HIGHDOWN FAIR

1978

Lyrics translated by Peter Sinfield

HIGHDOWN FAIR

At Highdown fair for two farthings

My father bought me a little white mouse...

Along came a grey cat and ate up the white mouse

My father bought in the market square...

At Highdown fair for two farthings

My father bought me a little white mouse...

Along came a black dog and jumped on the grey cat

Who ate up the white mouse

My father bought in the market square...

At Highdown fair for two farthings

My father bought me a little white mouse...

Along came an old stick and beat off the black dog

Who jumped on the grey cat who ate up the white mouse

My father bought in the market square...

At Highdown fair for two farthings

My father bought me a little white mouse...

Along came a fire and burnt up the old stick

Which beat off the black dog

That jumped on the grey cat

Who ate up the white mouse

My father bought in the market square...

At Highdown fair for two farthings

My father bought me a little white mouse...

Along came sweet water and put out the fire

Which burnt up the old stick

Which beat off the black dog

That jumped on the grey cat

Who ate up the white mouse

My father bought in the market square...

At Highdown fair for two farthings

My father bought me a little white mouse...

Along came a great ox and drank all the water

Which put out the fire

Which burnt up the old stick

Which beat off the black dog

That jumped on the grey cat

Who ate up the white mouse

My father bought in the market square...

At Highdown fair for two farthings

My father bought me a little white mouse...

Along came a butcher and slaughtered the great ox

Which drunk all the water

Which put out the fire

Which burnt up the old stick

Which beat off the black dog

That jumped on the grey cat

Who ate up the white mouse

My father bought in the market square...

At Highdown fair for two farthings

My father bought me a little white mouse...

And the angel of death came by for the butcher

Who slaughtered the great ox

Which drunk all the water

Which put out the fire

Which burnt up the old stick

Which beat off the black dog

That jumped on the grey cat

Who ate up the white mouse

My father bought in the market square...

At Highdown fair for two farthings

My father bought me a little white mouse...

And last came the Lord, who threw down the angel

Who came for the butcher

Who slaughtered the great ox

Which drunk all the water

Which put out the fire

Which burnt up the old stick

Which beat off the black dog

That jumped on the grey cat

Who ate up the white mouse

My father bought in the market square...

THE HERONS

And now when the earth has stooped to gather

In the careful hands of autumn

All that summer has abandoned,

A time of left behind...

Comes a wind that blows unceasing

Erodes away the dunes

On grey moon hungry beaches,

Cry out in black formation

Their scorn upon the world

Everturning...

And there where the fruit no longer ripens

On the vines the years have withered,

Has the earth so soon forgotten

That not so long ago

How the wind was soft and perfumed

How the herons turned and circled

WIth their wings aflame with sunset...

Now the winter crows parading

Cry out in black formation

Their scorn upon the world

everchanging...

OLD MEN AND BUTTERFLIES

Just off a highway, a many ringed oak tree,

guarding forever his corner of meadow,

saw one hot june day a dusty old pedlar

footsore and weary look round him

for shadow...

"Come my weary friend and lay your pack upon the ground

and I will keep you safe if you should care to rest your head.

Come my weary friend and lay your troubles all around

and listen to the music in the leaves above your bed."

Gladly the oid man

lay down by the oak tree

muttered his thanks and fell soundly asleep...

The old pedlar

slept on for many an hour

resting his head on his hand by and by:

he dreamed a dream that he'd left his old body

and had become a fine gold butterfly...

The golden butterfly went flitting

flower after nower

and dreamed he was an old man

fast asleep for many an hour...

The golden butterfly went flitting

flower after flower

and dreamed he was an old man

sound asleep for many an hour...

The old pedlar slept on beneath

the great oak tree

dreaming his butterfly dream

where he new free...

The golden butterfly went flitting

flower after flower

and dreamed he was an old man

who could sleep for many an hour.

The golden butterflies go flitting

ever to explore

but dream that they are old men

who can sleep for evermore.

LULLABYE TO SARAH

You are a sailboat

Upon the ocean

You are a sailboat

And I will sterr you

Across the sea to dreamland

To where a soft breeze

Blows in a deep blue sky

And moves the palm trees...

And you will lie there

And hear the birds sing

And they will bring you presents

Of a hundred gold rings

And if you count them slowly

They'll change to wishes

So sleep my little sailboat

With stores of milk and honey

And sixpences for money

And safe beneath a great moon

I'll sing this rockabye tune,

So shut your pretty eyes

And I'll steer you to the white sand

For we're on our way to dreamland

Until the morning...

THE SONG OF ETERNAL NUMBERS

Come here my angel and sit on my knee

And tell me what song you would hear from me.

"Sing me the song of eternal numbers

And from this day I shall well remember".

One is for the reaper

Waiting for his harvest of life,

Two is for the oxen straining at the cart,

Three is for the world and its every part,

Four there are the standing stones of Merlin

Where the hero's swords were ever sharpened...

One is for the reaper

Waiting for his harvest of life.

And the sum of the golden times

In all ages of man is five

Sang the dwarf in a cloud of steam,

Threw six herbs in the draught which he stirred

And he laughed... he went "ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha,"

And there are seven suns and there are seven moons,

Eight the blazing fires by the first of june,

Nine is for the maidens dancing round the fountain

Worshipping the moon rising on the mountain...

