Wise And Holy Woman

I met a wise and holy woman near the town where I was walking
We both sat together down below the Yellow Furze
She closed her eyes and started singing
A song about the light that shines and the wonders of the world
She sang of the forests on the high high mountain
The pure clear water and the fresh air we breathe
Of the bounty we gain from natures abundance
And how the mighty oak tree grows from a little seed

She had an everlasting notion
The wise and holy woman had a neverending dream
As she called out to the stars glistening on the ocean
Shine a light, shine a light on me

She sang a song from the streets of Sao Paolo
For the homeless street children who never learned to smile
She sang of the shrine they built to Chico Mendez
Where the plantation workers laid his body in the soil
She sang of the greed we display before our altars
The oil soaked cormorant drowning in the tide
She sang of the halting site way out beyond Clondalkin
Where Ann Maughan froze to death between the dump and the railway line

She had an everlasting notion
The wise and holy woman had a neverending dream
As she called out to the stars glistening on the ocean
Shine a light, shine a light on me

She sang of the eagle flying high above the mountain
The otter that swam through rivers and streams
Of the lilies that bloomed and the countless wild flowers
and the rainbow that rose in the valley of tears