Saturday, February 26, 2011

Memorial for the Swan

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Prompted by my friend Corbin Keep, we held a small gathering in the cold and snow today to remember the swan.  David Cameron brought an ornamental swan head, pictured above, Corbin played The Swan by Camille Saint-Saens.  We shared some stories of Gus the swan and then and I led the group in a song I composed called "The Swan" also.  You can hear us singing that here.





Islanders now gather round
     The swan, the swan was swimming
The swan lays dying on the ground
     And the swan swims here no more.

Gathered on a wintery day
     The swan, the swan was swimming
On the rocky shores of Mannion Bay
     And the swan swims here no more.

Where salmon leapt upon the weir
     The swan, the swan was swimming
Where ducks and geese all lived in fear
     And the swan swims here no more.

All who came to know that bird
     The swan, the swan was swimming
Defied the warnings they had heard
     And the swan swims here no more.

Islanders have come and gone
     The swan, the swan was swimming
We had the swan to reflect upon
     And the swan swims here no more.

A stately bird of grace and poise
     The swan, the swan was swimming
Beautiful and mute of voice
     And the swan swims here no more.

For this wild creature was one of us
     The swan, the swan was swimming
A mute and silent blunderbus
     And the swan swims here no more.

Who are we without the swan?
     The swan, the swan was swimming
A part of us is dead and gone
     And the swan swims here no more.

The tide rolls in and fills the Bay
      The swan, the swan was swimming
But the waters here are still today
     And the swan swims here no more.

Now eagles chase the gulls away
     The swan, the swan was swimming
And things have changed on Mannion Bay
      And the swan swims here no more.

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