Lyrics

I could not stay, it’s just I could not stay
without you by my side
so I built myself a round wee boat.
I wove my boat from willow and birch
and pushed my way out through the surf
to where the tide would carry me away.

It took some time for me to build myself
a sturdy clinker boat
I did not know how to work the grain.
But I built my boat from oak and pine
and found a way to scarf the joins
steam the wood so it would fit just right.

I raised my sail and I rowed my boat
across the sea of tears
of pain and grief and shame.
To find the croft where we both lived
we worked the land with love and care
till you broke down and said “I need to go”.

I found the ruin of our home
and there’s no roof there now
the foxgloves they grow tall.
The wren’s still there, the blackbird too
where once I grew those pansies for you
and in the kitchen garden the herbs still grow.

Before I left I took my seed bag out
the one you mended for me
I broadcast on the wind.
So when you come and look around
you’ll see my flowers for miles around
the flowers hold the colours of my love for you.