love replaced
Friend can you hear her above the wind?
That’s what we call the Voice of Loch Katrine
One night of passion, a single night she strayed
One night was all: Her love that was betrayed
Lost for another, broken on the sand
Lost to the waves that crash along the strand
Say you can hear her dancing on winds
That’s what we call the voice of Loch Katrine!
Shame took her from us, shame tore her from grace
Shame I could ne’er wash from that sweet face
She was my sweet heart but they’re all to blame
No one dare sing. Her brave echoes remain.
Say you can hear her dancing on winds
That’s what we call the voice of Loch Katrine!
Friday Street (lyrics by Polly Avison)
Take me back to Friday Street she asks me every night
Cigarettes and spirits we assemble by moonlight
Ultimately somebody will set out wings alight
Patiently they’ll harness all our shining plumes of flight
And Ooh, we’ll fly
Ooh, we’ll fly
Down to Friday Street we stumble nearly every night
Sometimes only Friday Street keeps sanity in sight
Ultimately up to me, advice I try to take
Happiness comes only when the cycle starts to break and
Everything alright on Friday Street
Never be alone on Friday Street
Everything alright on Friday Street
Never be alone on Friday Street
Last night down on Friday Street we set the demons straight
Embracing altogether our inevitable fate
Ultimately somebody will set our wings alight
But until that moment lift my spirit through the night
And Ooh, we’ll fly
Ooh, we’ll fly
Everything alright on Friday Street
Never be alone on Friday Street
Everything alright on Friday Street
Never be alone on Friday Street
Solway Moss
This night with yours so many souls
The waters deep they drownded
Away, away, the cries I hear
A swirling grave surrounded
I’ll hold your head until you’re gone
Until your blood has left you
I’ll wait beneath the glowering sky
And watch your soul pass into
And the wind blows wild across
And the Galloway ponies they know their way back through the moss
There’ll be no more lost there’ll be no greater cost in the fight
When we bring back the cattle and horses they stole in the night
And the horn sounds through the air
And the ice in our hair joins the dark with the smell of despair
Tomorrow we ride to revenge those that died for the cause
So our women and children can live without fear of the sword
Hear the silence fall
Around the tower walls
Will there be blood spilt
And does the child cry
Can there be justice
If all of us die
This night with yours so many souls
The waters deep they drownded
Away, away, the cries I hear
A swirling grave surrounded
Until the sun grows cold
Open skies
And mountains wide
Breathe the air we feel inside
No one else I’d rather share
Plans to find the world out there
Pulling weeds
And sowing seeds
Waiting for the first green leaves
Talking ‘bout the day it snowed
Trails along the glistening road
Stay with me until I’m old
Stay until the sun grows cold
And dark
There’s a place
That we both go
By the fireside winter glow
Through the sand and through the snow
Hold my hand don’t let me go
Sharing time
And sharing light
Sharing pieces of the night
Never seem to find the place
To say how much I need your grace
Stay with me until I’m old
Stay until the sun grows cold
And dark
Heaven Knows
So I’ve cleared out of your bedroom and my bags are in the hall
In a little while a taxi’s going to take me from it all
I don’t believe you recognise how hard it’s going to be
When the door between us closes and finally we’re free
No, no, it wasn’t how we planned
Broken dreams and shattered schemes we didn’t understand
No, no, no, we couldn’t compromise
And heaven knows, heaven knows, heaven knows we tried
Well I took us to the gardens and I took us to the shore
I swear and for the life of me we couldn’t have done more
We talked about the future and we talked about the past
The conclusion that we came to was our love it wouldn’t last
No, No ...
I’ll never ask for sympathy I’ll never look form proof
In the corner of the lyrics for some tiny hidden truth
I only wish you well as you set out along the track
That winds around our destiny while never looking back
No, no ...
Nine days
Hear the tales told of bravery unknown
Of the blood spilt so darkly on the stone
Of our lady so innocently used
Of our lady so wrongfully accused
In the dark night only starlight
Knows that you might face the day alone
When the dawn plays what your soul prays
Just for nine days lay across your throne
So our child queen a slender freckled flower
By a window inside the castle tower
Those around you conspiracy they weave
And the walls feel your heart and courage cleave
In the dark night ...
Over green fields and then across the sand
Take the freedom and you will take my hand
All the memories will be written true and fair
All the memories will be heard never despair
No remorse, no repentance where you’re lain
There’s no image of your face or of your pain
When your eyes cast across the leaden sky
Over cold stone we hear the ravens cry
In the dark night ...
Munro Shuffle
Well I took me to the hills, I was looking for a goal
Looking for something to feed my soul
And I found me a mountain, standing all alone
So I looked for a sign, a path or a line or some kind of stone
Into the rain, Into the sky
Into the pain of the teeth of the gale where everybody cries
Now there’s many more to climb for a jolly mountaineer
Three in a day, it’s better that way if the pathway’s clear
If the snow’s too deep or the wind too high
Never despair, tomorrow prepare for a clear blue sky
Into the rain, Into the sky
Into the pain of the teeth of the gale where everybody cries
So you may be lover or you might be a friend
I’ve got to believe the tales that you weave have a happy end
A solitary smile, a twinkle in your eye
I haven’t the time or a suitable rhyme to ask you why?
Into the rain, Into the sky
Into the pain of the teeth of the gale where everybody cries
Into the rain
Carried on the breeze, I hope these words will comfort you and
Another day to seize and take away the answer to
Don’t go, don’t fly away
Although I see you turning your face into the rain
Everybody knows we make our own reality and
Confidence that grows will carry through adversity
Don’t go, don’t fly away
Although I see you turning your face into the rain
Sunshine takes you, lighting up the darkest hour
I know you can gently hold adventure in the hollow of your hand
Waiting in the wings, there’s no one standing in your way and
It’s here the world begins, to you unfolds a perfect day so
Don’t go, don’t fly away
Although I see you turning your face into the rain
Said and Done
You stand on the threshold and your bags they’re all packed
You’ve made up your mind so there’s no more looking back
You wanted your freedom, you wanted escape
A new life is waiting beyond the cityscape
How many lovers have you broken apart
How many sorrows unconsoled
How many secrets do you hold in your heart untold
I hope you’re quite ready for travelling alone
You know that I’m always at the end of a phone
You’ve burnt all your bridges and sold all your books
A head full of music where nobody looks
How many lessons will you learn on the road
How many sinners will you save
How many handfuls of seeds will you sow and raise
I read all your letters, I’ve read between lines
I wish I could say that I’ve found that subtle sign
You say that you’re happy, you say that you’re strong
A new way of living to play out in a song
How many tunes do you still hold in your head
How many songs remain unsung
How many empty stages when all is said and done