Track #1 - The Wanderlings Volume One
Leslie Hudson - piano, vocals, songwriter
Two orphans raised in poverty and working for their keep attend school in winter, underclothed and malnourished. They encounter a red bird in the woods and follow it to Sunnymeade, a magical place where it is ever-spring, and children are loved and free.
Story’s country of origin – Sweden
Based on the children’s book, The Red Bird (NY: Arthur A. Levine Books, 2005), as translated by Patricia Crampton (2005), from Sunnanäng (Sweden: Rabén & Sjögren Bokförlag, 2003). The original text is by Astrid Lindgren (1959), illustrations by Marit Törnqvist (2003).
Lyrics
Brother dear, I’m filled with longing
And it’s eating up my life
We’re as grey as we’re forgotten
Two indentured orphaned mice
If I have to milk another cow
Or fill this barn with hay
I am certain that I will not live
To see another day
Red bird, oh red bird
Deliver me from this
Let me feel once more the spring’s caress
A mother’s gentle kiss
Red bird, oh red bird
Deliver me from this
Little forest flame, my only hope
O messenger of bliss
Brother dear, my belly’s aching
We have nothing much to eat
And my tiny frame is freezing
There is frostbite on my feet
If I have to walk to school again
Along the snowy track
I am certain that I will not live
To make the journey back
Red bird, oh red bird
Deliver me from this
Let me feel once more the spring’s caress
A mother’s gentle kiss
Red bird, oh red bird
Deliver me from this
Little forest flame, my only hope
O messenger of bliss
Take me home to Sunnymeade
Underneath the cherry trees
With their boats the children play
The sun is shining every day
Take me home to Sunnymeade
With birches green- and curly-leaved
We’ll laugh and dance and dress in red
And live on in joy instead
Red bird
You have brought me to this
A forevermore of spring’s caress
A mother’s gentle kiss
Red bird, oh red bird
You brought me to this
Little forest flame, my sweetest hope
O messenger of bliss