Lyrics
00 Ferryman’s Call
When the Ferryman comes
To the ferry far beyond he calls our souls
To the rocks and the skerries
To the lighthouse he bids us, go
Where the dead meet the lives they lived
And they then can decide
Is it time to let go of the past
Set their lanterns in the sand?
When the Ferryman comes
You must know
You must know
Where you stand
Will you join the waves
Of the ocean of souls
Or take the Ferryman’s hand
And board his boat?
01 Ocean of Souls
There’s a house by the sea
With a shining cone of light
Casting its beam
Where the sun sinks out of sight
Waves crashing rocks
Wind sweeping sand in the dunes
A lonely boat docks
Boarding souls who’ve been marooned
Ooh (ooh)
Ooh
Ya da da da duh
Ya da da da duh
Ya da da da duh
Ya da da da duh
Ya da da da da duh
The ferryman’s price stands firm
Ya da da da duh
Ya da da da duh
The fare must be paid
The price can not be waived
To board each must face
What the ocean wants to claim
Some carry words
Others bring none but a name
And some have a lifetime
Of woes to cast away
Ya da da da duh
Ya da da da duh
Ya da da da duh
Ya da da da duh
Ya da da da duh
Ya da da da duh
Ya da da da duh
Must remember a truth
Reframe why we stayed behind
Uncover what the myths say
Uncloak what’s been disguised
What would legends have us see
About who we’re meant to be
Thinner is the veil between
The worlds than we’d believed
Ya da da da duh
Ya da da da duh
Ya da da da duh
Ya da da da duh
Ya da da da duh
Ya da da da duh
Ya da da da duh
Ya da da da
Ya da da da duh
Ya da da da
Ya da da da duh
In the roar of the waves
The turn of the clock may stretch days
The emotions relayed
May well be our only escape
We’re but morsels of sand
In this moving sieve
Somewhere in between
Where we roam without reprieve
Is it time to bid goodbye
Leave behind our haunted minds?
Sail across the waters
Or return to swim the tides?
Circling endlessly
In a loop of memories
We the women, Les Dames Blanches
Unveil this mystery
Rest easy, mes dames
A woman’s life is hers to keep
Even in eternity
02 Queen Meets Mami Wata
The first to come to the shore by the lighthouse
Is none other than the Queen
A model of dignity
Flawless pristine
Born a pawn in ambitious games
Stretched through generations
A lineage of ruthless kings
A trail of suffering
Liaisons make good offerings
And stability brings peace
As such she always knew what was expected of her
And what it was to never be free
She was a caged bird singing of duty
A shipped off jewel, highly prized
A child bride
But she had her pride
And a woman knows even when royalty
No matter the creed
No matter the breed
She counts for naught
A puppet is she
Until her king is dead
The sea never forgets
Come deeper
I collect what wonders
What sinks still sings
Salt carries grief
I keep lost things
The sea gives, the sea takes
I braid fate with saltwater
The sea has teeth, darling
What sinks still sings
Come closer
Water is kinder than memory
All rivers return
The sea will keep your secrets
Ha ha ha ha ha ha
And the lanterns
We have held
Carried kept so close
We must one by one surrender
And face our own unknowns
No woman’s truly lived
Until her words seep through
We the women, Les Dames Blanches
Must face our truths with you
Oooh oooh oooh oooh aah
Aah aah aah
Ooh ooh ooh ooh
Aah aah aah aah aah aah
Loyalty too easily bought
Treachery too easily sought
Her dignity but one small piece
In the art of overthrowing royalty
A woman’s worth still counts far less than it ought
Until her head be decked in gold
Her neck be strong enough to hold
A nation’s collective identity
Bestowed on a crown so heavy
With sorrow fraught
Because a woman knows
No matter the breed
She counts for naught
No matter the creed
A puppet is she
A puppet is she
Until her king is dead
03 Maiden
Do do do do do do
I lived my life until ripe for the picking
Was told who to be
Never questioning what’s left when never afters
Leave you empty with no answers
I can’t picture the woman, the bride to be
Or the mother and the wife
I guess I wasn’t meant to be
Is it too much to ask for what I missed?
