The Land of Mist and Moor

trad. Cornish

[start with chorus]

Held between the sea and sky
The land of mist and moor doth lie
Tales and legends to be told
So Cornwall’s heart will ne’er grow old

High on the clifftop, a village apart
Gwithean folk have a wanderer’s heart
They return at last to the home of their birth
To rest their old bones beneath Gwithean earth

[Chorus]

Veiled in starlight, the owlet’s child
Hunting cross moorland, a white wolf runs wild
When full moon shines from the top of the Tor
They say that the White Lady walks once more

[Chorus]

When man first came he was not alone
For magic was living in river and stone
For those with sight it can still be found
The door to the faerie realm underground

[Chorus]

King Ceddren* fought with demon fey
Who’d wrested ageless sword away
Strange heroes won the sword’s release
And heraldred Ceddren’s long reign of peace

[Chorus]

In stormy weather the fires burn bright
And the bell rings out from Marazion Light
Ancestors’ grace, the sailors crave
Lest Wreckers send all to the ocean’s grave

[Chorus]

Loading their ponies with scarce a sound
With barrels and bottles for Exeter bound
Albion Excise they’ve no wish to fight
So the Gentlemen move at the dead of the night

[Chorus]

When Uther came with sword in hand
To offer protection to our land
Fair Cornish Queen small price to pay
For Albion to keep the bold Dragons at bay

[Chorus]

Weaving of magic to travel between
Her like in the Circle has never been seen
But love of her land meant more than kin
To the legendary daughter of Caer Pendrinn

[Chorus]

pronounced “kethren” (long ‘th’ sound)