Oak, from Spell Songs II: Let The Light In

‘Oak’ from Spell Songs II: Let The Light In Released December 2021 Featuring Karine Polwart, Julie Fowlis, Seckou Keita, Kris Drever, Rachel Newton, Beth Porter, Jim Molyneux. Inspired by the creatures, art and language in the acclaimed The Lost Words and The Lost Spells books by renowned author Robert Macfarlane and award-winning artist Jackie Morris. Poplar is the whispering tree, Rowan is the sheltering tree, Willow is the weeping tree, and Oak is the waiting tree. For this song I wanted music that had life and a sense of still, woody, wisdom, like the tree at its heart. So I used my old-fashioned sounding guitar, put on my wellworn trad music boots, closed the door on my humdrum trivia and played ‘til it felt about right. Some things are hard work, but that tune was unbidden. It could have been ‘written’ in any number of centuries. The incantation from the Oak spell wrapped itself so easily around the melody that we had to keep it. Rob and I started the lyric by exploring the number of uses that humans have now, and have had through time, for the oak’s timber. In the writing it left me with a real tangible idea of symbiosis; how far would we have gotten without this tree? Without ships, tools, ink, shelter, furniture, wheels, toys, cradles, caskets and on and on and on. I think the oak at this point might just be waiting for us to come to our senses. Kris Drever Oak: The hull of the ship that ploughs the sea The ink that keeps our history The axes haft that fells the tree The Poplar is the whispering tree And the Rowan is the sheltering tree The willow is the weeping tree And the Oak is waiting The fire burns and it makes this home Built around these seasoned bones The chair pulled up beside the hearth And the sleepers of the iron path (Chorus and the sound of the Edinburgh School’s Climate Strike 2019) The wheel that makes the seasons turn The beasts that shelter in the barn This table that we sing around And the casket we put in the ground The Poplar is the whispering tree And the Rowan is the sheltering tree The willow is the weeping tree And the Oak is waiting Sanji saba ea kan balu Sanji nani ea man balu Sanji kononto ea man balu Iyeh iyeh Sanji kononto ea man balu Sanji nani ea man balu Sanji saba ea man balu Sanji nani ea man balu yeh Sanji kononto ah Iyeh iyeh Sanji kononto ea man balu Iyeh iyeh yeh Sanji sama ea man balu Sanji saba iyeh iyeye Three hundred years to grow Three hundred more to thrive Three hundred years to die Nine hundred years alive Translation from Mandinka: Three hundred years to grow Three hundred more to thrive Three hundred years to die Nine hundred years alive Indeed, yes indeed To learn more about Spell Songs go to www.thelostwords.org/spell-songs Order now Spell Songs II: Let The Light In now from: All Retail US and ROW: https://orcd.co/spellsongsii All Retail UK/EU: https://ffm.to/spellsongsii-eu Spotify: https://orcd.co/spellsongsii/spotify iTunes: https://orcd.co/spellsongsii/itunes Apple: https://orcd.co/spellsongsii/apple Deezer: https://orcd.co/spellsongsii/deezer Amazon: https://orcd.co/spellsongsii/amazon Pandora: https://orcd.co/spellsongsii/pandora