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Strange News

from TRACES by Karine Polwart

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about

The lyric scribbled itself from a state of disbelief, on hearing of the sudden death of my younger cousin Ewan Polwart (3rd August 1976 - December 25th 2009). I dedicate it to his wife Ruth, his brothers Calum and Neil and to my aunt and uncle Pauline and Graham.

lyrics

STRANGE NEWS

Strange news is at this table
Strange news and stranger still
In boots and a bobble hat I hap you up from the morning chill

One brother makes another call
One brother lets it ring
And at the head of the path you laugh as a lone blackbird begins to sing

And a mother does just what she must
And a father comes undone
In the not yet snow we wave and shout ‘hello!’ to a morning sun

Strange news arrives unbidden
Strange news and stranger still

Strange news is at this table
Strange news and stranger still
There are plastic strings of gold and ice-cold beer on the windowsill

Somewhere a boy is asking ‘when?’
Somewhere a woman ‘why?’
And in the field out back we wait for the crack of wings in a winter sky

And a mother does just what she must…

There’s a blood red mark upon my door
(You passed us over, passed us over)

Strange news is at this table
Strange news and stranger still
There's glitter on the dirt road, and a light slung low on Soutra hill

One brother makes another call
One brother lets it ring
And at the head of the path you laugh as a lone blackbird begins to sing

And a mother does just what she must …

credits

from TRACES, released August 13, 2012
Written by Karine Polwart/Steven Polwart (MCPS/PRS)

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Karine Polwart UK

One of the finest singer-songwriters in Britain" The Guardian

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