One is for the reaper

Waiting for his harvest of life.

Ten is for the galleons coming from the war

Which our young men fought on a distant shore

And walking with their flag we counted eleven,

All that now remain of a hundred young men...

One is for the reaper

Waiting for his harvest of life.

And the sum of the golden times

In all the ages of man is five

And the months of the year are twelve

Made of days, made of hours and minutes that pass

And they pass and they pass, they pass...

Now twelve is for the signs in the starbright sky

In envy of his neighbour challenge and defy,

I sing you the song of eternal numbers

But I see a time when all is ended...

One is for the reaper

Waiting for his harvest of life.

There will come a day when the trumpet splits the sky

And thunder, fire and wind will lay waste the low and high;

That will be the time in the song of numbers

When the reaper tires at last of waiting...

One is for the reaper

And two the oxen, and three the parts,

And four is for the stones,

Five is for the ages, six is for the herbs,

And seven are the suns,

And seven are the moons, eight is for the fires,

Nine is for the maidens, ten is for the galleons,

Eleven for the young men, twelve is for the signs

And twelve for time a'passing...

One is for the reaper who laughs

As one by one the stars blink out

THE STAG

Tell us our good master

Why you sit there so quietly

And where are the trophies

You usually bring home,

Like the heads of the Bengal tiger

That decorate your great hall

And the skins of lion and zebra

That you've laid wall to wall...

My friends, in the foothills before the rainy season

I went out hunting one day all by myself,

Keeping the wind in my face I crept up

To where a herd of deer were grazing

When suddenly before me

Stood a great horned king of stags

And it's the truth I tell you, believe me

As the lord above's my witness,

The great beast did not quaver

But softly began to speak...

"It's written in the stars, lord

Upon this day I die

So these my gifts I offer

To you this Eastertide:

These majestic antlers for you

To hang your bows on

And these my ears as fine cups

For you to toast your ladies,

Take both my bright eyes

For a pair of shining mirrors

And all these bristles

For brushes to shave your face.

I pray that you eat my flesh for ten days

And from my hide you make a warm coat

And as for your strength and courage

My liver will serve you well

Thus in the stars it's written, my good sir

That the body of this your servant

Seven times will be fruitful

And seven times be reborn...

Tell us our good master

Why you sit there so quietly

And where are all the trophies

You usually bring home...

THE FUNERAL

When nightfall enfolds you and quickens your heart

For you walk alone on the highway,

If a polecat springs hissing her eyes raging amber

Then you must stand still and not fear her

For if you befriend her your sister she'll be

And she of all beast nows the river

Its secret unwindings and reasons for flowing

And a safe road beside the dark water...

When nightfall enfolds you and quickens your heart

For you walk alone on the highway,

If a grey wolf springs snarling his teeth bared in anger

the you must stand still and not fear him

For if you befriend him your brother he'll be

And he for all beasts nows the old way

that climbs to the one pass that cuts through the mountain

and a warm cave where you may take shelter...

So follow the highway that leads to the lake

And you will discover a sweet spring

That bubbles and runs down the hillsides of childhood

And there lay your heart down forever...

THE MAN AND THE CLOUD

She he loved

when first he saw her:

she was so pale and untouchable.

So far away

he could never find

a path to climb to reach her,

all serene she gazed at him

as on the wind she lay reclining,

he followed her eversighing

as she played hide and seek

in her wide blue meadow.

It seemed forever

that he had loved her,

always so pale and untouchable:

"How cruel you are,

behind your white veil

you hide a heart that's frozen".

Sorrowful she came to him

and in her own way surrendered...

Rain, gentle rain, her tears

she gave to him

and shedding love shed living.

UNDER THE LIME TREE

Down in the greenwood, under the lime tree

we spent lover's hours

and if you pass by you'll know we lay there,

look how we crushed all the flowers.

The insects buzzed and the nightingales sang

high above the forest on a soft south wind,

point and laugh if you come walking past

I don't care at all how red her mouth is.

Down in the greenwood, under the lime tree

crushing the grass and the sweet herbs

there in the roses I laid my head down,

see where the petals are disturbed.

And if you accuse her of lying there with me

this I know for sure she will never be ashamed:

she was the one, the one and only woman

I ever came to wish would whisper my name.

Down in the greenwood, under the lime tree

the lily embraces the ivy

and if you pass by, stop look and marvel

at how she has grown to survive him

for she stayed here with me for just a year

and bound our hair with gold,

oh my little white dove...

one fine day she turned into a hawk

and flew off to the sun to find a new love.

Up in the blue sky ever the wind flies

searching the clouds of his dream land,

the dream is for beauty but he'll

never catch her...

She'll always slip through his hands

and thus we live forever and the dream

just like the wind and clouds will escape us...

And thus we live forever and the world

lust like the wind and clouds will escape us.

A SONG OF REGRET

Winter's frozen moments

Will melt once more to spring,

Birds with peppered feathers

Return once more to sing...

But so high soars the mountain

that though I climb and climb

She always hides her flowers from me...

In long ago's lost garden

The apple trees will bear

A thousand fruit of red and green

But not one will I share...

For constant must I travel

And in some far of land

Lie down once more remembering...