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Witch Tree Prophets

by Stone Breath

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    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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    Get all 40 Stone Breath releases available on Bandcamp and save 15%.

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Greys and Orphans, Tam Lin, The Witch Cloud, The Witch Mother, The Sly Bold Reynardine, PANDEMONIUM, Death is the Mother of Us All, Belsnickel, and 32 more. , and , .

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  • "Witch Tree Prophets" - first edition booklet/CD set

    The first edition of the "Witch Tree Prophets" CD comes with a 30 page booklet which includes lyrics, illustrations completed specifically for this project - and two essays: one by Stone Breath's Timothy who tells the story of The Witch Tree and one by noted paranormal author, David Weatherly who presents a tale about a tulpa.

    NOTE: these are the last copies of the first edition with the book.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Witch Tree Prophets via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

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1.
I will see you in one year and one day. I will find a way. You will know me by the light in my eyes And my lonely sigh. If you’ll walk with me a mile, You’ll find you never knew me before. If you’ll stay with me the night, You will know me by the morn. If you stay here for one year and one day Through sun and rain. All the secrets that i know i shall tell. You shall know me well. If you choose to stay once more The moon shall remember your prayers. If you’ll give another night, The dawn shall take all your cares. I will see you in one year and one day. I will find a way.
2.
Great-grandmother read the leaves And said that you’d love me. The Long Forgotten Friend Open to page forty-three Abaxacatabax bless you and me. On christ’s grave grows three flowers Which bloom on every hour. The first is for the kind. The second calls the rule. The third heals all the bleeding and the wound. We forbade old trotter head From home and bed stead, And bound him to the fence Which binds the rolling hills. I see your heart and your star shine in our will. Now just turn the page Which we illuminate With tongues of flickering flame And breath of grey twisting smoke Which blows all through the thorn and ash and oak. You were born under a sign, A hex drawn so divine In purpose and meaning, By hands as old as time. You are the heart and the star scribed in those lines.
3.
Old Bones 02:41
Silver hair, spider webs, Knot and twist upon my head. Yesterday fades away. Rose thorns gleam with drops of red. Tears mark all the paths that i roam. Tears will cut strange runes into my bones. O my bones. my old bones. Mirror crack, rippled lake, Etch new lines upon my face. Mirror shard, iron hard, Leave red streams all in my wake. Tears mark all the paths that i roam. Tears will cut strange runes into my bones. O my bones. my old bones. Draw the knife, shine the blade. I walk on fields of my own make. Kiss of briar, tongue of fire. All i give the worm shall take. Tears mark all the paths that i roam. Tears will cut strange runes into my bones. O my bones. my old bones.
4.
I bear the saint’s curse, The burden of my clan. I wear the beast skin And gave up the form of man. I gave up the form of man. I walk the high hills And forest so deep. O hear my howling. I mourn while other men sleep. I mourn while other men sleep. And may I sip the wine As I did drink the blood? And may I break the bread As i broke flesh? For seven long years In this wolf pelt to roam; Cast like a leper All from my family and home. Torn from my family home. And no one remembers What sin so grave; What oath was broken That leaves me to wander this way. O why must I wander this way? And may I sip the wine As I did drink the blood? And may I break the bread As I broke flesh? My teeth are red from The blood of my prey, But let my tongue taste The wine of salvation today; The blood of my savior today. Or must i bleed From briar and thorn As i have bled Each night in this blighted wolf form. Each night in this blighted wolf form. And may I sip the wine As I did drink the blood? And may I break the bread For to break the curse?
5.
And we shall drink Your blood as wine, Lord of the Green, Lord of Vine. Anointed by The Moon’s Lady. O let us give our gifts to thee: A lacen-leaf shirt To wear when you’re dead, Sewn from pine needle And cobweb thread; A crown of thorns To grace your head. Though your skin is leaves Your blood runs red. And as you’re nailed All upon the tree, This gift of blood You’ve given me: To see winter Turn again to spring. And know that you’ll Rise again to sing. The Blood, the Mother, And the Flame of Green: Let these three be our Trinity. Our holy water From rain or stream. The woven-vine divinity.
6.
Mother Grave 02:07
I have waited so long - Come my love into my arms. You have traveled so far Under both sun and star. And I wait, Mother Grave, Open arms, Always here for you. Go by land or by sea, All journeys lead to me. Travel slow or quickly At the end my face you’ll see. For I wait, Mother Grave, Last embrace, Always here for you. Go to sleep, close your eyes, Rest your head upon my lap. Swaddled in earth and clay, Let this be your final nap. And I wait, Mother Grave, Open arms, Always here for you.
7.
Don’t look behind you. Beyond the road. Beyond the gate. Beyond the calling horns. Trees twist and weave Above the path. Leaves block the bright sun. Don’t look behind you! Go step by step Into the dark, Into the unknown. Hear footsteps fall. See shadows move. Don’t look behind you. Don’t look behind you.
8.
Mother Rust 06:36
