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THE HIGHLAND CHILD

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Full moon, through the night.
I wake up in a bothy and I hear,
A river calling like a seer.
I will be in your glen before daylight.


It’s cold under the sky.
You shiver in your blanket and you cry.
I’ll come and blow the fire aflame,
And touch the tree where once I saw your name.


I want to be a mountain bird
And fly to you over the Ring of Steahl.
But I will walk, my pains will heal
I’ll cover your heart with a shawl of words.


Now when I think of you my Highland child,
All losses are restored and sorrows end.
I will come to your river in the wild,
I will be still and know that you’re a friend.


You hold close to your heart
A book of stories and folks torn apart.
Their hope is near, it’s dropping slow,
From the smokeless altar of the mountain snow.


I want to be a mountain bird
And fly to you over the Ring of Steahl.
But I will walk, my pain will heal
I’ll cover your heart with a shawl of words.


Now when I think of you my Highland child,
All losses are restored and sorrows end.
I will come to your river in the wild,
I will be still and know that you’re a friend.

One of the fascinating  features of friendship is the desire to explore a friend's past and heal the wounds and scars left in childhood. The song begins in an imaginary bothy above Kinlochleven where a lonely woman hears over the Ring of Steal  the voice of a child crying through the night  in the wilderness of Glen Nevis. She sets off  determined she will find her and bring her comfort. 

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