"Songs From The Wood"
music and lyrics by Ian Anderson
Songs From The Wood (1977); Live: Bursting Out (1978); Original Masters (1985); 20 Years of Jethro Tull: The Essential Tull (1988);
The Best of Jethro Tull: The Anniversary Collection (1993); 25 Years of Jethro Tull: Remixed Classic Songs (1993); 36 Greatest Hits (1998); The Very Best of Jethro Tull (2001);
Songs From The Wood Remastered (2003); Live: Bursting Out Remastered (2004); 'A' Remastered (2004); All The Best (2012); The String Quartets (2017);
Songs From The Wood: The 40th Anniversary Country Set Edition (2017); Heavy Horses: 40th Anniversary New Shoes Edition (2018); 50 For 50 (2018);
Stormwatch: 40th Anniversary Force 10 Edition (2019); 'A': The 40th Anniversary A La Mode Edition (2021); The Broadsword and The Beast: The 40th Anniversary Monster Edition (2023);
Live: Bursting Out: The Inflated Edition (2024)
Bootlegs: Rainbow Theatre London 8 May 1978 (1978); Caught In The Crossfire (1980); The Pine Ian's Jig (1980); Watchers On The Storm (1980);
A-OK 2/5/1981 (1981); Capitol Theatre 10/28/84 (1984); Songs From The Tower (2023)
Let me bring you songs from the wood to make you feel much better than you could know
Dust you down from tip to toe, show you how the garden grows, hold you steady as you go
Join the chorus if you can, it'll make of you an honest man
Let me bring you love from the field, poppies red and roses filled with summer rain
To heal the wound and still the pain that threatens again and again as you drag down every lover's lane
Life's long celebration's here, I'll toast you all in penny cheer
Let me bring you all things refined, galliards and lute songs served in chilling ale
Greetings well met fellow, hail! I am the wind to fill your sail, I am the cross to take your nail
A singer of these ageless times with kitchen prose and gutter rhymes
Songs from the wood, make you feel much better
"Jack-In-The-Green"
music and lyrics by Ian Anderson
Songs From The Wood (1977); Live: Bursting Out (1978); The Best of Jethro Tull: The Anniversary Collection (1993); Living With The Past (2002);
Songs From The Wood Remastered (2003); Live: Bursting Out Remastered (2004); The Best of Acoustic Jethro Tull (2007); Live Christmas At St. Bride's 2008 (2009);
Songs From The Wood: The 40th Anniversary Country Set Edition (2017); Heavy Horses: 40th Anniversary New Shoes Edition (2018);
Stormwatch: 40th Anniversary Force 10 Edition (2019);
The Broadsword and The Beast: The 40th Anniversary Monster Edition (2023); Live: Bursting Out: The Inflated Edition (2024)
Bootlegs: Rainbow Theatre London 8 May 1978 (1978); Watchers On The Storm (1980); Nostell Priory UK 08-24-1982 (1982);
Jack In The Green: Live In Germany 1970-1993 (1993); Live In Switzerland 2005 (2023)
Have you seen Jack-In-The-Green? With his long tail hanging down
He sits quietly under every tree in the folds of his velvet gown
He drinks from the empty acorn cup, the dew that dawn sweetly bestows
And taps his cane upon the ground, signals the snowdrops it's time to grow
It's no fun being Jack-In-The-Green, no place to dance, no time for song
He wears the colours of the summer soldier, carries the green flag all the winter long
Jack, do you never sleep, does the green still run deep in your heart?
Or will these changing times, motorways, powerlines, keep us apart?
