Farewell you northern hills, you mountains all, goodbye
Moorlands and stony ridges, crags and peaks, goodbye
Glyder Fach farewell, Cul Beag, Sca Fell, cloud-bearing Suilven
Sun-warmed rock and the cold of Bleaklow's frozen sea
The snow and the wind and the rain of hills and mountains
Days in the sun and the tempered wind and the air like wine
And you drink and you drink till you're drunk on the joy of living.
Farewell to you, my love, my time is almost done
Lie in my arms once more until the darkness comes
You filled all my days, held the night at bay, dearest companion
Years pass by and they're gone with the speed of birds in flight
Our life like the verse of a song heard in the mountains
Give me your hand then, love, and join your voice with mine
We'll sing of the hurt and the pain and the joy of living.
Farewell to you, my chicks, soon you must fly alone
Flesh of my flesh, my future life, bone of my bone
May your wings be strong, may your days be long, safe be your journey
Each of you bears inside of you the gift of love
May it bring you light and warmth and the pleasure of living
Eagerly savour each new day and the taste of its mouth
Never lose sight of the thrill and the joy of living.
Take me to some high place of heather, rock and ling
Scatter my dust and ashes, feed me to the wind
So that I will be part of all you see, the air you are breathing
I'll be part of the curlew's cry and the soaring hawk
The blue milkwort and the sundew hung with diamonds
I'll be riding the gentle wind that blows through your hair
Reminding you how we shared in the joy of living.
Note¹: This is one of MacColl's last songs and his farewell to the world. In it, a dying hiker says goodbye to all he holds dear: the hills, his wife and his children (Black And White - The Definitive Collection, trk#20, 1993, Green Linnet Records, Nashville, Tennessee); and (Black And White - The Definitive Collection, trk#18, 2000, Cooking Vinyl Records, London, UK).
From Wikipedia: Assynt - parish in west Sutherland, Highland, Scotland - north of Ullapool. In June 2005 the Glencanisp estate, including the mountains Suilven and Canisp and the neighbouring Drumrunie estate, with the mountains Cul Mòr and Cul Beag, were bought by the local community. The Assynt Foundation aims to create local employment and safeguard the natural and cultural heritage for the benefit of the community and future generations, and for the enjoyment of the wider public. Bleaklow - high, largely peat covered, gritstone moorland, just north of Kinder Scout, across the Snake Pass, in the Derbyshire High Peak near the town of Glossop. It is the most easterly point in the British Isles over 2,000 feet and is the source of the River Derwent. Curlew - common name for the bird genus Numenius, a group of eight wader species, characterised by a long slender downcurved bill and mainly brown plumage with little seasonal change. Glyder Fach - mountain in Snowdonia, north-west Wales; the second highest of the Glyderau mountain group. It is a popular spot for climbers. Sca Fell - second highest mountain in England located in the English Lake District, a rural area in North West England. Suilven - one of the most distinctive mountains in Scotland. Lying in a remote area in the west of Sutherland, it rises almost vertically from a wilderness landscape of moorland, bogs and lochans known as Inverpolly National Nature Reserve.
From BarberSASA / Scotland: Cul Beag - at 769m (2525 ft) Cul Beag is the first mountain that overlooks the minor road to Achiltibuie. It is not as high as its neighbour Cul Mor and does not posess the same degree of individuality that characterises other mountains in the region.
From Princeton University WordNet: Ling - heather, Scots heather, broom, Calluna vulgaris (common Old World heath represented by many varieties; low evergreen grown widely in the northern hemisphere).
The Youtube video below features an excellent duet performance by Tony Hilliard and Janet Ruth Young - The Dorymates - from Cape Ann, Massachusetts.
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