The Piper and the Selkie (Original)

A slight reworking on an old Irish folktale, in ballad form.

Lyrics and Chords [Guitar capo 1]:

G
Out where the water meets the sky,
Cadd9 Dsus4
Out at the border-o G C G
By the Kerry cliffs where the salt spray flies C Em C Dsus
There lived a bonny piper-o Cadd9
And he played where the gulls Dsus4
Sing the whitecaps to snow.

G
Down there at the waterside C Dsus4
He played in the morning-o G C G
And the seals would come to hear his song C Em C D
And dance there in the dawnin'-o. Cadd9
They moved like strands Dsus4
Of music float. C G D G
The notes float out, and the die is cast Cadd9 Em D
With a single step, the path is set Em Cadd9
And it's a fixed tra-jectory
Cadd9 Dsus4
Once you make that leap.

And one day, as the piper played
Beside the rolling water-o
He spied a lass in the surf reclined,
Her black eyes bright with laughter-o.
And she wore but the blue-white waves
For clothes.

Sure, he played for her that day
As she sang through the mornin'-o
And when the evening shadows came
She rose and followed him to home -
Leaving behind
A sleek fur coat.

She takes his hand, and the die is cast
With a singe step, the path is set
And it's a fixed trajectory
Once you make that leap.

Out where the water meets the sky
Out at the border-o
By the Kerry cliffs where the salt spray flies,
There lived a bonny piper-o
And he wed a lass with laughin' eyes
Though the neighbors whispered "Selkie-o."

Still years went by, and they were kind,
And sons came and a daughter-o,
But on the rocks at eventide
She'd gaze out at the water-o
And gaze just like
She'd gaze toward home.

Her eyes look out, and the die is cast;
With a single step, the path is set.
And it's a fixed trajectory
Once you make that leap

So one day, when the piper woke
She was not in their chamber-o
So he ran down, and found her footprints
Leading to the water-o.
He knelt full low,
And fain had broke.

Out where the water meets the sky,
Out at the border-o
By the Kerry cliffs where the salt spray flies,
There lives an aged piper-o
And he plays where the gulls
Sing the whitecaps to snow.

Down there at the waterside
He plays every mornin'-o
And the selkies come to hear his song
And dance there in the dawnin'-o.
And one - ah, one -
Comes oh so close...

But the choice is gone, and the die is cast.
With a single step, the path is set
And it's a fixed trajectory
Once you make that leap.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• The
• Piper
• and
• Selkie
• Irish
• legend
• Celtic
• song
• songwriter
• original
• live
• acoustic
• music
• folk
• folklore
• Original Song
• Ireland
• Guitar
• Folk Music

[PearseLames]

@13thfloor18 Thanks a bunch!

[PearseLames]

@marcoacca Thanks Marco. As always, coming from a musician such as you, that means a lot.

[marcoacca]

Perfectly beautiful, as usual.