By Fiona Tozer
In a southern land as the old year waned
And the valley mist was falling
The sky was grey, no rainbows here
Not a single bird was calling
There lived two brothers in yon dark place
Where the path led to the valley
And they were young and they were cruel
And they had no thought for mercy
They laid their plans and they laid in wait
For the old man returning
They took a life and what they could sell
For a meagre handful of cold silver
They reveled long into the night
With no care a man lay dying
And as they walked away, the morning rain
Wept the tears the world was crying
They do not know or understand
The worth of gold earned fairly
And they spare no thought for justice done
That will cost their freedom dearly
And those that live by cold blue steel
Reap a bitter harvest sorely
Three lives destroyed for want of love
As the wheel of fate turned coldly
The coin it spins and it comes to land
At the whim of fortune’s madness
The beauty of the moonlit night
Or dark despair of grief and sadness
Is trua go deo faid táimíd beo
Go mbeidh orainn rogha a dhéanamh
Is fíor, mo bhrón, má canaim ceol
Go mbeidh ort éist le fothram
ABOUT THE LYRICS
In the year 2000 my father was murdered in a home invasion, at the height of the zeitgeist that extolled the new “rainbow nation”. I wrote this elegy in a traditional folk style that is so suited to tales of human tragedy. The accompanying music is for guitar and violin.
Author Bio:
I am a musician, singer, lyricist and composer currently living in Durban, South Africa. I have a background in the arts, briefly studying languages at university and later earning a Masters degree in music composition. Besides composing and performing music, I have worked as a music administrator, concert organizer, guitar teacher and curator of both New Music and folk festivals.
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