Loreena McKennitt: Samain Night (1989)

“Samain Night“ is the first track on Loreena McKennitt’s third album, Parallel Dreams, released in 1989. Samain (Samhain) is a Gaelic festival marking the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter or “darker half“ of the year. It is celebrated from sunset on 31 October to sunset on 1 November, which is nearly halfway between the autumn equinox and the winter solstice. Lyrics: When the moon on a cloud cast night Hung above the tree tops’ height You sang me of some distant past That made my heart beat strong and fast Now I know I’m home at last You offered me an eagle’s wing That to the sun I might soar and sing And if I heard the owl’s cry Into the forest I would fly And in its darkness find you by. And so our love’s not a simple thing Nor our truths unwavering But like the moon’s pull on the tide Our fingers touch, our hearts collide I’ll be a moonsbreath by your side.