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Nectan's Glen

by Russell Hibbs

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1.
Ring the bells, ring the bells, with stories of the wise and foolish tongue. Ring in the new, let's bring in the new, with stories of the wise and foolish tongue. Remembering the old, and buried gold, with stories of the wise and foolish tongue. So ring the bells, let's ring the bells, with stories of the wise and foolish tongue.
2.
The man in the green he said i have been in everything.
3.
Kerridwen 04:43
Long and long ago.
4.
Leshy 03:36
Long ago in the day's of Merlin and Arthur there lived a witch named Kerridwen. Now she had a son, ugly as sin, sadly lacking in wisdom and wit Afagddu was his name and she wished to change, that darkness that couldn't be lit. So she consulted her spells and old incantations, till from some lost shadow of time, she came upon the works of one, virgil the gaul. She laughed in delight whilst planning for his transformation, then turned on her heels and merrily skipped down the hall. She set to gathering, incense, honey, aloes, red berries and myrrh. Wild cress and vervain from the hillsides they came. Culled in the rising of the dog star. Flux wort and silver, foam of the ocean, ruddy gem and white mistletoe. To cure his blues with her magical muse, boiled for a year and a day. She set her little servant boy, whose name was gwion bach, to mind over that cauldron, and he did so faithful, carefully, both night and day. Whilst it simmered and spat like a catty concoction, he labored and toiled as it bubbled and boiled away. As the years end drew nigh, a fat moon it rose high, three drops they splashed onto his thumb. Which he popped in his mouth to ease that scalded skin. Now as fate would have it, all of the inspiration that was brewed for Morfran, the ugly one was distilled homeopathicly into those three drops. Instantly he saw the future Instantly, he saw the future, he saw the past. He knew all there was to know, and in that moment in a blinding flash, he knew that he had to go. Because that liquid of learning, no longer contained inspiration, but seethed and oozed black as the blood of a yew. And that potion they had brewed, alas it had turned to poison, and the cauldron of brass suddenly cracked and blew. Oh little Gwion, you will spin on the medicine wheel, Oh little Gwion you have made a magical deal. You spin on the medicine wheel. Well little Gwion he ran, he thought to himself, she will kill me if she catches me if she can. And sure she followed with a shreek. Her fury and rage across time and space, playing shapeshifting hide and see. He turned into a hare, she into a hound. Then he into a stickleback fish. And to his despair she followed him there, turned into and otter bitch. So he flew as a dove and she as a hawk, so speedy. All the closer, the closer she came, as she followed him there. Till exhausted he was and feeling exceedingly seedy, he turned into a groat of wheat, and fell out of the air. Oh i thought i got away that time!, she was waiting a black speckled hen. Oh she pecked him up there and then. So he lay in the belly, he lay in the crop, or in the dark womb of Kerridwen.
5.
We came down 03:41
What was that i saw just then, what could it be, did i see a face through the tangled vines, was it a Leshy?. O Leshy, Leshy run through the forest run. Leshy, leshy run through the forest run. Was it a man, was it a beast, was it a spirit there. Was it a wolf, was it an owl, was it a roaming bear?. O Leshy, Leshy run through the forest run, Leshy, Leshy run through the forest run. Was it the sigh or the howl of the wind, or the rustle of the leaves?. Was it the sound of water over stone, or the movement in the trees?. O Leshy, Leshy run through the forest run, Leshy, Leshy run through the forest run. So what was that i saw just then, what could it be?. Did i see a face through the tangled vines, was it a Leshy? O leshy,,Leshy run through the forest run. Leshy, Leshy run through the forest run.
6.
We came down, down from the stars. Down, down to find out who we are. To this world, little garden in the sky. To this world, this little garden. Tell me why? Why can't we live in peace, when will all the fighting and the bloodshed cease? Why can't we live with each other, and why do we have to suffer? So much pain and sadness, Iv'e got the blues with all this madness. It's the fifth dimension or the sixth extinction. So are we ever gonna make the change, or are we simply going down the drain?. Your dreams, my dreams, let's think big schemes, if we're gonna make it work. We came down, down from the stars, down down to find out who we are. To this world, little garden in the sky, to this world a little apple in god's eye. Tell me why?.
7.
Spring song 03:17
In Nectan's glen the cuckoo's call, from a hazel grove, down by the waterfall. Glen of tangled branching yew's, glen of rowans scarlet hues. Glen of apples and ancient oak, glen of brackens reddened cloak. Silent owl's, weeping willows, rounded moon And sour sloes. Skylarks in purple heather, bees hum in the limpid air. Glen of foxes and the badgers brood, round faced otter darts for her food. In Nectan's glen dancing cranes, crackling cones, silver pines. Glen of ridges and pointed peaks, speckled salmon from waters leap. Glen of eagles, glen of wrens. Glen of graceful, pearl like women. Gowks egg, robins nest, glen of wild garlic and watercress. Noble stags, gentle hinds, wildflowers echo kind to kind. In the glen of blackthorn, and holly green. Flocks of geese and swan iv'e seen there.
8.
Watching 03:05
Bees are humming, spring is coming through. Sun like honey pours into this room. Yellow wattle blossom, hangs heavy on the breeze. Intoxicates the evening, that old moonlights in the trees. And love keeps the fire alive, love keeps the fire alive. Cat's in the cradle, cows in the corn. Iv'e been a gypsy, since the day that i could crawl. My teachers told me, you gotta catch as catch can, experience has shown me, there's much more to being a man. And love keeps the fire alive, love keeps the fire alive. For the first time, in such a long time, i'm free to be myself. Ain't giving my power, giving my power away. I'm choosing when, where and how, i want to live my life today, it's been a long time coming, been such a long and sometimes lonely time. The kettle's boiling, gonna make myself a cup of tea. Got the whole day now, just to tune into me. The bees are humming, spring is coming through. Sun like honey, pours into this room. And love keeps the fire alive, love keeps the fire alive.
9.
