Get all 13 Sharon Knight releases available on Bandcamp and save 20%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of *NEW* Undertow, Fireflies, Witch Moon EP, Gower Wassail, Siren Songs, Portals, The Transmigration of Cora Riley: Original EP, Neofolk Romantique, and 5 more.
1. |
Fire in the Head
04:46
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Fire in the Head
(Words/Music by Sharon Knight & Winter)
High upon a hill
Before the shrieking of the wind
I lay my spirit bare
At the feet of untamed things
Amidst the crumbling stone
Where time-worn gods have lain their hands
I walk the night alone
To claim the magic of this land
When the bright glory comes
I will feast with the shining ones
When the bright glory comes...
The screaming hag that rides the wind
Will rip the soul right from your skin
The hollow hills will swallow you
And flay apart your mind
To win the kiss of the gifted ones
We risk our lives on the mountain front
There’s some wake mad, and some wake dead
And some will rise with a fire in their head.
The fire mountain burns
Thrust up from primordial sea
A thousand glittering pools
Reflect the shape the destiny
The giant sits his chair
To test the seeking soul below
He sees you striving there
To claim which way your fate will go
At the crimson blush of dawn
I will sing my victory songs
At the crimson blush of dawn I’ll sing
CH x2
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2. |
Saucy Sailor
03:27
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Saucy Sailor
(Trad., arr. Winter)
Come me own one, come me fair one
Come now unto me
Could you fancy a poor sailor lad
Who has just come from sea
You are ragged love, and you’re dirty love
And your clothes smell much of tar
So be gone you saucy sailor lad
So be gone you Jack Tar
If I am ragged love, and I’m dirty love
And my clothes smell much of tar
I have silver in me pocket love
And gold in great store
And when she heard him say so
On her bended knee she fell
I will marry my dear Henry
For I love a sailor lad so well
Do you think that I am foolish love?
Do you think that I am mad?
For to wed with a poor country girl
Where no fortune’s to be had
I will cross the briny ocean
I will whistle and sing
And since you have refused the offer love
Some other girl shall wear the ring
Oh I am frolicsome, I am easy
Good tempered and free
And I don’t give a single pin me boys
What the world thinks of me.
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3. |
Henry Martin
05:51
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Henry Martin
There were three brothers in merry Scotland,
In merry Scotland there were three
And they did cast lots which of them should go
And turn robber all on the salt sea.
The lot it fell first upon Henry Martin,
The youngest of all of the three
That he should turn robber all on the salt sea
For to maintain his two brothers and he.
They had not been sailing but a long winter's night
And part of a short winter's day,
When he spied a stout lofty ship
Come a-bibing down on them straightway.
"Hello, hello," cried Henry Martin,
"What makes you sail so nigh?"
"We're a rich merchant ship bound for fair London Town,
Would you please for to let us pass by."
"Oh no, oh no," cried Henry Martin,
"This thing it never can be.
For I have turned robber all on the salt sea,
For to maintain my two brothers and me."
"So lower your topsail and brail up your mizzen,
Bow your ship under my lee,
Or I will give to you a full cannon ball,
And all your bodies drown in the salt sea."
"Oh no, we won't lower our lofty topsail,
Nor bow our ship under your lee,
And you'll not give to us a full cannon ball,
No, nor point our bold guns to the sea."
So broadside, and broadside, and at it they went,
For fully two hours or three,
Until Henry Martin gave them the death shot,
And straight to the bottom went she.
Sad news, bad news, to old England came,
Sad news to fair London town,
There's a rich merchant vessel and she's cast away,
And all of her merry men drowned.
