Stone Creed Grove uses specific music for particular rituals, including several choral arrangements. You can find lyrics, sheet music, and recordings here.
Samhain: Come Love Away
by Brenden Taaffe
Sheet Music
Recording
Come, love, away
Like the deer on the mountain,
Run swift as the morning,
O Come, love, away.
Come, love, away
Like the bee in the orchard
Drunk on dew and necter
O Come, love, away
Now shall your heart be forever with my heart
Now shall your arms be forever my home.
Come, love, away
To the shores of the river
Come let the waters
Wash all cares away
Come, love, away
To the trees of the forest
The lark sings so sweet
at the dawn of the day
Now shall your heart be forever with my heart
Now shall your arms be forever my home.
Come, love, we’ll lie
‘neath the apple in blossom
the perfume of heaven
Yes, come, love, we’ll lie
Now shall your heart be forever with my heart
Now shall your arms be forever my home.
Samhain: Hymn to the Ancient Wise
Music from Child Ballad #89, “Fause Foodrage” or “Willy of Winsbury”.
Lyrics by the ADF Clergy Council.
Choral Arrangement by Dave “Thexalon” Kleinschmidt
Sheet music
Parts recordings: Soprano (octave down) Alto Tenor Bass
We call through the mist to the Ancient Wise
To poets, magicians, and priests.
We too keep the fire of the ancient ways
We have honored you well at our feast.
Wisdom and love we have gained in the work
But greater from you we now seek
The voice of the Wise has been still for too long
And with it we now hope to speak.
So lead us and speak to us, open our eyes
Guide us in mind, heart, and hand
Teach us, we pray you, the ways of the Wise
For the Gods, for the Folk, for the Land.
Yule: The Boar’s Head Carol
Music and most lyrics 15th century English carol, arrangement attributed to Wynkyn de Worde.
Lyrics paganized by Dave “Thexalon” Kleinschmidt
Sheet music
Recordings: All Parts Soprano Alto Tenor Bass
The boar’s head in hand bear I
Bedecked with bay and rosemary
And I pray you, my friends, to be merry
For feast for all will soon be nigh.
CHORUS
This the boar’s head now I bring
Praises to the Aesir sing
The boar’s head, I understand
Is the rarest dish in all the land
Which thus bedecked with a gay garland
Its bristles bless our gathered band.
CHORUS
Our steward hath provided this
In honor of the Queen of bliss
Which on this day shall be served is
In this our Grove’s hall not to miss.
CHORUS
Imbolg: Hymn to Brighid
By Isaac Bonewits. Choral / Instrumental arrangement by Dave “Thexalon” Kleinschmidt
Sheet Music Harp part
Recordings: All parts Soprano Alto Tenor Bass
(Irish)
A Bhrid, ár gcroí, an gheal Bheonríon
lo de hoil é beannach ta sinn.
Is sinn bhur lean aí, is tu ár mamaí,
be ag isteacht dúinn marsin.
Is tu an coire, anois in ár doire;
a Bhean-Feasa tinfim orrainn.
A thine ghrá, a thine bheatha;
lo de hoil é ag teacht Bhrid dúinn!
(English translation)
Oh Brighid, our heart, our brightest queen,
Cast your blessings unto us.
We are your children, you are our mother
So hearken unto us.
You are the cauldron now in our Grove
Wise woman, inspire us.
Oh fire of love, oh fire of light
please Brighid, come to us!
Imbolg: Brighid Chant
Bríd thuas linn
Bríd thíos linn
Bríd maidir linn
Bríd inár gcroí
(English translation)
Brighid above us
Brighid below us
Brighid around us
Brighid in our heart
Imbolg: Brighid Triple Flame
Brighid Triple Flame be within me
Tonight, tomorrow, and forever
Tonight, tomorrow, and forever
Spring Equinox: Hymn to Dionysos
Lyrics from the Homeric Hymns.
Music by Dave “Thexalon” Kleinschmidt
Sheet Music
Recordings: All parts soprano alto tenor bass
(Greek lyrics – transliterated)
Kissokomen Dionyson eribromon arkhom’ aeidein
Zenos kai Semeles erikydeos arlaon yion,
hon trephon eykomoi Nymphai para patros anaktos
dexamenai kolpoisi kai endykeos atitallon
Nyses en gyalois: ho d’aexeto patros heketi
antro en eyodei metarithmios athanatoisin.
aytar epeide tonde theai polyymnon ethrepsan,
de tote phoitizeske kath’ yleentas enaylous
kisso kai daphne pepykasmenos: ai d’am’ heponto
Nymphai, ho d’exegeito: Bromos d’ekhen aspeton hylen.
kai sy men hoyto khaire, polystaphyl’o Dionyse
dos d’emas khairontas es horas autis ikesthai
ek d’auth’ horaon eis tous pollous eniaytous.
