The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #51121   Message #777325
Posted By: Mark Cohen
05-Sep-02 - 04:18 AM
Thread Name: Lyr Req: Swallow Song (Richard Farina)
Subject: Lyr Add: THE SWALLOW SONG (Richard Farina)
Well, it doesn't seem to be in the Digital Tradition. Here are the words as given in "Rise Up Singing" -- which means someone should check them with the record just to be sure.

THE SWALLOW SONG
By Richard Farina, (c) 1964 Warner Bros., Inc.

Come wander quietly and listen to the wind
Come here and listen to the sky
Come walking high above the rolling of the sea
And watch the swallows as they fly

There is no sorrow like the murmur of their wings
There is no choir-like their song
There is no power like the freedom of their flight
While the swallows roam alone

Do you hear the calling of a hundred thousand voice [?]
Hear the echo in a stone
Do you hear the angry bells ringing in the night
Do you hear the swallows when they've flown?

And will the breezes blow the petals from your hand
And will some loving ease your pain
And will the silence strike confusion from your soul
And will the swallows come again?

I've heard what I believe is the original song with that tune, which is in Ladino (a Hebrew/Spanish mix similar to Yiddish--which is a Hebrew/German mix--spoken by Jews in Spain and around the Mediterranean in the Middle Ages and after). I don't know the name of that song, or if the author is known. Any additional info would be welcome.

Aloha,
Mark