Paul Doran
We filled the boats with what we hoped would last us for the journey
Silently we gathered on the shore
On us shone the midnight sun and everywhere around us
The land where we could stay no more
From the shelter of the bay out to the open water
Floating on a picture of the sky
Leaving what we knew not knowing whatās to come
One last look and then we said goodbye
To Greenland, Greenland
My soul is in the rock in the grass and on the air
It moves between the Caribou and the Puffin
Dives beneath the ice sheets with the Narwhale and the seal
Feels the hunger of the bear
Endless days, restless nights, stories from the past
Remembering the Mother of the Sea
In her tangled hair she holds the sins of Man
Every missing creature there would be
The harshness of the hunterās life the struggle to survive
The frozen beauty of the land
The wandering spirit of Qivitoq who chose to live apart
Like a Man-Dog in the wild
We filled the boats with what we hoped would last us for the journey
Silently we gathered on the shore
Iāve previously recorded two Paul Doran songs, āNativesā back in 1987 and āThe Gardenerā in 2016. I fell beneath the spell of Greenland when Paul shared it with me last year. It took months for me to find my way into this landscape. The melody stretches to the upper and lower limits of my vocal range but I was determined to sing Greenland. Not since āLord Bakerā have I been so transfixed by a song, āfloating on a picture of the skyā. An extra pleasure to sing this song with my son Andy.