Trees

Alder
Here's the dowry of the leper A walnut shell and a peck of pepper And an __alder__ spray to carve a quiver For a gang of hazel dowsers They dowsed themselves into a tangle Called themselves a hazel bush They snarled so sweet and incomplete That they stole the heart of a little song thrush

Hazel Forks, //Spoils//

Ash
Beyond the Scabbard of Priapus How fiery and free the sap is! In the towering, towering, towering __ashes__

The __ashes__ tower, elm-enshaded And her lashes flay green-bladed The trees decay, the trees decay and fall

River Rhine, //The Amber Gatherers//

Here's the gifts of the infant suitor A cask of __ash__ and a flask of pewter A map of the city of the future And a clutch of empty browsers

Hazel Forks, //Spoils// [The cask could contain ashes, rather than being made of ash wood]

Well Fitful to trade was a sharpener of blades You never saw one so venal A barrel of __ash__ where his heart should have been A bramble in place of a brain-o [Again the barrel could contain ashes, rather than being made of ash wood]

Peacock Strut, unreleased

Birch
And so I'll leave my native land, Clad in __birch__ and rhododendron. In Caerlon, Albion, and Man, May river flow and ever wend on

Down Where the Willow Wands Weep, //Farewell Sorrow//

Bough
I saw a gathering of men Underneath the rowan __boughs__ And they summoned you and you were there The moon lighting your silver hair

I Walked Abroad in Evil Hour, //Farewell Sorrow//

Were I an oak I would creak and I'd croak like a bullfrog My __boughs__ they would break and fall into the lake But its only for you I'd be breaking But I am no oak I'm a man in the smoke And I'm lonely

Coral and Tar, //The Wyrd Meme//

Cypress
The ranter, the shaker, the wife of the quaker Under the __cypress__ tree all join hands The glum undertaker will bring to his maker Their bodies relieved of all tiresome demands

The Merry Wake, unreleased

Elder
I know she rose early, for I heard her sweet singing Echoing over the flowering heath She gathered the willow, the __elder__, the linden, The holly, the ivy twined into a wreath

The Whole House is Singing, //Farewell Sorrow//

Elm
The __elm__, the __elm__, the spreading __elm__ The finest in the Rhineland Realm Gives so freely of her withy Beyond the Scabbard of Priapus How fiery and free the sap is! In the towering, towering, towering ashes

The ashes tower, __elm__-enshaded And her lashes flay green-bladed The trees decay, the trees decay and fall River Rhine, //The Amber Gatherers//

Forest
Oh Gamekeeper Roberts, please spare me my life, Though I bagged a brace of fine hare in your __forest__ For I'm pledged to a girl who will soon be my wife Link arms and join our lusty chorus

Join Our Lusty Chorus, //Farewell Sorrow//

A briar of brawn and a __forest__ of sinews Will rise from the power they ploughed in the ground And so in this way their dominion continues All under the ever-encircling sun going down

Riddle Me This, //The Amber Gatherers//

Responded Grief so joyfully "Abandon hope and follow me" Meantime we'll see three __forests__ rise and fall in mulch and rind-rust We'll see the woodsmen turn and fly and the Devil take the hindmost

The Flyting of Grief and Joy (Eternal Return), //Spoils//

From __forest__ deep where ?? peep from every oak and ? To city streets where people seek completion of the soul For everyone with double bond of suffering to foal [?] I will sow a seed of honesty on the blue bell knoll

Song Composed in December, unreleased

It is my sorrow sorest Woe the falling __forest__ The north wind brings me no rest And death is in the sky

The Laverock in the Blackthorn, unreleased

So I walked a while And I came up to a deep, deep, dark __forest__ And there I saw a moonlit henge Adorning it the densest hawthorn .... Well I dare no more bring the stars down Than my brother, bold Orion, come to this __forest__ of learning I will shine brighter and finer

The Ruby in the Hawthorn, unreleased

Hazel
Because my face betrayed a smile Because my smile betrayed my love I went down to the __hazel__ grove And we'll all go down together The __hazel__ forked three ways in my hand Three ways in my blood Three ways in my mind

Hazel Forks, //Spoils//

Here's the dowry of the leper A walnut shell and a peck of pepper And an alder spray to carve a quiver For a gang of __hazel__ dowsers