For just a moment or a wish?
Never wandered
Past the gardens
Never ventured a little farther
Never got to be swept off my feet
I was waiting for what?
I don’t even know
Frozen on the bridge of becoming
Clutching a bouquet to my chest
Emotionally open and yet
It wasn’t what I anticipated
Wasn’t what I anticipated
I am no Persephone
Spring won’t set me set free
I won’t see Elysian Fields
And I’m no Helena
I didn’t start a war
Or anger any gods
What is my trajectory
Having been torn out of the book before the best part came?
I was cultivated carefully
Kept behind lock and key all my rose-petaled life
Stern eyes watching, always judging
Expectations, smiles too painted
Porcelain cupped politeness to the brim
How I hated it
Waiting for what
I don’t even know
Frozen on the bridge of becoming
Clutching a bouquet to my chest
Emotionally open and yet
What happened to the girl
Who didn’t say yes?
I can only guess
Can’t see her face
Behind this veil
I buried all my dreams in that dress
For just a moment
Just a wish
Fulfill her promises
Let me become her (let me become her)
On this bridge from innocence to wisdom
Let me get to meet her (let me get to meet her)
At least give me a teaser
Meet me half way
I’d simply like a taste of the living
Is that so wicked?
Or isn’t that reason enough to stay?
04 Mother
Mothers feel drawn to their children
It’s a bond no other could know
From the day we were born
Even many months before then
It’s our hearts that become something more
Love outlives grief
Transcending death’s door
It’s harder to see you
But I feel all the more
I’ll never succumb until I know where you’ve gone
While out of sight
Never out of mind
And nothing can divide
A mother from her child
What lurks in these murky waters
So much more than a desperate cry
The world may keep turning
Convince me you’re not hurting
I will look for you all the while
Love outlives grief
Defeating death’s door
I’ll never lose you
I’ll search shore to shore
This Invisible string
Will keep reeling us in
We are tied beyond life
And nothing can divide
A mother from her child
Patience is a virtue, hope is sacred
Resilience will fuel my pursuit
A spirit who has purpose can’t be broken
My hollowed heart won’t be subdued
Darling is that you?
Where are you darling?
I’m sorry
I’ll keep looking
Love outlives grief
(A woman)
I will take down death’s door
(Wasn’t allowed to be)
My daughter still needs me
(Wanted to become her)
And I need her more
(Never grew to be)
No matter the cost
(On the bridge of)
I will keep standing by
(somewhere in between)
Can’t relent
Cannot rest
Won’t allow this pain subside
Until mother finds her child
Hush now
(I waited)
My darling angel child
(Wanted to become her)
Time to rest, now
(I can only wonder)
knowing I’ll be by your side
(What’s on the other side)
I’m here for you
05 Veela
Blissful
Magnetic
Beauty, pleasure, pain in equal measure
Radiating attraction
Defined by devotion
The shadow side is obsession
The next to arrive to shore
The lovers
The seductresses
The lustful, hedonistic, dalliance driven demons
Or angels
Muses
Aphrodite’s sisters
They called us sinners who must pray
But we did nothing to be forgiven
We angered more than the church
When all we did, was live
They entombed us when we wouldn’t obey
And with our bodies we were ordered to pay
Hidden was our song
So none could discover
That loving when true
Is never wrong
So
Seductresses
Sirens of destruction
Or victims
Of a system not meant to support us?
Perhaps love is best judged on love alone
Veela, veela
Veela, veela
06 Lover I
Moonlight waiting
Fate written on the wall
I still feel the pull
To your side
Phantoms circling
Dancing through the night
I was told
Let your lantern shine bright
We were the secret
But someone found out
Now I’m the sigh in the wind
Whooshing by
No more than the chill
Shivering down your spine
I am not scared
Of my heart
Unable to beat
Time cannot tear us apart
Eternally
I’ll keep the faith
Lying in wait for the day
That you will find your way
Now that we’re free
Come back to me
Be patient
We’re about to become
United again
Ah ah ah ah
There’s always a way back to a love that’s true
No matter what keeps us
From our rendez-vous
I know in my heart I’ll return to you
No matter what moves us
I’ll always choose us
Ba da da da da da da da da da da da duh
We’ll find a way back
We’ll find a way back to our love
Here’s to love!
