Scythe Song

I still remember when I first watched him work the blade. It was down in the Buckney den. My questions tumbled and he said, O this is not a thing to learn inside a day. Stand closely by me and I'll try to show the way. You've got to hold it right, Feel the distance to the ground, Move with a touch so light, Until its rhythm you have found. Then you'll know what I know. O, wild are the ways we run When at last untethered out we fly Straight into the burning sun. Need no direction, no, not I. But it is not a thing to learn inside a day. Stand closely by me and I'll try to show the way. You've got to hold it right, Feel the distance to the ground, Move with a touch so light, Until its rhythm you have found. Then you'll know what I know. So, little dancing girl, You want to learn to play a tune, One that you heart can fill To help you shine under the moon? Well, it is not a thing to learn inside a day. Stand closely by me and I'll try to show the way. You've got to hold it right, Feel the distance to the sound, Move with a touch so light, Until its rhythm you have found. Then you'll know what I know. Then you'll know what I know. Scythe Song © Dougie MacLean, Dunkeld Records, Dunkeld, Scotland.