Hazel Forks, //Spoils//

They dowsed themselves into a tangle Called themselves a __hazel__ bush They snarled so sweet and incomplete That they stole the heart of a little song thrush

Hazel Forks, //Spoils//

Holly
I know she rose early, for I heard her sweet singing Echoing over the flowering heath She gathered the willow, the elder, the linden, The __holly__, the ivy twined into a wreath

The Whole House is Singing, //Farewell Sorrow//

Diana of the pangs owns the wood Where she owns the blazing wood where I saw the holly rood

I Saw the Boy with Blazing Brow Take to Rood Like Groom to Bride, unreleased

Laurel
Though the road be dark as clove and long as __laurel__ In tornadic Arkansas and Alabama And I can only buckle in and watch in horror And listen to our language lose its former grammar

Where Twines the Path, //The Amber Gatherers//

Linden
I know she rose early, for I heard her sweet singing Echoing over the flowering heath She gathered the willow, the elder, the __linden__, The holly, the ivy twined into a wreath

The Whole House is Singing, //Farewell Sorrow//

Tiny wren, tiny wren, under the __linden__ Pondering in wonder the human conundrum

The Wheels of the World, unreleased

Oak
Were I an __oak__ I would creak and I'd croak like a bullfrog But I am no __oak__ I'm a man in the smoke And I'm lonely ... Well I took to the drink as if seeking a bog to be mired in To join with the __oak__ and join with the pine in their blood oath To choke up the garden to harden the earth Against any rebirth to crowd out the fennel and sorrel

Coral and Tar, //The Wyrd Meme//

And last of all the mistletoe Bane of __oak__ and Baldur's woe With mastery of every foe

The Sacred Nine and the Primal Horde, //Revenge of the Folksingers//

From forest deep where newmans peep from every __oak__ and ? To city streets where people seek completion of the soul

Song Composed in December, unreleased

Pine
If I was a __pine__ I would ooze tar and shine in the moonlight Moths would all swarm but they'd do me no harm And it's only for you I'd be shining But I am no __pine__ I'm a man in my prime And I'm pining ... Well I took to the drink as if seeking a bog to be mired in To join with the oak and join with the __pine__ in their blood oath To choke up the garden to harden the earth Against any rebirth to crowd out the fennel and sorrel

Coral and Tar, //The Wyrd Meme//

Rowan
I saw a gathering of men Underneath the __rowan__ boughs And they summoned you and you were there The moon lighting your silver hair And they summoned you and you were there The moon lighting your silver hair You rose above the __rowan__ trees And this is what you said to me Go watch in rapture, watch in joy As I transcend before you

I Walked Abroad in Evil Hour, //Farewell Sorrow//

Sapplinghood
Well waxing up from __sapplinghood__ I heard the livid laughter of the sad The laboured laughter of the lonely And relaxing in the dappled wood

The Loudness Wars, unreleased

Tree
And they summoned you and you were there The moon lighting your silver hair You rose above the rowan __trees__ And this is what you said to me

I Walked Abroad in Evil Hour, //Farewell Sorrow//

The ashes tower, elm-enshaded And her lashes flay green-bladed The __trees__ decay, the __trees__ decay and fall

River Rhine, //The Amber Gatherers//

And she will pull the bounteous yew Through the broken ribs of Christ As fine a __tree__ as ever grew Beyond the gates of Paradise

Dighty Burn, 7" single

The ranter, the shaker, the wife of the quaker Under the cypress __tree__ all join hands The glum undertaker will bring to his maker Their bodies relieved of all tiresome demands

The Merry Wake, unreleased

Willow
I took my only young son, And my only daughter, Down where the __willow__ wands weep into the water

Down Where the Willow Wands Weep, //Farewell Sorrow//

She gathered the __willow__, the elder, the linden, The holly, the ivy twined into a wreath.

The Whole House is Singing, //Farewell Sorrow//

Then she turned away from me in her own cave of gold And so sadly I saw her unfold and unfold Then she turned her face to me and she said with one look "The __willow__ grows ever aslant of the brook Regardless the shape and the heft of your book..."

Under No Enchantment (But my Own), //Spoils//

Yew
And she will pull the bounteous __yew__ Through the broken ribs of Christ As fine a tree as ever grew Beyond the gates of Paradise

And of the __yew__ she'll weave a gown To bind her boy and lie him down And down will flow her mourning tears Beyond the standstill of the spheres

Dighty Burn, 7" single