Twilight Whippoorwill

from Duets by Barbara Hume

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This song was inspired by Matsuo Basho's haiku poem as follows:

Twilight whippoorwill
Whistle on, Sweet Deepener
Of dark loneliness

I searched a bit further and found a story of dark loneliness on a haunted street named Whippoorwill Valley Road in New Jersey. The folklore tells of farmers in the late 18th C. accusing some women of being witches, burning them and burying them in their fields. The street sign is still in place and the stories of strange visitations and haunting sounds continue.

lyrics

Calling whippoorwill
Fly by whippoorwill now
Hear your sweet cry at twilight
Witch hunts down
Witch hunts down dirt roads
Signaled by your cry
Spirits of women silenced by fire.

For young girls and mothers
Wounded women
Longing for home.

credits

from Duets, released June 15, 2020
Bonnie Murphy, composer/pianist
Barbara Hume, lyricist/vocalist

license

all rights reserved

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Barbara Hume Seattle, Washington

Barbara Hume lives in the Seattle area where she has collaborated with composers for the past 20 years including David Paul Mesler, Bonnie Murphy, Paul Lewis and other northwest artists producing original music, set to a rich and varied canon of poetry. In these albums, the weaving of melody and imagery produce songs that unearth the raw senses that nurture the soul. ... more

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