Well, I don't think so, I saw some grass growing through the pavements today
The rowan, the oak and the holly tree, are the charges left for you to groom
Each blade of grass whispers Jack-In-The-Green, oh Jack, please help me through my winter's night
And we are the berries on the holly tree, oh, the mistlethrush is coming, Jack, put out the light
"Cup of Wonder"
music and lyrics by Ian Anderson
Songs From The Wood (1977); Songs From The Wood Remastered (2003); Songs From The Wood: The 40th Anniversary Country Set Edition (2017); 50 For 50 (2018)
May I make my fond excuses for the lateness of the hour
But we accept your invitation and we bring you Beltane's flower
For the May Day is the great day, sung along the old straight track
And those who ancient lines did lay will heed the song that calls them back
Pass the word and pass the lady, pass the plate to all who hunger
Pass the wit of ancient wisdom, pass the cup of crimson wonder
Ask the green man where he comes from, ask the cup that fills with red
Ask the old grey standing stones, that show the sun its way to bed
Question all as to their ways and learn the secrets that they hold
Walk the lines of nature's palm crossed with silver and with gold
Pass the word and pass the lady, pass the plate to all who hunger
Pass the wit of ancient wisdom, pass the cup of crimson wonder
Join in black December's sadness, lie in August's welcome corn
Stir the cup that's ever-filling with the blood of all that's born
But the May Day is the great day, sung along the old straight track
And those who ancient lines did lay will heed this song that calls them back
Pass the word and pass the lady, pass the plate to all who hunger
Pass the wit of ancient wisdom, pass the cup of crimson wonder
"Hunting Girl"
music and lyrics by Ian Anderson
Songs From The Wood (1977); Live: Bursting Out (1978); Live At Hammersmith '84 (1990); Songs From The Wood Remastered (2003); Live: Bursting Out Remastered (2004);
Live At Montreux 2003 (2007); Songs From The Wood: The 40th Anniversary Country Set Edition (2017); Heavy Horses: 40th Anniversary New Shoes Edition (2018); 50 For 50 (2018);
Stormwatch: 40th Anniversary Force 10 Edition (2019); 'A': The 40th Anniversary A La Mode Edition (2021); The Broadsword and The Beast: The 40th Anniversary Monster Edition (2023);
Live: Bursting Out: The Inflated Edition (2024); Live In Berlin 1985 (2025)
Bootlegs: Rainbow Theatre London 8 May 1978 (1978); Philadelphia Live 1980 (1980); The Pine Ian's Jig (1980); Watchers On The Storm (1980); A-OK 2/5/1981 (1981);
Nostell Priory UK 08-24-1982 (1982); Capitol Theatre 10/28/84 (1984); Jack In The Green: Live In Germany 1970-1993 (1993); Hard Times of Old England (2021);
Live In Freiburg 1982 (2022); London Fields (2023);
Live In Berlin 1985 (2023)
One day I walked the road and crossed a field to go by where the hounds ran hard
And on the master raced behind the hunters chased to where the path was barred
One fine young lady's horse refused the fence to clear
I unlocked the gate but she did wait until the pack had disappeared
Crop handle carved in bone, sat high upon a throne of finest English leather
The queen of all the pack, this joker raised his hat and talked about the weather
All should be warned about this high born Hunting Girl
She took this simple man's downfall in hand, I raised the flag that she unfurled
Boot leather flashing and spurnecks the size of my thumb
This highborn hunter had tastes as strange as they come
Unbridled passion, I took the bit in my teeth
Her standing over, me on my knees underneath
My lady, be discrete, I must get to my feet and go back to the farm
Whilst I appreciate you are no deviate, I might come to some harm
I'm not inclined to acts refined, if that's how it goes
Oh, high born Hunting Girl, I'm just a normal low born so and so
"Ring Out, Solstice Bells"
music and lyrics by Ian Anderson
Songs From The Wood (1977); The Jethro Tull Christmas Album (2003); Songs From The Wood Remastered (2003); The String Quartets (2017);
Songs From The Wood: The 40th Anniversary Country Set Edition (2017); 50 For 50 (2018); 50th Anniversary Collection (2018)
Now is the solstice of the year, Winter is the glad song that you hear
Seven maids move in seven time, have the lads up ready in a line
Ring out these bells, ring out, ring solstice bells, ring solstice bells
Join together beneath the mistletoe, by the holy oak whereon it grows
Seven druids dance in seven time, sing the song the bells call, loudly chiming
Ring out these bells, ring out, ring solstice bells, ring solstice bells
Praise be to the distant sister sun, joyful as the silver planets run
Seven maids move in seven time, sing the song the bells call, loudly chiming
Ring out these bells, ring out, ring solstice bells
Ring solstice bells, ring on, ring out, ring on, ring out
"Velvet Green"
music and lyrics by Ian Anderson
Songs From The Wood (1977); 20 Years of Jethro Tull: Radio Archives and Rare Tracks (1988); Songs From The Wood Remastered (2003); The Best of Acoustic Jethro Tull (2007);
The String Quartets (2017); Songs From The Wood: The 40th Anniversary Country Set Edition (2017)
Walking on velvet green, Scots pine growing, isn't it rare to be taking the air, singing, walking on velvet green
Walking on velvet green, distant cows lowing, never a care, with your legs in the air, loving, walking on velvet green
Won't you have my company, yes, take it in your hands, go down on velvet green, with a country man
Who's a young girls fancy and an old maid's dream, tell your mother that you walked all night on velvet green
One dusky half-hour's ride up to the north, there lies your reputation and all that you're worth
Where the scent of wild roses turns the milk to cream, tell your mother that you walked all night on velvet green
And the long grass blows in the evening cool and August's rare delight may be April's fool
But think not of that, my love, I'm tight against the seam and I'm growing up to meet you down on velvet green