07 Heroine
I’ve been told, be invisible
Fit into the role you’re assigned
Silence is gold
Should I betray all my resolve
And let things go
Just give up, abandon hope
When inside all my might says
Something isn’t right?
Should I walk away?
Fade into shadow
Adhere to what they say
Or should I stand alone?
Prove that my fate isn’t written in stone
There’s no way to know
What the future will hold
But I feel there’s more to come
So let me linger on exhaust the reasons why
I’m haunted I’ve been told I’m difficult
Pig-headed and hard to control
A challenge, they say
Did I somehow get it wrongA big mistake?Am I more than most could take?Why am I still holding on?Oh
I wanted to be strong
A warrior knows not to kneel
Until she’s done
So go ahead, berate me
There’s nothing that could sway me
I’ve known who I am all along
I will descend to the brink of the end
And return when I’ve become
A stranger to the pain
That keeps me from moving on
Are we too scared
To heal from our scars?
Are we too hurt
To seize who we are?
Should we accept
The fight is over?
Or become something more
Worth fighting for?
Aah
I’ve been told I’m delusional
I’m just a girl who refuses to leave
Slightly surreal
But somehow somewhere deep inside of me
That voice keeps chiding me
Embrace who you know you should be
Somehow, somewhere deep
I feel I’m exactly where I need to be
Courage is earned
To be brave is to burn
For the things that you believe
A hero would stay
Chase the shadows away
So I’ll linger on
Haunted
I won’t be made invisible
08 Brief Grief Lullaby
Hush now, my baby
Don’t you fuss and cry
The sting in my heart
Wish she’d rest her head on my thigh
(Ah, yeah)
The pain in such a simple lullaby
(Ye ye ye yeah)
Ah, ah
09 La Llorona
¡Ay, mis hijos!
¿Dónde están mis hijos?
¡Mis hijos!
¡Ay, ¿dónde están mis hijos?
¿Dónde están mis hijos?
¡Ay, mis hijos!
¡Ay, mis hijos!
¡Mis hijos!
¡Ay, mis hijos!
(Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh)
(Ah, ah ah)
¡Ay, mis hijos!
¡Mis hijos!
¡Mis hijos!
(Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh)
¡Ay, mis hijos!
Mis hijos, ¿dónde están mis hijos?
¿Dónde están mis hijos?
(Wah, wah, wah, wah, wah, wah)
10 Mystic
Always walked close in step
With the spirits
Kept my eye on the stars
Found solace in the quiet
Lively crackle of my hearth
Never needing much
As what I had was much enough
Never wanting trouble
Yet trouble always came
Others pointing fingers
When life went up in flames
Once I was sought
For the shadows I could reach
In the language known only to me
Seek out the seer
Find out what she prophecies
Demanding truths I would often persuade
We want, what we want takes a toll
We get what we get, that is all
They’d hand me a coin
With their auras pulsing
And I’d stare into their hungry palms
Some answers would warm them
Others would harm them
And some I couldn’t please them all
We want, what we want takes a toll
We get what we wish, nothing more
I was always happy living alone
But living alone leaves you vulnerable
Once I was sought
For the tarot cards I’d read
Intuit secrets they’d show clear as day
Odd I was called
When I recognized their pain
As if I’d peered much too close at their shame
I leant my ears
Listened intently
Offering help from above
Yet none came my way
When in swept heartache
Foresaw it was coming
The rumors kept rolling
I was doomed from the very first day
You’ll come for the old maids
And the spinsters
The gifted and the strange
I saw it all
Heard the warning bells warn
So go ahead and seek out the sage
Pick a side, pick a witch who’s to blame
11 Lover II
Love is sacred
Fear is nothing
It’s for those who don’t know what love is
I know what love is
And I love you
And I’m not afraid
And I always will
Love you
You make me believe anything is possible
I’ll never give up until we’re together
Swear that you’ll find me in the full moon
I’m not afraid of my heart
Even in pain
My feelings won’t fade, they won’t melt away
Even in rain
Some say it’s insane
Holding on to the hope that we’ll be whole again
But I have faith
And thus I’ve stayed
It might not be simple
But somehow we’ll find a way
In the blink of an eye
You’ll be by my side
And the world will be right again
I am not afraid of the dark
When we’re apart
My heart is yours as sure as before
Crossed as our stars may be won’t deter me, noSo bring on the storms and the clouds
