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Simmer Dim Waltz

from Simmer Dim Waltz by Art Davis

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about

A Celtic folk song inspired by the novels of Ann Cleeves set on the Shetland Islands. The Shetland Islands are located up north of Scotland. The “Simmer Dim” is a phrase used by the locals of the Shetland Islands to describe the perpetual twilight that happens in mid-summer. The phrase struck a real chord with me and ended up in my notebooks eventually working its way into this song.

lyrics

Echoes of ancient days
Off the northeast shore of Scotland
It remains a hard life
On the scattered isles of Shetland
The sun never sets
On warm slope-current days
The light won’t leave you alone
Holding on to old ways

Faces turned up to the sky
Need for dreams at an all time high
How long has it been
Got to get back to when

The stars are salting the sky
And the moon is hiding her eyes
We’ll step hand in hand
We’ll listen to the band
And do the Simmer Dim Waltz

We’ll slip off to sleep
Together our hearts will beat
The morning will come
And with breakfast all done
We’ll do the Simmer Dim Waltz

Herding midnight sheep
The hauling peat breaks your back
Blackhouse stares out to sea
In summer there’s no slack
Not closed my eyes since July
It’s been three weeks since I stumbled to sleep
The gods sense weariness
Shadows stir in the deep

Faces turned up to the sky
Need for dreams at an all time high
How long has it been
Must get back to when

The stars are salting the sky
And the moon is hiding her eyes
We’ll step hand in hand
We’ll listen to the band
And do the Simmer Dim Waltz

We’ll slip off to sleep
Together our hearts will beat
The morning will come
And with breakfast all done
We’ll do the Simmer Dim Waltz

Waves stroke the shore
Steady breath of eternity
Clouds cross the sky
Jeweled stars in ebony

The lighthouse braces against the wind
Silver light reaching for the lost
Laced windows, worried eyes
Fearful of the cost

Faces turned up to the sky
Need for dreams at an all time high
How long has it been
Got to get back to when

The stars are salting the sky
And the moon is hiding her eyes
We’ll step hand in hand
We’ll listen to the band
And do the Simmer Dim Waltz

We’ll slip off to sleep
Together our hearts will beat
The morning will come
And with breakfast all done
We’ll do the Simmer Dim Waltz

credits

from Simmer Dim Waltz, track released March 27, 2018
Written and performed by Art Davis.

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about

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Art Davis Dripping Springs, Texas

Art Davis is a composer, fingerstyle guitarist, and pianist living in the Texas Hill Country. Art’s music is an open invitation to daydream.

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