Not the Leaving - Aoife O'Donovan

Go and gather up your things for the long ride

Don’t ask me, «Where are we going?»

It’ll take time

And the flowers, oh, the flowers will be buried under snow when the cold winds

blow

But the lake changes quicker than you know

At the seaside wading in the low tide in the shallows

In the wintertime, stars in the western sky flicker and fade out

But the water, oh, the water is shaking

At the breeze from the high, high seas

And the lake changes are bitter to my knees

Then I’ll wade down

I’m weighed down with family photographs and relics I’ve found in a back room

I’ll be back soon

I won’t sink, I’ll swim

I’ll be back soon

You and I, let’s build a bonfire in the sand dunes

And sit a while, cheek-to-cheek

And I’ll be humming your favorite tune

It’s not the leaving that’s grieving me

It’s the thought of you alone making my heart moan

And when the lake changes, down the road I go

Then I’ll wade down

I’m weighed down with family photographs and relics I’ve found in a back room

I’ll be back soon

I won’t sink, I’ll swim

I’ll be back soon

Go and gather up your things for the long ride