The Old Ways Lyrics

       Music and Lyrics by Loreena McKennitt

The thundering waves are calling me home to you
The pounding sea is calling me home to you.

On a dark new year's night
On the west coast of Clare
I heard your voice singing
Your eyes danced the song
Your hands played the  tune
T'was a vision before me.

We left the music behind and the dance carried on
As we stole away to the seashore
We smelt the brine, felt the wind in our hair
   And with sadness you paused.

Suddenly I knew that you'd have to go
My work was not yours, your eyes told me so
Yet it was there I   felt the crossroads of time
   And I wondered why.

As we cast our gaze on the tumbling sea
A vision came o'er me
Of thundering hooves and beating wings
   In clouds above.

As you turned to go I heard you call my  name.
You were like a bird in a cage, spreading its
Wings to fly
'The old ways are lost' you sang as you flew
   And I wondered why.

         I spent a most haunting New Year's Eve in Doolin,
         County Clare, Ireland some years ago, and was moved
         by the antiquity of the some of the celebrations. Yet
         I was met by deep reminders that they may be the
         remnants of the old world meeting the "new". - L.M.

L.M.: Vocals, Harp, Whistle, Bodhran, Keyboards
AL CROSS: Drums
TOM HAZLETT: Bass
PATRICK HUTCHINSON: Uillean Pipes
HUGH MARSH: Fiddle
BRIAN HUGHES: Guitar