The Gift Of The Sea-Neutral

[ti:The Gift Of The Sea] [ar:Neutral] [al:Luisenkirche Koenigsberg] [by:] [offset:0] [00:00.00]The Gift Of The Sea - Neutral [00:20.70]The dead child lay in the shroud [00:22.73]And the widow watched beside [00:24.89] [00:25.50]And her mother slept and the Channel swept [00:27.74]The gale in the teeth of the tide [00:30.25]But the mother laughed at all [00:31.98] [00:32.66]I have lost my man in the sea [00:34.46] [00:35.05]And the child is dead be still she said [00:37.38]What more can ye do to me [00:39.21] [00:40.03]The widow watched the dead [00:42.18]And the candle guttered low [00:44.16] [00:44.71]And she tried to sing the passing song [00:47.02]That bids the poor soul go [00:48.94] [00:49.77]And Mary take you now she sang [00:52.23]That lay against my heart [00:53.77] [00:54.41]And Mary smooth your crib to night [00:56.52]But she could not say depart [00:59.53] [01:18.49]Then came a cry from the sea [01:20.48]But the sea-rime blinded the glass [01:22.32] [01:22.84]And heard ye nothing mother she said [01:25.20]'Tis the child that waits to pass [01:27.00] [01:27.59]And the nodding mother sighed [01:29.88]'Tis a lambing ewe in the whin [01:32.40]For why should the christened soul cry out [01:34.76]That never knew of sin [01:36.98]O feet I have held in my hand [01:39.31]O hands at my heart to catch [01:41.12] [01:41.85]How should they know the road to go [01:44.15]And how should they lift the latch [01:45.97] [01:46.60]They laid a sheet to the door [01:48.36] [01:48.88]With the little quilt atop [01:50.49] [01:51.13]That it might not hurt from the cold or the dirt [01:53.96]But the crying would not stop [01:56.46] [02:15.14]The widow lifted the latch [02:17.09]And strained her eyes to see [02:19.45]And opened the door on the bitter shore [02:21.51]To let the soul go free [02:23.92]There was neither glimmer nor ghost [02:26.14]There was neither spirit nor spark [02:27.94] [02:28.47]And heard ye nothing mother she said [02:30.97]'Tis crying for me in the dark [02:32.51] [02:33.13]And the nodding mother sighed [02:34.82] [02:35.41]'Tis sorrow makes ye dull [02:37.09] [02:37.73]Have ye yet to learn the cry of the tern [02:40.30]Or the wail of the wind blown gull [02:42.51]The terns are blown inland [02:44.24] [02:44.83]The gray gull follows the plough [02:46.75]'Twas never a bird the voice I heard [02:49.44]O mother I hear it now [02:52.71] [03:10.34]Lie still dear lamb lie still [03:11.96] [03:12.54]The child is passed from harm [03:14.22] [03:14.91]'Tis the ache in your breast that broke your rest [03:17.18]And the feel of an empty arm [03:19.04] [03:19.62]She put her mother aside [03:21.41] [03:21.95]In Mary's name let be [03:24.33]For the peace of my soul I must go she said [03:26.72]And she went to the calling sea [03:28.92]In the heel of the wind bit pier [03:31.11]Where the twisted w**d was piled [03:33.26]She came to the life she had missed by an hour [03:36.10]For she came to a little child [03:37.73] [03:38.33]She laid it into her breast [03:40.47]And back to her mother she came [03:42.73]But it would not feed and it would not heed [03:44.85]Though she gave it her own child's name [03:48.03] [04:24.90]And the dead child dripped on her breast [04:26.99]And her own in the shroud lay stark [04:28.86] [04:29.41]And God forgive us mother she said [04:31.88]We let it die in the dark