Loreena McKennitt - The old ways

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

On a dark new year's night
On the west coast of Clare
I hear 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

With sadness you paused.

Suddenly I knew that you'd have to go
Your world was not mine, 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.

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

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

Music and lyrics by Loreena McKennitt
From: The visit (1991).

A live version appears on Live in Paris and Toronto (1999)
and on Live at the Royal Albert Hall (2019).

The song can also be found on The journey so far - The Best of Loreena McKennitt (2014).

 
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last modified: 11 January 2020