| <Fairport Convention> page <Jewel In The Crown> album page |
The IslandsWe do not fear the long shipsWe've seen long ships before Men sailed here from the Northlands And hauled their boats ashore They brought with them their music Their language and their lore And they burned their boats and stayed here on the Islands It's midday in the wintertime Before the moon goes pale The winter songs are very long The storm winds and the gales The midnightsun's as distant As the calling of the whales Till spring returns again to paint the Islands The grey seals and the otter The salmon and the char The land locked and the sea trapped The free birds in the air The shepherd and the farmer And all those in their care Harmonize the music of the Islands We never feared the long ships Till the coming of the Braer The roaring sea in anger threw That broken boat ashore Spilled fuel enough to take that ship Twice round the world or more Filled the air with oil to paint the Islands As if the sea had realized The tragedy in store Its waves continued pounding About a week or more Most of the crude was washed away And never came ashore And the sea regained its temper round the Islands So may this be a warning To those whose faceless greed Would sail close to our shoreline To save both fuel and speed The sea is our protector Provider of our needs And a jealous guard and keeper of these Islands |