Courtyard Lullaby Lyrics

       Music and Lyrics by Loreena McKennitt

Wherein the deep night sky
The stars lie in its embrace
The courtyard still in its sleep
And peace comes over your face

'Come to me' it sings
'Hear the pulse of the land
The Ocean's rhythms pull
To hold your heart in its hand'

And when the wind draws strong
Across the cypress trees
The Nightbirds cease their songs
So gathers memories.

Last night you spoke of a dream
Where forests stretched to the east
And each bird sang its song
A Unicorn joined in a feast

And in a corner stood
A pomegranate tree
With wild flowers there
No mortal eye could see

Yet still some mystery befalls
Sure as the cock crows at morn
the world in stillness keeps
The secret of babes to be born

I heard an old voice say 
'Don't go far from the land
The seasons have their way
No mortal can understand.'

         The photographs which appear in this booklet were
         taken at a 16th century hunting lodge in Portugal,
         where Elisabeth Feryn and I stayed for a week. Within
         the lodge was a courtyard, marked at each corner by
         orange trees. The feel of the place reminded me of
         the Unicorn tapestries which hang in The Cloisters
         in New York City. The tapestries and the lodge are
         both rich with earthy, pre-Christian iconography -
         depicting the mysterious life and death cycle of the
         seasons. It was in this courtyard that this piece was
         conceived. - L.M.

L.M.: Vocals, Harp, Keyboards, Ukalin
BRIAN HUGHES: Electric Guitar
ANNE BOURNE: Cello
TOM HAZLETT: Bass