The Bean Sídhe

Grief in Exile

A dear friend of mine wrote to me before Christmas asking if I would be interested in writing a song about the lost art of keening for a thesis she is working on.

The bean sídhe was a professional griever, who traditionally lived half in and half out of society, and was hired to wale keening songs at funerals.

Sadly, she was eventually demonized… the screamer… one to fear… alongside our all-consuming fear of death, (and of gritty imperfection in church music)… and no doubt, the vast oceanic mother energy of God.

It was so fortuitous to receive this request at the exact moment when I was trying to decide on an ancient story to write a song about, that pertains to exile… banishment… the hope that something or someone will disappear.

Today I was working on offering the vocals to the song I ended up writing, and thought I would share the lyrics with you… if all goes as planned, I will have a guest keener, (soon to be announced), join me at the end of the song to sing it out.

Bean Sídhe

Why do you keep me away?

Why do you exile these tears?

Why do you banish this keening

When you know it’ll never disappear?

Look in the cracks

Look underneath

For every tear you don’t release

Raises the level of the sea

Let me out

Let me help

I am a midwife

I am a mother

Time to spread out this wing

I am the bean sídhe

And we’ve been going in circles too long

Why do we push it all down?

Why do we judge and fear so?

Why do we send it away

when we know it’ll only grow in the shadows

Look down in the cracks

Look underneath

For every tear we don’t release

Raises the level of the sea

Let me out

Let me help

I am a midwife

I am a mother

Time to spread out this wing

I am the bean sídhe

And we’ve been going in circles too long

This song is maybe a bit past the half way mark of my folk opera, ‘Hiraeth’.

In other news:

Last week, I announced that my family and I would be traveling to Poland, and then the UK and Ireland September and October. It turns out that this time, we will not be in Ireland, but will end up performing a few concerts in the Highlands, the Hebrides, Southern Scotland, possibly Cumbria, Yorkshire, Wales, Somerset, and Cornwall. I said only 6 concerts, but *could* swing one or two more.

To all those fine people who wrote to me about concerts, I will be getting back to you, but my beloved Ian was in a car accident this week, and is ok, but rattled, and I too am rattled.

Please send prayers, as I have begun to record the vocals for ‘Hiraeth’ and how I release and surrender is important for my soul and the soul of the album.

Thank-you so much for your presence.