This love’s too real to doubt
We won’t be drowned out
No matter what fate has laid out
Fear
Is only for the faint of
(I will wait for your forever)
(Only for the faint)
Heart
(It gives me strength)
Love is everything
(Fear is nothing)
Fear is for those who don’t know what love is
(It’s for those who don’t know what love is)
And I know what love is
(I love you)
I love you
(I know what love is)
(And I love you)
And I always will love you
(And I love you)
And I’m not afraid
And I always will
(It gives me strength)
Love you
You make me believe anything is possible
(It gives me strength)
I will wait for you forever
Swear that you’ll find me in the full moon
And never give up until we’re together
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ah, ah
Love is sacred
I will wait for you forever
12 Crone
[Muttered Gaelic hex]
Deep in the darkling woods you’ll find
A labyrinth built with a sovereign mind
The markings carved on birch tree bark
Show the only way in is fast
None will leave as they as they come
And some will never walk the path
(Walk the path)
None will leave as they come
Look to swim if you take too long
Don’t let the night fall wide
For otherwise
The tide, the entrance hides
(Come find me)
Under the canopy the moon can see
The home I’ve made in the mossy green
Book under nose
I’ve lived most scholarly
Knowledge shared with the able and young
Offered in prose or poems or song
Give this crone a companion
She’ll offer you protection(I’ll watch out for you)
And none can leave
Let me pour you some tea
(Have some tea, ha ha ha)
A riddle is a friend
A puzzle is a sign
But solve it if you don’t
Before its time
A riddle is a friend
A puzzle is a sign
But solve it if you won’t
You’ll succeed or die
(You must please me or you’ll die)
None will leave as they come
And none will leave as they come
Die da da die die die die die
None will leave as they come
(They never do)
Advantage gained
From curious minds
And questions often answers find
A riddle is a friend
A puzzle is a sign
But solve it if you don’t
You’ll succeed or die
(Die da da die die die)
Die da da die da da die die die
None will leave as they come
None will leave as they come
(Die da da die die die)
Die da da die da da die die die
None will leave as they come
13 Huntress
Ah, oh
Call me chaos
Call me cruel
I’m but a huntress on a hunch
I have an appetite for fools
But I’m no killer
Call me thirsty
Untrustworthy
Call me reckless, or a wraith
It’s not a bloodbath
If I only pick the men
They’ll get what they came for, most of them
It’s my pleasure
To take measures
To track and hunt
The scum who caused us pain
Those who licked the salt of evil
And come back in search for more
I’m prepared to meet them
I’ll be there to greet them
At death’s ready-made door
Ohhh
Every movement in my vision
Stirs in stillness as I wait
And when I spot my prey
There’s no time to get away from judgment
My senses heighten
When you’re frightened
Cold ambition keeps me moving
I rarely slow to tend my wounds
With discipline I’m proving
My instincts keep improving
Sniff out the morally corrupt
And have them face a sudden stop
Claws out
Get ready to pounce
One strike and you’re out
Hmm
Him or I
Call me chaos
Call me cruel
Aim an arrow at my heart
OK, I’m a killer
With my glowing white hem I’m looming
Dangerous or cursed, you decide
Sharpened in the moonlight
I will keep a keen eye
The tiger in the night
It is I
Rrr
14 Rebel
They say I’m wild
Hysterical
Bad and madly radical
For craving excitement
My night out got too loud
And in rolled 3 AM
Along with mayhem
Oh-oh
Rumor was I ran away
So they let you get away with my murder
You claim you didn’t hurt her
It doesn’t matter I’m totally over it
‘Cause I’m famous
I even outlived my own name
Aww, while nobody remembers you
Did it ever occur to you
(Da da da da da)
What you win you will surely lose
(Da da da da da)
Did it ever occur to you
(Da da da da da)
What you reap you will sow
You’re time is up
You’ve reached the end of the line
I’ll be cruising down Balete Drive
It’s been a blast
To hitch a ride
With the monsters no one’s realized to hide
Living in plain sight
Reliving all your ugly truths
In broad daylight
Criticized for defying being defined by none but me
So, it made me disposable apparently
What is this?
