Winter on MacGillycuddy

(Slow rubato tempo, DADGAD electro-acoustic guitar, heavy analog delay, wide ambient room reverb, unpolished, unhurried, eerie Irish dark-folk tone)

(Sparse fingerpicking, raw close-mic raspy Irish vocal, uneven folk phrasing, heavy room breath, minimalist and bare)

They stripped me naked, bare and bone

Oh where, oh where, has the raven flown?

To the turlough, where the sun hides to cry?

Or the scree slope, to watch the fox chase the mice?

Oh where, oh where, has the raven flown?

They laughed at me naked, bare and bones

(Heavy wooden floor stomp, low bowing cello drone, intense strained vocals, emotional Celtic keening style, slow gradual dynamic swell)

Why does it leeaaaave

Again and again.

I need its song—

huh-uh

I need my end.

I need its soonnnng-

huh-uh

I need my end.

(Mournful humming)

(Extended slow electro-acoustic motif, heavy delay trails, open strings ringing out, atmospheric space)

(Delicate acoustic picking, low cello accents, vulnerable Celtic vocal embellishments, unquantized natural timing)

They set ablaze, my family and home

Oh where, oh where, has the raven flown?

Over MacGillycuddy's Reeks, to worship the moon?

Or to dance with the finch, to sway and to swoon?

Oh where, oh where, has the raven flown?

They are ash, my family and home

(Heavy wooden floor stomp, low bowing cello drone, intense strained vocals, emotional Celtic keening style, slow gradual dynamic swell)

Why does it leeaaaave

Again and again.

I need its song—

huh-uh

I need my end.

I need its soonnnng-

huh-uh

I need my end.

(Mournful humming)

(Tragic Celtic-influenced electro-acoustic solo, modal tuning, bowing cello dynamic peak, massive ambient reverb swell, no drums)

(Sudden drop to near-silence, low bowing cello drone, eerie unison Celtic women's choir echo, raw raspy male lead, ritualistic dark-folk atmosphere)

(Male Lead): See no evil, I will it to be

(Women's Choir): (Low spectral echo) Peck out my eyes...

(Male Lead): So no evil I see.

(Male Lead): Speak no evil, I will it to be

(Women's Choir): (Low spectral echo) Peck out my tongue...

(Male Lead): So no evil I speak.

(Male Lead): Oh hear no evil, for I can’t bear

(Both / Choir Swell): Peck my eardrums, so no evil I hear...

(Slow aggressive acoustic strumming, raw crying vocal delivery, max emotional peak, sudden mute to bare voice with natural room echo)

Why does it leeaaaave

AGAIN AND AGAIN.

I NEED IT’S SOOONG

huh-uh

…I need my end.

(Single open-string guitar chord decaying into 10-second ambient delay trail, lingering cello resonance, complete silence)