I found a place where love never dies, tangled in space, in a jig saw of lies. In your heart find the balance to carry you through, move on, move on. In this life your my lover, sister my friend. To keep our hearts open again and again. Searching for answers, looking for clues. Always, always. I found a place it's inside us all, celebrate moon dance, the clarion call. Above and beyond all the games that we play. Trying, trying. Now i'm just watching the movement inside, watching the mountains, where eagles will fly. Safe in the keeping of the great mystery. Feeling, feeling.
10.
Spirit 03:43
During a time that once was, is now gone forever, and will come again soon. Is a garden of extraordinary beauty, alive with primal songs of source and the living earth. In leaf wood groves, her grass harp rings. Springs are sacred, enlivening webs of spirit voice, to sing in river, sigh in reed, high on the eagles feathered wing. A time of plenty, vitality. salmon and serpent water. Cockles that speak to the stomach of oceans vast wealth, and whales that sing of the cold stars. Endless forests, exude, etheric healing, oxygen. Grandfather trees loom wisdom, chieftain trees, twist skyward and grow knotted with knowledge and memory. Oak, ash, yew, pine , thorn, myrtle, may. Home to wildfolk, allies, shining ones. Keepers of the mysteries, together cloak this garden in a magical mantle. Great mountains shoot plumes of ozone, high into the atmosphere. The earth breathes in exaltation and approval, brimming with the awesome bliss of existence. Ah i remember it well, too well to be forgotten. And if now i press my nose into the damp perfumed earth, or squeeze between tangled tree roots, or listen to the conversation of leaves, or a brook, ripple and bubble over stone. Or sit awhile on a mossy rock just to tick back the clock. I can still feel the dreaming, the once and future now. Encoded with remembrance, patiently awaiting us still. As the mill wheel seems to grind this poor old world, toward, the earth. Spiralling cypher in corn, pattern symmetry, chaos harmony. Humming in stone and bee. Remembering the wild place within. She will touch us with her blossom, she will heal us with her seed, i hope she can forgive us.
11.
Avalon 04:16
The man in the green he said, iv'e been in everything. The man in the green he said, iv'e been in everything. Man in the green he said, iv'e been the feathers in an eagle wing, man in the green he said, iv'e been a salmon where fishes swim. The man in the green he said, iv'e been the wind in the ripening corn. Man in the green he said, iv'e been the colours at the worlds first dawn. Well iv'e been a juggler, and iv'e been a fool, a wise old wizard, and an eel in a forest pool. The man in the green he said, iv'e been a mouse with pointed ears. The man in the green he said, iv'e been a tree for a thousand years. The man in the green he said, i can jump like a kangaroo. The man in the green he said, i am the sound of a didgeridoo. Iv'e been a fawn, and iv'e been a foal, a gruff old badger, and a velvet burrowing mole. The man in the green he said, iv'e been a bat in a darkened cave. The man in the green he said, iv'e been the master and iv'e been a slave. The man in the green he said, iv'e been a rock and iv'e been a stone. The man in the green he said, iv'e been in everything and i'm still alone. Well iv'e been the brass metal of a bell that rings, iv'e been the strings on a harp in the court of kings.
12.
Beez 04:44
We lived a legend, found an island, in ancient ruins the lamb and lion. Where once was planted, a thorn of roses, from the crown of jesus as he lay dying. Deep waters flowing through avalon. Down the line of the dragon, there's a circle forming. The angels herald, a new age dawning. Stones still standing, of a weathered season, from the time of dreaming, through this age of reason. Deep waters flowing to take us on. And now we'er finding the vision sighted, for a world of freedom, a world united. That ancient wisdom, to give us courage. Strong as a willow, our love will flourish. Deep waters flowing through avalon. We lived a legend, found an island, ship of changes till the storm is silent. It's in midwinter, the thorn will flower, chalice of magic, chalice of power. Deep waters flowing through avalon.
13.
To be, or not to bee. That's the solar quest i am on. Ah it's wonderful to be alive, to be a bee in this beehive. Ask the wild bee what the druid said, for nothing is, as it seems to be, said he. And i will help you unlock, your cellular memory. To celebrate, the wonder of being, in harmony, community. Listen, can you hear a hum in living stone. Or in the ancient trees, or deep within the cells of your own bodies. See my dance, entrance, my measured dance, it's sacred solar geometry. Come with me and behold the labyrinth, i can lead you through. So let's make a beeline for fields of flowers, and pastures of plenty, where the rivers run golden, in the land of soya milk and honey. Oh solar deity, solidarity, remember me, i'm yr humble, fumbling, brother bumble bee. A mere drone alone without thee. Oh bee-loved, oh bee-loved. Swami sri, sri sri, habibi, sufi bhakti bee, that's me. Full of foible and fallibility, but with high fidelity hum. O great spirit, that begot and begat and spat me out. Bestow upon me yr forget me nots, and let me pay homage to the honeysuckle and borage. And if my dance is well, a wee bit wobbly. It's probably cos i trip over my own 6 legs. Or due to, the high pollen count, a drop of the amber nectar. Or a jolly old royal jelly belly ache, you understand. And though i may sting myself, in my own tail, from time to time, and need a bit of a prod. It's only cos i'm divinely intoxicated, oh god. I sup from the cup and swill from the grail, of the holy golden flowers. To taste once again your life giving powers. For i have slept cloaked in purple, at the royal court of mountain heather. Tip toed and tap danced on the fragile rims of pale primroses and petunias. Been tickled by stamens, no stigma attached. Revelled with ten thousand brothers, in a nest of mud and wax. Till spirit calls me home to the great honeycomb in the sky, in the sweet, sweet, very sweet bye and by. No i don't need no university degree to be wise, i know where the honey lies, no flies on i and i. I stamp my feet and beat my humming drum to the sun. To the frequency of every flower, far, near or right here. Heart beats, wings vibrate, and oh it feels so damned good to pollinate. And so from me the bee, to you humanity. I bring you gifts, mead brimming, bright. Just a wee dram for second sight. Wax for your candles in the dark of the night. And rich, sweet, healing honey. And on these heady, halcyon days, of foxgloves and dragon snaps. Spare a thought for me, your busy little brother bee. Hear me hum, see me swarm. And let me lull you to calm. To take thyme out of time, and simply be, simply be, simply bee.
14.
Envirolament 04:05
During a time that is gone forever and will come back again soon.