Where did you all come from?
(All around and all over
Her soul tosses and it turns)
Um okay ladies, this was my song
(Shaking in torrential rain storms
Where the winds blaze, there’s no return)
Rain? Wind? Fog?
Oh my gosh this is so obvious
Guys, really?
(Yet as she moves with furious challenge
Tears and salt rolling down her face
You hear her singing
You hear her sighing)
Huh I will persist
Until the rest of y’all see (ooh, ooh)
This tinted shade of fake they call reality
And the baddies be gone, gone, gone for good (ooh, ooh)
Along with the patriarchy!
So what’s the rush
When there’s fun to be had
Let me be the ghost in the mirror
In the back of your cab
Did it ever occur to you
(Da da da da-da da da da)
What goes around comes around too
(Da da da da-da da da da)
Did it ever occur to you
(Da da da da-da da da da)
I’m neither good nor bad
I’m just here to tell ya
Time is up
You’ve reached the end of the line
I’ll be cruising down Balete Drive
The hour’s late, the judgements nigh
I’ll be the monster no one realized to hide
Living in plain sight (do, do)
Reliving all your ugly truths
In broad daylight (do, do)
Claiming autonomy over me
Was enough to snuff my candle
(She joined our ranks in the haunting
Joined the stirrings of the in-between
Her bones were rattling, battling shivers
Like a harp with ominous strings
She heard the call of the boat by the lighthouse
And our voices so forlorn)
Okay, there you go again!
Yes, I hear you!
(A hopeless hum keeps her from crossing
Until all memory of warmth is gone)
Join your sisterhood?
(And there’s no use for her
Eh)
Eh, ha ha, I’m not that spooky okay?
Bloody? Terrifying?
Yes
But not some maiden in distress
That doesn’t fit my narrative
(It’s time to join all the dames at the lighthouse)
Let me get this right
You think I’m immaculate
Some ghostly bride
Riding down Balete Drive
(Time to join all the dames at the lighthouse)
Yeah I’d rather be murdered, be martyred
Be maimed or erased than mislabeled
(Time to join all the dames at the lighthouse)
I will not go down history like some chick in a white dress
Crying “help me, dude”
Well that’s your reckoning, calling
Long overdue
(Time to join all the dames at the lighthouse)
Did it ever occur to you
(It’s time to join us at the lighthouse
You did a number on Balete Drive)
What you win you will surely lose?
(A new home at the lighthouse
Let the halo be your guide)
(A sturdy onwards tide will take you)
Time is up, you’ve had your fun
It’s been a ride
(To the waves of the ferryman’s boat)
(Just leave your lantern on the shoreline)
Be murdered be martyred
(Where we await you, come aboard)
Be maimed or be erased
(Just leave your lantern on the shoreline)
Be murdered be martyred
Uhm, they called me witch (do, do)
Hysterical
I love the supernatural (oh-ah)
I’m craving excitement (do, do, do-ah)
Let me hitch a ride (do, do)
And soon you’ll find I wasn’t there at all (oh-ah)
Just walking down Balete drive
If I’m dead (do, do)
At least I’m free
All that said (do, do)
Don’t get into any strangers’ cars, ladies
15 Healer
Bring us back to our roots
The ancient wisdom we once understood
The art we forgot
These herbs and flowers I can provide
Gifts to heal and some knowledge to guide
What we lost we will find
We lost we will find
What we lost we will find
Somewhere down the line
Forgotten by time
Survival became
Our protocol
Must care for all
When violence sweeps
And evil won’t sleep
Widows will weep
As kingdoms fall
A prayer for all
But nature provides
Our hope it revives
There’s power
In serving life
So herbs and flowers
I lovingly sell
I’ve been through worse
And I know it too well
Through human history
Compassion’s the remedy
These bleeding hearts
A woman must heal
Dandelion tea
Woolworth
Self-heal
Leaves of three
Leave them be
Although none are as deadly
As the secrets I’m asked to keep
When darkness rolls in
It covers all sins
And fear will begin
To spread a plague
Of infectious rage
Apathy’s poised
To poison our voice
In blanketed noise
’Til blood will spill
We’ve taken ill
While trees sometimes die
Their roots bring new life
There’s power in sacrifice
So herbs and flowers
I’ve lovingly grown
To save our kind
From destroying our own
We’re part of the universe (ah)
Cared for by Mother Earth (ah)
It’s healing arts
A woman should know
(Ah, ah
Who heals the healer?)
