Karine Polwart 2009
The heron is Polwart’s favourite bird. She was at a Shetland Folk Festival singing at an outlying island event, and as she was being taken home by sea, in the early morning, a heron rose in front of the boat and flew ahead. In the song the heron represents the return of Spring, light after darkness, hope after grief. Karine Polwart: https://karinepolwart.bandcamp.com/track/follow-the-heron but in my head is the Bellwether recording: https://bellwetherfolk.bandcamp.com/track/follow-the-heron
The back of the winter is broken And light lingers long by the door And the seeds of the summer have spoken In gowans that bloom on the shore Chorus: By night and day we’ll sport and we’ll play And delight as the dawn dances over the bay Sleep blows the breath of the morning away And we follow the heron home In darkness we cradled our sorrow And stoked all our fires with fear Now these bones that lie empty and hollow Are ready for gladness to cheer So long may we sing of the salmon And the snow-scented sounds of your home While the north wind delivers its sermon Of ice and salt water and stone