AA3033
We won't wait any longer
Music: Gwydion Pendderwen arr. Andrew Adams, Words: Gwydion Pendderwen
Voicing: SATB & piano
Performance time approx: 4m 45s
Range S: e' – a'' / A: b – e'' / T: f – f' / B: A – c'
Price code: D
Complexity:
This strong song by Gwydion Pendderwen is a celebration of the power and spirit of the Pagan community. Pendderwen was a key figure in the Pagan revival of the 1970s and 1980s; he was a student of witchcraft, co-founder of the ecological foundation Forever Forests, and also a talented song-writer. Andrew Adams, founding director of the Orpheus Pagan Chamber Choir in Denver, has created a defiant and driving arrangement of We won’t wait any longer. Sopranos carry the tune, supported by various rhythmic motifs based on the exclamations “No, no, no!” and “We won’t wait!” A gospel-style repeating section heralds the end of the song.
The recording is by the Orpheus Pagan Chamber Choir, Denver, Colorado.
We won’t wait any longer,
We are stronger than before.
We won’t wait any longer,
We are stronger.
We have trusted no-one’s promise,
We have kept to just ourselves;
We have suffered from the lies
In all the books upon your shelves.
And our patience and endurance
Through the Burning Times and now
Have given us the strength
To keep our vow.
You have grazed away the heather
And have razed the sacred grove;
You have driven native peoples
From the places that they love.
Though your greed has been unbounded,
You have felt the pangs of shame
Ev’ry time you trod
Upon the Mother’s name.
Though you thought you had destroyed
The mem’ry of the Ancient Way,
Still the people light the bale fires
Ev’ry year on solstice day,
And on Beltane Eve and Samhain
You can find us on the hill
Invoking once again
The Triple Will.
Through the ages many races
Have risen and have gone,
But dispersed among the nations
Of the world, we linger on.
Now the time has come to take
The sacred Cauldron of Rebirth,
And fulfil our ancient
Pledges to the Earth.
Gwydion Pendderwen (1979)
Lyrics © The Estate of Gwydion Pendderwen c/o Anna Korn. Used with permission.