about

One mid winters day,
as the sun hung like an opalescent stone
through oaken branches.
I walked the wet cold pathway down to Nectan's Glen,
not so far from Tintagel castle.

There moss covered and carved into grey rock,
are two ancient Labyrinths,
one rounded the other square shaped.
I ran my fingers down the lines of these geometric jewels
and fell into a reverie, whereupon from the immanence of deep earth
came the sounds and smells of times gone by.
The bellowing of stags,
the barking of foxes, the cry of an eagle.
It was as if a memory had been awakened and the earth breathed her sentient breath into my tingling senses.

This album is recorded with Mark Robson and Deavid Allen,
and is a song to my cultural and genetic heritage.
Bubbling from the cauldron of Kerridwen.

credits

released February 8, 2015

Ruz:- Guitar, Drum,Vocals.
Mark Robson:-Keyboards, Whistles.
Daevid Allen:- Electric and Glissando Guitars.
Susan Graham:- Celtic Harp.
April Galleti:- Vocals.
Vision:- Mandolin.
Nyck Jeanes:- Guitar, Vocals.
Recorded, Engineered, Mastered:- Charlie.
All Songs, Music & Lyrics:- Russell Hibbs.
Music to: "Envirolament & Bees", Susan Graham.

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Shivakti Byron Bay, Australia

A sonic salad of homegrown songs, toe tapping tunes, evocative verse, melodic grooves, healing drones, harmonic overtones, fun, laughter, wild nature and tales of the ancient future -NOW. Shivakti are Russell, Mayinda & friends. ... more

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