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The Night Over Kirkwall Was Still

from Notes From An Island by Ivan Drever

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about

Kirkwall, great little town and the capital of the Orkney Islands.

lyrics

No barking of dogs can be heard through the night,
no howling, no noises no sound and no fight
the Strynd she lies empty, not even leaves fall,
where once Isa walked, now there's no one at all.

Houses and palaces, bishops and earls
stand tall in the moonlight, watched over by Jarls,
St Ola stands quietly, waiting for dawn
Wideford stands eerily hoping for morn.

For the old mill she sits all alone
as the moss takes its grip on her stone,
when the kestrel moves in for the kill
and the night over Kirkwall,
the night over Kirkwall was still.

Where fleets would come in, now there's no fish at all
where heartbeats were skipped, as they wait for nightfall,
where dreamers lay thinking of good days long past
and thinkers lay dreaming of plans that would last.

Dark is the night when there's no one around
cold is the snow as it lays on the ground,
hard was the chill as it found its way here
and the outskirts of Kirkwall were still drawing near.

Dark grows the sky as the people go home
keen blows the wind where the seahorses roam,
harbour lights dimmed when the fishermen go
far out to sea, where the wild north wind blows.

The old days are gone, no knights and no kings
no castles on hills, only ruins and things,
but I dreamt of St Magnus, I dreamt of his war
I dreamt of his gods, of Odin and Thor.

credits

from Notes From An Island, released March 17, 2021

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Ivan Drever Kirkwall, UK

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