For years I've been gathering
(ah, ah)
Searching for just the thing
When soldiers hurt
When forests burn
Our children learn
To hurt or to harm or to hate or to kill
Give them herbs or flowers
Give them herbs or flowers
Give them herbs or flowers
And love will return
17 Creatrix
I begged him relentlessly
Let me bring my instrument
“No” said he
You are to be my wife
You, used to gentility
Feminine frivolity
Silly sentimentality
Will now only humor me
I have no place for your folly
I was to work his household
Bare to the bone
Bear his children and his temper
Doing all the heavy lifting on my own
By night
When the wine was churning in his burning, bulging belly
By the hearth I lay
In dying embers I drank in my own poetry
Fingers in the ashes
Tracing a set of ivory keys
One day a clavier came
Its matching seat of richest velvet befitting royalty
Came calling, coaxing me from my dark reverie
Drawing hauntingly aching melodies
Pouring out of me giddily, richly, exuberantly
(Ah, ah)
A yearning most sincere
Urging me to play
(Urging me to play)
My fingers like lightning
Filling the silence
Haunting melodies pouring out of me
(Melodies aching, aching, haunting, playing)
As if warmed by a fire (fire)
From somewhere far beyond
(From somewhere far beyond)
I'll play faster and higher
In my music I'm still here
Ah
(Ah)
Only those who’ve known melancholy could hear
Those same ashy fingers clammy cold
Found a way beyond this threshold
To communicate
To say we matter
So ladies, pick up your lanterns
Raise your voices
Claim the shattered pieces of your soul
We have authority over our own narrative
(And the lanterns we have held)
Our identities survive beyond our bodies
(carried, kept so close )
We are not bound to one place in captivity
(One by one surrender, and face our own unknowns)
Our suffering is more than a story
No woman’s truly lived)
It is a composition
(Until her words come through)
Of collective memory
(We the women Les Dames Blanches)
Let me be the first to share my song with you
(We the women Les Dames Blanches)
Women, Les Dames Blanches
Must share our songs with you
19 We will Remain
I expected my memories to shape who I am (ah)
Ever searching for meaning with lantern in hand
Our souls carried more than the sea, moving sand
We are tied
We are one
And our stories just begun
(Ah)
(Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah)
A woman’s voice is hers
(A woman’s voice is hers)
Whether she’s alive or dead
(Whether she’s alive or dead)
We can not be cursed
(We can not be cursed)
If we choose to linger on
(If we choose to linger on)
We will remain
(We will, we will remain
We will, we will remain)
We will remain
(We will, we will remain
We will, we will remain)
[Indistinct lyric quotes]
Are you ready?
Not yet
Maybe one day
We’ll be less inclined to stay
Legends like ours bear repeating
(Oh, oh
Oh, oh)
Days will turn to night
Shadow into light
We’ve stayed (ya da da da duh)
Our stories intertwined
Women dressed in white
Ya da da da duh
Ya da da da die, ya duh
We will remain
Until we know
Until our songs will reach a new reframe
We will remain
Until we know
Until our songs will welcome waves of change
20 A Final Breath
These herbs and flowers I lovingly hold
Wisdoms from generations ago
We’re part of the universe (ah)
Cared for by Mother Earth (ah)
And heaven knows
What saves us is hope
(What will save us is hope)
What saves us is hope
(What will save us is hope)
What will save us is hope
(These were the Tales of Les Dames Blanches)
These are the stories of Les Dames Blanches
The ghostly women
(In white)
We’re ready to go