I came across this lovely song this evening on a Grace Notes album titled Anchored to the Time, and found the lyrics on Reinhard Zierke's Website. Can anybody tell me more about this song? I understand it was written by Lal Waterson, but that's all I know.

MIGRATING BIRD
(Lal Waterson)

Farewell my migrating bird
God bless and keep you
As you leave these English shores

May your flight be feather light
And may your journey
Keep you safe from foreign wars

Fly on feathered wings
Warm clouds, soft winds
May you find your rest
In a safe nest

Keep your head in the sky
And you will hear
The battle pass you by

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And now my BIG question is this: Grace Notes sang "Migrating Birds" in a medley with a song called "Blue Jay," which is identified as traditional. Can anybody post the lyrics to "Blue Jay" and tell us the song's origins?

Here's what I hear on the Grace Notes recording on their Anchored to the Time CD. Any corrections?

BLUE JAY
(traditional)

Blue jay pulls the four-horse plough,
Sparrow, why can't you?
"'Cause my legs is skinny and thin,
And they might get broken, too."

Redbird sittin' on a sycamore limb,
Singin' out his soul;
Big black snake climbed up that tree,
And he swallowed that poor boy whole.

Wild geese flyin' through the air,
Through the sky of blue;
They're now floatin' where the south wind blows,
So why not me and you?

I guess I found the answer to my question - "Blue Jay" is a version of "Woody Knows Nothing," so I'll move this over to the "Woody thread.
-Joe-