O Mother Rust, Here at the end of time. O Mother Rust There’s beauty in the decline. O Mother Rust, For still your heart does shine. Under broken wings Of fallen things Your candles flame; Your hymns we sing. O Mother Rust, We failed then we fell. O Mother Rust, We poisoned the holy well. O Mother Rust, We have made our own hell. The trumpets sound. Towers fall to ground. On ruined walls Your face is found. O Mother Rust, you are now all i see. O Mother Rust, You are all that’s left for me. O Mother Rust, At the end of everything. Your shrine of ash; Temple of the Last; Chapel of White Bone; Church of the Passed. O Mother Rust, The Horsemen have now fled. O Mother Rust, And what have they left? O Mother Rust, Only fear and death. All this shall fade, As a birth pain. Flowers will grow All on death’s grave. O Mother Rust, The rain burns my eyes. O Mother Rust, Through all the tears i cry. O Mother Rust, I see you in the sky. Please pray for us, Dear Mother Rust. We shake like leaves And turn to dust. O Mother Rust, Here at the end of time. O Mother Rust, There’s beauty in the decline. O Mother Rust, For still your heart does shine. Under broken wings Of fallen things Your candles flame; Your hymns we sing.
9.
When i was young There was a tree: It spoke to me In cracks and creaks Upon the breeze. The kids told me A witch was hanged All from a branch High in that tree For all to see. It was her ghost That was speaking From that dead tree, Where she did dwell Weaving her spells. O how i shook With a chill fear To hear strange words As i passed by In the dark night. She called to me, The Witch Tree. I heard my name On the breeze. She spoke to me, The Witch Tree. I came to her, To hear her say One lonely day. But she had fallen And her blue wood Was cracked and split, No more to creak, No more to speak. She called to me, The Witch Tree. I heard my name On the breeze. She spoke to me, The witch tree. And now she’s free; No longer bound On that cursed ground.
10.
Nicodemus the man was of African birth And he died years ago, very old. He was known as a prophet - At least was as wise - For the future he did see fortold. ‘Twas his last sad request, So we laid him away In the trunk of an old hollow tree. Wake me up, was his charge, At the first break of day. Wake me up for the great jubilee. O the good times are coming. They’re almost here. ’Twas long, long, long, on the way. Go tell Elijah to hurry up Pomp. Meet us at the gum tree Down in the swamp, To wake Nicodemus today. He was known as a prophet - At least was as wise, For he told of the battles to come. We were cold with fear As he rolled up his eyes And we dreaded the shake of his thumb. Though the clothes that he wore were so simple and plain, They were patches on elbow and knee, And he still wears the suit That he wore long ago As he sleeps in the old hollow tree. O the good times are coming. They’re almost here. ’Twas long, long, long, on the way. Go tell Elijah to hurry up Pomp. Meet us at the gum tree Down in the swamp, To wake Nicodemus today. ’Twas a long weary night - We were almost in fear That the future was more Than he knew. ’Twas a long weary night - But the morning is near And the words of the prophet hold true. There are signs in the sky That the darkness is gone. There are symbols in endless array. And the storm that had raged For so long in the sky Is now driven by bright light of day. O the good times are coming. They’re almost here. ’Twas long, long, long, on the way. Go tell Elijah to hurry up Pomp. Meet us at the gum tree Down in the swamp, To wake Nicodemus today. Wake Nicodemus today.
11.
We are pinned by knot or nail, By twine or vine. We all have trees On which we’re hanged. Reflections in a sacred well, Or holy blood. By moon or star We’ll see the signs. Looking through a ghost eye gaze Or thorny brow By shimmering sights Our eyes entwined. We are cut by point of spear; By edge of leaf. This sacrifice We all shall bleed. Shall we give a single eye? Or all our breath? Our entire life? Or just our death? We are pinned by knot or nail, By twine or vine. We all have trees On which we’re hanged.
12.
My Offering 03:52
If you’ve lost your way And you can’t find home, Listen for my voice As you walk through the night. For I’ve lost my way And I have no home, Sing The Night Bird’s Psalm As I wait for daylight. Hear my banjo ring And this song I sing Is my offering - And it’s all i can give. And it’s step by step On the winding way, Moonlight on the leaves As we walk through the night. For we’ve lost our way And we have no home, Sing The Night Bird’s Psalm As we wait for daylight.
13.
Wandering not lost, We walk through wild flowers, Me and my brother, Listening for hours To songs of rain showers. Treading so lightly We step through the briar, Me and my mother All crowned in horn, A rose among thorns. There rests the prophet In hollow tree sleeping, Not dead but dreaming. The strange words she’s speaking Are the fruit we’re seeking. Dei sanguis sanguis lupi Lupi sanguis sanguis dei Omnes spine dentes dei Lupi dentes dentes dei Calix sanctus pluvie plenus Pluvie celitus lacrime lupi Dei lacrime lacrime lupi Dei sanguis sanguis lupi Omne flumen sacrum flumen Omnis lapis lapis sacer Omnis arbor prophetissam includit canentem Oculis videntibus audientibus auribus.

about

The Children of Hum return with another offering to the spirits. 13 haunted songs which tell of the blessings of witches and the curses of saints. Stone Breath’s usual threads of stringed instruments and harmony vocals are here woven into sparse post-apocalyptic folk, tangled with folklore and personal mythology.

There should be no pause between tracks 10 and 11. Set playback devices accordingly.

credits

released August 11, 2017

Stone Breath, still following the hum: Kira, Prydwyn, Timothy.
All songs written by Timothy / Stone Breath except "Wake Nicodemus" which is traditional with arrangement by Stone Breath.

sounds by: voice, bouzouki, banjo, flute, whistle, guitar, hank drum, dulcitar, srutibox, mandocello, recorder, gopichand, balalaika.

Produced by Caleb Brown and Stone Breath.

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Stone Breath Red Lion, Pennsylvania

Stone Breath is not new. It is cracked. Broken. Imperfect. Hidden. Weathered by the seasons.

We sing of ghosts and of forgotten paths through forest and fallow field.

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