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Song Bridge

from Song Bridge by Colum Sands

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about

Song Bridge came from the story of August and Auguste which I touched upon earlier in the introductory notes.

One extra detail is that when the unwelcome Nazis arrived to their door in 1940 to summon August to the war front, Auguste took dramatic, though ultimately costly action. She ran at them from the kitchen with a bread knife and drove them away from the door.

They returned soon afterwards however, and placed her in one of their institutions where they ensured that she would never have children again.

I only know their story because at that time they did already have one daughter. Her name was Waltraud, and she also had one daughter whose name is Barbara - my wife.

This song is for the original owners of the guitar and all their descendants, including our four children and their little ones who are the great great grandchildren of August and Auguste.

An old guitar and a new song form a bridge of memory back to their courage.

When writing the song, the fiddle player Zoe Conway told me an uplifting and quirky little story which inspired the third verse. The best grade horse tail hair is used to make bows for stringed instruments. The lower grade horse tail hair is used to make legal wigs.

lyrics

7. Song Bridge 3:47
Words and Music Colum Sands © Elm Grove Music
Colum Sands: vocals, guitar & bowed bass, with Adrianne Wininsky: cello

When the water is so wide you can’t see the other side,
Take the song bridge,
When the one you miss the most is furthest from the coast,
Take the song bridge,
And may kindness be the art in the garden of your heart,
On the song bridge.

When you’re tired wheeling light up the tunnel of the night,
Take the song bridge,
When you can’t put out of sight, things you never got quite right,
Take the song bridge.
And may kindness be the art in the garden of your heart,
On the song bridge.

When you’ve seen the judge turn pale, underneath the horse’s tail
Take the song bridge,
Take the tail that made the bow, play the fiddle soft and low,
On the song bridge,
And may kindness be the art in the garden of your heart,
On the song bridge.

When you’ve played the old guitar for two lovers lost in war,
Take the song bridge,
And high above the strife, may we find the joy of life,
On the song bridge.
And may kindness be the art in the garden of your heart,
On the song bridge

credits

from Song Bridge, released April 28, 2020
Colum Sands: vocals, guitar & bowed bass, with Adrianne Wininsky: cello

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all rights reserved

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about

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Colum Sands Newry, UK

Colum Sands is a universal storyteller who draws on a long Irish tradition of poetic musicality to weave songs for the world.
Drawing on countless performances, Sands uses humour and shrewd observation to celebrate what unites rather than what separates. His latest album “Song Bridge” includes many of the songs written for his extensive environmental campaigning over the past two years. ... more

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