Joy of Living (Ewan MacColl) Farewell you northern hills, you mountains all goodbye Moorland and stony ridges, cracks and peaks goodbye Glidderfach farewell, Coolbegs go fell, cloud bearing Sulven Sun warmed rock and the cold bleak close frozen sea The snow and the wind and the rain of hills and mountains Days in the sun and the tempered winds and the air likewise And you drink and you drink till you're drunk On the joy of living Farewell to you my love, my time is almost done Lie in my arms once more until the darkness comes You filled all my days, held the night at bay, dearest companion Years pass by and they come with the speed of birds in flight Our live like the verse of a song heard in the mountains Give me your hand and love and join your voice with mine We'll sing of the hurt and pain And the joy of living Farewell to you my chicks, soon you must fly alone Flesh of my flesh, my future life, bone of my bone May your wings be strong, may your days be long, sure be your journey Each of you bears inside of you the gift of love May it bring you light and warmth and the pleasure of giving Eagle is safer each new day on the taster of his mouth Never lose sight of the thrill And the joy of living Take me to some high place of heather, rock and ley Scatter my dust and ashes, feed me to the wind So that I will be part of all you see, the air you are breathing I'll be part of the curlew's cry and the soaring hawk The bloom ilk ward and the sundew hung with diamonds I'll be riding the gentle wind that blows through your hair Reminding you how we shared In the joy of living ---------------------------------------------------------------------- copyright Ewan MacColl Ltd. tune: traditional Sicilian recorded by Ewan MacColl on "Black And White" (1986), with his wife Peggy Seeger and their children Calum, Neill and Kirsty MacColl "Ewan's love of life, his involvement in politics, his passionate attachment to the traditional music and to theatre never abated, even with the onset of ill health and old age. Although not the last song he wrote, this was meant as a farewell to the world and to the people he loved" Ewan MacColl died in 1989, aged 74. MJ
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