Dear Friends,
When I read that in the Amazon, where now is forest were once great cities, and surmise that those peoples we encounter there may represent, not the beginnings of social order, but its last remnants, I think of Plato; he writes that, from time to time the gods send floods to purify the earth: floods which have washed away many a high civilization.
Deep in our hearts, something must remember these floods. Deep down, we sense that, as Bob Dylan writes,
“a hard rain’s a-gonna fall”.
As the winds howl, as the waves roar, the Skye Boat Song reminds us that something can be saved: a little boat can take to safety that in us which is of gold — “the lad who is born to be King”.
Two questions become of utmost importance:
Who is that lad?
and, What is the boat?
Thank you so much.
With every good wish,
Ishmael
Skye Boat Song
Lyric: Sir Harold Boulton, 2nd Baronet of Copped Hall (1859 — 1935);
Melody from the song “Cuachag nan Craobh” by William Ross (1762 — 1790/91).
Arranged and performed by Ishmael Wallace, tenor and pianist
[In this recording, verse 3 is omitted]
Speed, bonnie boat, like a bird on the wing,
Onward! the sailors cry;
Carry the lad that's born to be king
Over the sea to Skye.
1. Loud the winds howl, loud the waves roar,
Thunderclaps rend the air;
Baffled, our foes stand by the shore,
Follow they will not dare.
2. Many's the lad, fought on that day
Well the claymore did wield;
When the night came, silently lay
Dead on Culloden's field.
3. Though the waves leap, soft shall ye sleep,
Ocean's a royal bed.
Rocked in the deep, Flora will keep
Watch by your weary head.
4. Burned are their homes, exile and death
Scatter the loyal men;
Yet ere the sword cool in the sheath
Charlie will come again.
Flora MacDonald’s Farewell to Bonnie Prince Charlie
by George William Joy (1844–1925)
Beautiful, Ishmael! And I love the art as well. How have you been? How’s your garden coming along?