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Above the Hill

[Peter Bellamy]

Above the Hill is one of the earliest songs that Peter Bellamy wrote. He sang it unaccompanied on 22 June 1971 live at the Folk Studio, Norwich. This performance was published in the following year on his Argo LP with Louis Killen, Won’t You Go My Way?

Lyrics

Peter Bellamy sings Above the Hill

When the night slips to the sea to make way for the dawning,
Early birds let fall their notes to welcome home the morning.
So then the flowers lift up their heads so dew may wash their faces,
Then the sunlight, then the sunlight,
Then the sunlight lifts above the hill to paint the secret places.

As the ice begins to thin streams resume their flowing
And the timid celandine whispers, winter’s going.
So then the birds fly north again and nests they are remaking.
Then the summer, then the summer,
Then the summer comes to roost again foretold by spring’s awaking.

And at the dying of the age, old hates and wars are fading,
Hope returns into the world with ignorance receding.
So clouds disperse before the wind and with them flee our sorrows.
Then the sunlight, then the sunlight,
Then the sunlight lifts above the hill to brighten man’s tomorrows.

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Garry Gillard for a lot of help with the lyrics.