(English lyrics)
To ivy-crowned Dionysos, the loud-crying god, sing his praises
Zeus and Semeles’ splendid son of most gracious parents
Raised by the lovely-haired nymphs so tasked by his father the god-king
Welcomed among them, kindly embraced in their hearts, truly cherished
Nysa’s valleys were his first home by the will of his father
cave fragrant with sweet wine as he claimed his true role as immortal.
But once the time of goddesses’ fosterage ended with hymn-songs
then he did frolic through the forest barking and piping
ivy and laurels his main adornments, and soon following
nymphs he lead on the ways with great shouts as the sounds filled the forest.
To you we sing our praises, as grape clusters grow, Dionysos
Grant us please a season of joy they come back to seek here
And may this joy carry forward for many seasons.
Spring Equinox: The Ox-Plowing Song
Melody and lyrics based on English folk song as performed by John Kirkpatrick.
Choral arrangement by Dave “Thexalon” Kleinschmidt
Sheet Music
Recordings: All Parts Soprano 1 (melody) Soprano 2 Alto Tenor Baritone Bass John Kirkpatrick’s version
Come listen, all sweet charmers, come hear us rejoice
For nothing can compare to the plow-folk’s voice
There’s none that sing so merry as the farmers do in spring
When they hear the small birds whistle and the nightingales do sing.
CHORUS
When they hump along, jump along
Here, plies my blade along
Tuck and Tiger leading them on
Ruck and Ruby following along
Blubber and Fry now, hear me crying hoof along
We are the folk who can follow the plow
Oh we are the folk who can follow the plow.
We rise before the dawn, up before sun will shine
We rattle up our chains for to work we climb
The oxen teams we gather, for our work we all now how
Tie the oxen to the yolk, and the yolk to the plow
CHORUS
If farmers have no corn no corn can they sow
And millers have no work for their mills also
And bakers has no bread for the poor to provide
If the plow should stand still we should all starve alive.
CHORUS
And now to conclude this song must end
We know the plow-folk will all have friends
So health to the farmer, to the oxen in the stall
Here’s to health to the plow and to jolly plow-folk all.
CHORUS
Beltaine: processional – Hal-an-Tow
A traditional English May Day procession song, Stone Creed Grove follows a version by The Watersons.
Recording by the Watersons
Takes no scorn to wear the horns
It was a crest when you were born
Your father’s father wore it
And your father wore it too.
CHORUS
Hal an tow
Jolly rumble oh
We were up long before the day-o
To welcome in the summer
To welcome in the May-o
The summer is a-coming in and winter’s gone away-o.
Robin Hood and Little John
Have both gone to the fair-o
And we will to the merry green woo
To hunt the buck and hare-o
CHORUS
Beltaine: Never Lose Our Way to the Well
Performance
We will never
Never lose our way to the well
Of Her memory
And the power
Of Her living flame it will rise,
It will rise again
Like the grasses
Through the dark, through the soil, to the sunlight
We will rise again
We are thirsting
For the waters of life we are moving,
We will live again
Beltaine: Stone Creed May
Music by Martin Carthy. Lyrics by Shawn Miller and Ian Corrigan. Choral arrangement by Dave “Thexalon” Kleinschmidt
Sheet music
Rise up, Rise up you merry folk
Rise up and greet the day
We sing the blossom and the bud for this is our Stone Creed May, our May
For this is our Stone Creed May!
Red breast Robin now appears,
And the Greenwood is in bloom,
And brings an end to cold and frost and the winters passing gloom, the gloom
And the winters passing gloom.
Naught would be without the Gods,
And to them we sing praise,
To lovely Aine and MacOc who brightens all our days, our days
Who brightens all our days.
We’ve been up before the dawn
To light the fire of day,
And welcoming the Summer in, this is our Stone Creed May, Our May
This is our Stone Creed May!
Now our song is nearly done,
And you’ve heard our Stone Creed May
Please give to us a May Day draught and we will go away, away
And we will go away!
Beltaine: Maypole song
Come the lord of the green wood, green wood (x3)
To court the lady fair.
In the heat of the passion, passion (x3)
The corn will rise again.
Lughnassadh: The Spear Dance
The sun must die that the earth may live
The darkness rises in its turn
That the land its bounty give
Milk and honey, ale and corn