Now I may tell you that it's love and not just lust, and if we live the lie, let's lie in trust
On golden daffodils, to catch the silver stream, that washes out the wild oat seed on velvet green
We'll dream as lovers under the stars, of civilizations raging afar, and the ragged dawn breaks on your battle scars
As you walk home cold and alone upon velvet green
Walking on velvet green, Scots pine growing, isn't it rare to be taking the air, singing, walking on velvet green
Walking on velvet green, distant cows lowing, never a care, with your legs in the air, loving, walking on velvet green
"The Whistler"
music and lyrics by Ian Anderson
Songs From The Wood (1977); The Best of Jethro Tull: The Anniversary Collection (1993); 25 Years of Jethro Tull: Beacons Bottom Tapes (1993); Through The Years (1997);
36 Greatest Hits (1998); The Very Best of Jethro Tull (2001); Songs From The Wood Remastered (2003); All The Best (2012);
Songs From The Wood: The 40th Anniversary Country Set Edition (2017); 50 For 50 (2018);
Bootlegs: One Flute Over The Cuckoo's Nest (1990)
I'll buy you six bay mares to put in your stable, six golden apples bought with my pay
I am the first piper who calls the sweet tune, but I must be gone by the seventh day
So come on, I'm the whistler, I have a fife and a drum to play
Get ready for the whistler, I whistle along on the seventh day, whistle along on the seventh day
All kinds of sadness I've left behind me, many's the day when I have done wrong
But I'll be yours for ever and ever, climb in the saddle and whistle along
So come on, I'm the whistler, I have a fife and a drum to play
Get ready for the whistler, I whistle along on the seventh day, whistle along on the seventh day
Deep red are the sun-sets in mystical places, black are the nights on summer-day sands
We'll find the speck of truth in each riddle, hold the first grain of love in our hands
"Pibroch (Cap in Hand)"
music and lyrics by Ian Anderson
Songs From The Wood (1977); 20 Years of Jethro Tull: The Essential Tull (1988); Songs From The Wood Remastered (2003);
Songs From The Wood: The 40th Anniversary Country Set Edition (2017); The Broadsword and The Beast: The 40th Anniversary Monster Edition (2023)
Bootlegs: Hard Times of Old England (2021); Live In Freiburg 1982 (2022)
There's a light in the house, in the wood, in the valley
There's a thought in the head of the man who carries his dreams like the coat slung on his shoulder
Bringing you love in the cap in his hand and each step he takes is one half of a lifetime
No word he would say could you understand, so he bundles his regrets into a gesture of sorrow, bringing you love cap in hand
Catching breath as he looks through the dining-room window, candle lit table for two has been laid
Strange slippers by the fire, strange boots in the hallway, put my cap on my head, I turn and walk away
"Fire At Midnight"
music and lyrics by Ian Anderson
Songs From The Wood (1977); The Jethro Tull Christmas Album (2003); Songs From The Wood Remastered (2003);
Songs From The Wood: The 40th Anniversary Country Set Edition (2017); The Broadsword and The Beast: The 40th Anniversary Monster Edition (2023)
Bootlegs: Hard Times of Old England (2021); Live In Freiburg 1982 (2022)
I believe in fires at midnight, when the dogs have all been fed
A golden toddy on the mantle, a broken gun beneath the bed
Silken mist outside the window, frogs and newts slip in the dark
Too much hurry ruins the body, I'll sit easy, fan the spark
Kindled by the dying embers of another working day
Go upstairs, take off your makeup, fold your clothes neatly away
Me, I'll sit and write this love song as I all too seldom do
Build a little fire this midnight, it's good to be back home with you
"Old Aces Die Hard"
music and lyrics by Ian Anderson
Songs From The Wood: The 40th Anniversary Country Set Edition (2017)
Light it is fading along the green belt as the millions weep for their children
Sitting detached in the suburban-ness as politics brew in the cauldron
Dark ages, spilling no secrets from the old house of cards
That stands immune as the great disease rages through the pack stacked with jokers, old aces die hard
Unfinished flyovers crack in the winter, the grass grows still through the concrete
The last words of prime ministers drop like the pin, breaking silence left by their cold feet
Dark ages, spilling no secrets from the old house of cards
That stands immune as the great disease rages through the pack stacked with jokers, old aces die hard
And Mother Superior calls for the light to mark Heaven's request for repentance
But the football crowds mutter and pray for the night and march to their doom with acceptance
Dark ages, plant their last seed on the withering land
To grow in the dust of yesterday's wages, underwritten by the pen of history's hand
And the blue dawn cracks on the morn of another day, ten thousand years away
And the seeds that were sown into young men have grown
Fathers to their youngest child to place in the camp fire's sight
Dead as the night that he can't quite recall, he can't quite recall
When he dreams in his head with the stones in his bed and the shouts of the sun as it falls
And the women wake and they laugh as they shake their frosty sleep from their hair
And put that same old kettle on and sing that same old pagan song
Dark ages, history's karma is rattling its chains, dark ages, civilisation's menstrual pains
The bone's in the china, the fat's in the fire, there's no turkey left on the table
The commuters return on the six o'clock flyer, brings no bale of straw for the stable
Dark ages, spilling no secrets from the old house of cards
That stands immune as the great disease rages through the pack stacked with jokers, old aces die hard
Dark ages, spilling no secrets from the old house of cards
That stands immune as the great disease rages through the pack stacked with jokers, old aces die hard