SONGS OF SPRING

 

 

 

To celebrate Beltane this year, two of my favorite tunes. The first is “Walpurgisnacht” by Faun. Lyrics in German and English below.

Lyrics to Walpurgisnacht

In den Abendhimmel steigen
heute Nacht die Zauberweisen,
wildes Volk und Liliths Art,

lauernd Winde heimlich fahrt.

Lasst uns zu den Feuern streifen,
raunend nach den Sternen greifen,
gutes und auch böses Wort
tragen wir heut fort und fort.

Refrain: In den Weiden werden unsere Träume klingen
und die Winde werden unsre Lieder singen.
Lasst uns mit den Funken übers Feuer springen,
in der Walpurgisnacht!

Hört die Geigen, hört die Geigen,
die Feuer sind entfacht!
Folgt dem Reigen, folgt dem Reigen
in der Walpurgisnacht.

Ungestüm im Spiel der Geigen
dreht sich unser nächtlich' Reigen
und wir treten wild und frei
diesem alten Zauber bei.

Einmal nur im großen Kreise
tanzen wir auf jene Weise,
bis das erste Morgenlicht
unser Traumgewebe bricht.

Refrain: In den Weiden werden unsere Träume klingen
nd die Winde werden unsre Lieder singen.
Lasst uns mit den Funken übers Feuer springen,
in der Walpurgisnacht!

Hört die Geigen, hört die Geigen,
die Feuer sind entfacht!
Folgt dem Reigen, folgt dem Reigen
in der Walpurgisnacht.

ENGLISH...

In the night sky tonight

the witches rise
Wild folk and Lilth's kin
Lurking, secretly ride the winds.

Let us wander to the fires

Whispering, reach for the stars
Both the good and the bad word
Take us (further) on and on tonight

In the meadows our dreams will ring

And the winds will sing our songs
Let us leap over the fires with the sparks
On Walpurgis Night!

Hear the fiddles, hear the fiddles,

The fires are kindled!
Follow the round dance, follow the round dance
On Walpurgis Night.

Unruly in the fiddles' play

Our nightly round dance spins
And we join wild and free
This old magic.

Only once in great circles

We dance in this way
Until the first light of mornng
Breaks our dream-web

In the meadows our dreams will ring

And the winds will sing our songs
Let us leap over the fires with sparks
On Wapurgis Night!

Hear the fiddles, hear the fiddles

The fires are kindled!
Follow the round dance, follow the round dance
On Walpurgis Night!

Finally, my forever Beltane favorite, "Cup of Wonder" by Jethro Tull.  Enjoy, and Blessed Beltane!

THE RISIN' OF THE MOON

We can't all be Irish (more's the pity). Those of us who are generally cherish our culture and history. This year is especially important: the 100^th anniversary of the 1916 Rising. Although not successful at the time, the actions of the 2000 members of the Irish Citizens' Army, The Irish Volunteers, The Irish Republican Brotherhood, Cumann Na mBan, and other supporters (especially in America) led the way to the Republic of today.

There are still questions being asked about the Rising. For those of us with relations in the North, we must wonder if there would have been the death and turmoil of “the troubles” without the Rising. (The events after 1916 led to the partitioning off of the 6 counties of Northern Ireland.) On the other hand, would any Irishman or Irishwoman be free without the Rebellion?

I don't have the answers, but I honor those who gave their all for Erin and the ideals of Freedom. Here are 2 easy shorts that explain Ireland from Home Rule to 1916, and then one that tells the tale of the Rising with Legos! Take a look:

 

 

 

The wording of the Proclamation:

Poblacht Na h-Eireann
The Provisional Government
of the
Irish Republic
To the People of Ireland

IRISHMEN AND IRISHWOMEN: In the name of God and of the dead generations from which she receives her old tradition of nationhood, Ireland, through us, summons her children to her flag and strikes for her freedom.

Having organised and trained her manhood through her secret revolutionary organisation, the Irish Republican Brotherhood, and through her open military organisations, the Irish Volunteers and the Irish Citizen Army, having patiently perfected her discipline, having resolutely waited for the right moment to reveal itself, she now seizes that moment, and supported by her exiled children in America and by gallant allies in Europe, but relying in the first on her own strength, she strikes in full confidence of victory.

We declare the right of the people of Ireland to the ownership of Ireland and to the unfettered control of Irish destinies, to be sovereign and indefeasible. The long usurpation of that right by a foreign people and government has not extinguished the right, nor can it ever be extinguished except by the destruction of the Irish people. In every generation the Irish people have asserted their right to national freedom and sovereignty; six times during the past three hundred years they have asserted it in arms. Standing on that fundamental right and again asserting it in arms in the face of the world, we hereby proclaim the Irish Republic as a Sovereign Independent State, and we pledge our lives and the lives of our comrades in arms to the cause of its freedom, of its welfare, and of its exaltation among the nations.

The Irish Republic is entitled to, and hereby claims, the allegiance of every Irishman and Irishwoman. The Republic guarantees religious and civil liberty, equal rights and equal opportunities to all its citizens, and declares its resolve to pursue the happiness and prosperity of the whole nation and of all its parts, cherishing all of the children of the nation equally, and oblivious of the differences carefully fostered by an alien Government, which have divided a minority from the majority in the past.

Until our arms have brought the opportune moment for the establishment of a permanent National Government, representative of the whole people of Ireland and elected by the suffrages of all her men and women, the Provisional Government, hereby constituted, will administer the civil and military affairs of the Republic in trust for the people.

We place the cause of the Irish Republic under the protection of the Most High God, Whose blessing we invoke upon our arms, and we pray that no one who serves that cause will dishonour it by cowardice, inhumanity, or rapine. In this supreme hour the Irish nation must, by its valour and discipline, and by the readiness of its children to sacrifice themselves for the common good, prove itself worthy of the august destiny to which it is called.

Signed on behalf of the Provisional Government:

THOMAS J. CLARKE

SEAN Mac DIARMADA P. H. PEARSE JAMES CONNOLLY

THOMAS MacDONAGH EAMONN CEANNT JOSEPH PLUNKETT

The call for membership to the Cumann na mBan (Council of Women), and it's logo:

Here are a few pictures to help you realize the impact of those 6 days of fighting. In some you will notice a tall pillar topped with a statue of Nelson. This was blown up in 1966 by Irish Republicans. The Dublin Spire now stands in its former spot. Not only was damage done by bullets and bomb, but the British ship Helga sailed up the Liffey and basically destroyed Dublin!

The executed leaders of th Rising:

The flag of the Irish Republic, flying over the GPO during the Rising.

The same flag captured by the British Army (and show upside down)

The flag was return to Ireland in the 1960's and is now displayed, with honors, in Dublin.

Pearse Surrendering. Next to him is Elizabeth O'Farrell. You can only see her feet and, later, she was completely air-brushed out! Someone painted the scene from the opposite direction:

 

 

 

Women played a vital role, acting as messengers, nurses, and fighters!

 

The Prison yard at Kilmainham Gaol, where the executions took place:

The place of burial at Arbour Hill Cemetery, with it's memorial wall:

The children of Lir statue in the Garden of Remembrance, Dublin, representing renewal and rebirth (also, the rose garden):

The actual anniversary of the Rising is April 24^th. On that day, I will be wearing the symbol of the Rebellion...the Easter Lily....In honor of the volunteers, and in honor of all who fought for Ireland. As the song says:

Slavery fled, oh glorious dead, when you fell in the foggy dew.