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4. |
Well Below the Valley
05:29
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Well Below the Valley
(traditional, arr. Winter)
A gentleman was passing by
He asked for a drink as he got dry
At the well below below the valley o
Green grows the lily o
Right among the bushes o
Me cup is full up to the brim
If I were to stoop I might fall in
At the well below the valley o
Green grows the lily o
Right among the bushes o
If your true love was passing by
You'd fill him a drink as he got dry
At the well below the valley o
Green grows the lily o
Right among the bushes o
She swore by grass, she swore by corn
That her true love had never been born
At the well below the valley o
Green grows the lily o
Right among the bushes o
Well below the valley-o, green grows the lily-o
Right among the bushes-o, Well below the valley-o
He said, Young maid, you're swearing wrong
For six fine children you had born
At the well below the valley o
Green grows the lily o
Right among the bushes o
If you be a man of noble fame
You'll tell to me the father o' them
At the well below the valley o
Green grows the lily o
Right among the bushes o
There's two of them by your Uncle Dan
Another two by your brother John
At the well below the valley o
Another two by your Father dear
If you hold true the stories you hear
At the well below the valley o
Green grows the lily o
Right among the bushes o
Well below the valley-o, green grows the lily-o
Right among the bushes-o, Well below the valley-o,
If you be a man of high esteem
You'll tell to me what’s happened to them
At the well below the valley o
Green grows the lily o
Right among the bushes o
There's two buried 'neath the stable floor
Another two by the kitchen door
At the well below the valley o
Another two beneath the well
They wait to hear you keening in Hell
At the well below the valley o
Green grows the lily o
Right among the bushes o
You'll be seven years a-ringing the bell
And seven more a’courtin' in Hell
At the well below the valley o
Green grows the lily o
Right among the bushes o
I'll be seven years a-ringing the bell
But the Lord above may save me soul
At the well below the valley o
Green grows the lily o
Right among the bushes o
Well below the valley-o, green grows the lily-o
Right among the bushes-o, Well below the valley-o,
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5. |
Bold Marauder
04:36
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BOLD MARAUDER
(Fariña / Fariña, arr. Winter)
I will bring you silver and gold, I will bring you treasure
I will bring a widowing flag, I will be your lover
I will show you grotto and cave, and sacrificial altar
I will show you blood on the stone, and I will be your mentor
And night will be our darling
And fear will be our name
I will take you out by the hand, and lead you to the hunter
I will show you thunder and steel, I will be your teacher
We will dress in helmet and sword, and dip our tongues in slaughter
We will sing a warrior’s song, and lift the praise of murder
And Christ will be our darling
And fear will be our name
CH
It’s hi, ho, hey,
I am the bold marauder.
And it's hi, ho, hey,
I am the white destroyer.
I will sour the winds on high, I will soil the river
I will burn the grain in the field, I will be your mother
I will go to ravage and kill, I will go to plunder
I will take a fury to wife, and I will be your father
And death will be our darling
And fear will be our name
CH x2
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6. |
Song of Wandering Aengus
02:19
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Song of Wandering Aengus
by William Butler Yeats
I went down to the hazelwood
Because a fire was in my head
I cut and peeled a hazel wand
And hooked a berry to a thread
And when white moths were on the wing
And moth white stars were flickering out
I dropped the berry in the stream
And caught a little silver trout
And when I laid it on the ground
And went to blow the fire aflame
Something rustled on the ground
And someone called me by my name
It had become a glimmering girl
With apple blossoms in her hair
She called me by my name and ran
And vanished in the brightening air
And though I'm old with wandering
Through hollow lands and hilly lands
I will find out where she has gone
Ad kiss her lips and take her hands
I'll walk through long green dappled grass
I'll walk till time and time is done
The silver apples of the moon
The golden apples of the sun
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7. |
Bells of Alluria
04:39
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Bells of Alluria
(Sharon Knight/Winter)
Stay my love, don’t you go out tonight
Stay my love, for the fair ones ride tonight
Oh, the moon is ripe and shining full
At the witching hour their bells will toll
Tonight
Stay my love, for She of the Sylvan lands
Captures hearts with a touch of her hand
The red rose twines up from the hells
Her scent beguiles and you lose yourself
Her tresses shine with an infernal light
She’ll ensnare your soul
And you will not be mine
Shake your silver branches
Set the bells to sing
Revel in the dances
Of the new-made Faery King
Where do you go, my fairest love
Where do you go, with the witching moon above
I’m going out beyond the silver trees,
For you’ve stirred my soul with mystery
The branches twist like a beckoning
The scent of apples lures me in
He’s gone out in the deep of the night
He’s gone out, to glimpse the Faery light
At the edge of the wood where the air is thin
They’ve set their eerie bells to ring
They’ll feed him on the Faery wine
She will speak his name
and he will not be mine
Shake your silver branches
Set the bells to sing
Revel in the dances
Of the new-made Faery King
I’m going out where the branches turn to grey
I’m going out where the beauty does not fade
For once I had a lover true
His heart was lost at the sight of you
I’ll seek him where the night sun shines
And we’ll spend forever drunk on Faery wine
Shake your silver branches
Set the bells to sing
Revel in the dances
Of the new-made Faery King
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8. |
The Captain's Flask
02:30
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9. |
Mistress of MacLyr
04:25
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Mistress of MacLyr
(Words/Music by Sharon Knight & Winter)
Tempestuous twilight, bring my love to me
Whose froth-white horses come sweeping in from sea
And carry my heart away from me
Melancholy eyes, deep with dreams of starfish
Eerie moonglow hair, soothing sand into surrender
And operas of Seraphim singing of your splendor
Oh the roiling churning sea
He will come for me
I will wait by my crystal palace and
He will come for me
Your salty kiss is on my tongue and tangled in my hair
With shells between my toes, and yearning for more
I dance the dance of wild night and conjure you to shore
Your beauty pierces through me, Master of the Sea
Courtship fierce and stormy, you laid your claim on me
Your foamy tendrils gripped my hair, and ravished me away
Oh the roiling churning sea
He will come for me
I will wait by my crystal palace and
He will come for me
Carry me away to your jeweled and dewey deep
Never will a mortal's kiss stir my soul from sleep
I am ravished utterly away
Oh I am ravished utterly away
Oh the roiling churning sea
He will come for me
I will wait by my crystal palace and
He will come for me
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10. |
Johnnie Laddie
04:21
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Johnnie Laddie
(traditional, arr. Winter)
Oh how ken ye my love Johnny
He is down on yonder lee
And he's looking and he's joking and he's aye a-teasing me
He's pulling and he's teasing but his meaning's not so bad
If it's ever going to be, oh tell me now my Johnny lad
When the sheep are in the fold and the cae are in the byre
There's other lads and lasses sitting 'round a roaring fire
But for me a Glasgow lassie
Just like as I was mad
Through the nooks and barley stalks
A-jenking you my Johnny lad
Oh my Johnny's blithe and bonny
He's the pride of all the Lee
And I loved him best of any
Though he's aye a-teasing me
He teases me and squeezes me and tickles me like mad
None comes near me that can cheer me like my own Johnny lad
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11. |
Johnny Shoemaker
03:08
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My Johnny Was A Shoemaker
(traditional, arr. Winter)
My Johnny was a shoemaker
And dearly he loved me
My Johnny was a shoemaker
Bu now he' gone to sea
For to raise the topsail up against the mast
And to sail across the sea, stormy sea
And sail across the stormy sea
His jacket was a deep sky blue
Oh and curly was his hair
His jacket was a deep sky blue
Oh it was I do declare
With soot and tar to soil his hands
And to sail across the sea, stormy sea
And sail across the stormy sea
One day he'll be a captain bold
With a brave and gallant crew
One day he'll be a captain bold
With a sword and spyglass too
Ad when he as his gallant captain's sword
He'll come home and marry me, marry me
He'll come home and marry me
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12. |
MacCrimmon's Lament
06:33
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Maccrimmon's Lament
(trad. arranged Sharon Knight/Paul Nordin/Ann Gray)
Round Cuillin's peak the mist is sailing
The banshee croons her note of wailing
But my blue e'en with sorrow are streaming
For him that will never return, MacCrimmon
No more, no more, no more, forever
In war nor in peace shall return MacCrimmon
Till dawns the sad day of doom and burning
MacCrimmon is home no more returning
It’s dirges of woe, the sea is sighing
The boat under sail is listlessly lying
The voice of the waves in sadness is dying
Saying thou art away and never returning
No more, no more, no more MacCrimmon;
In war nor in peace shall return MacCrimmon;
Till dawns that sad day of doom and burning,
MacCrimmon is home no more returning
MacCloud’s wizard flag from the gray castle sallies
The rowers are unseated, and moored are the galleys
Gleam war axe and broadsword clang target and quiver
For him that shall never return, MacCrimmon
No more, no more, no more forever
In war nor or peace shall return MacCrimmon
No more, no more, no more forever
Shall love or gold bring back MacCrimmon
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Sharon Knight Oakland
Festival favorites Sharon Knight and her longtime collaborator Winter perform a mythic-Celtic style, which they call "Neofolk Romantique; songs for poets, adventurers and lovers of mystery". They tour internationally several months of the year, bringing their fantastical tales of love and magic to festivals, cafes, and homes across the land. ... more
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