The Bell of Growth

[Verse 1] I pull on my jumper Over bee-striped dreams Yellow and black pyjamas And slippers with soft wings No delay, I’m out the door To greet the green again The garden knows my footsteps And calls me by my name [Pre-Chorus] Hello, old leaves Hello, new shoots I open my arms And you open too From grandma’s time To my own hands Every small green rise Feels like a second chance [Chorus] Wake up, dear earth Wake up, dear earth I stamp my slippers down And you answer back Wake up, dear earth Wake up, dear earth A flower says my name And I say it back [Verse 2] Some stems have seen my laughter Some roots knew my tears We’ve fed the same old soil For generations here My family in the ground My family in the flesh We watered one another And both of us refreshed [Pre-Chorus] Hello, old bark Hello, new bloom I bow to the branch And the branch makes room I may look plain A silly old thing But I know what it means When a seed starts singing [Chorus] Wake up, dear earth Wake up, dear earth I stamp my slippers down And you answer back Wake up, dear earth Wake up, dear earth A flower says my name And I say it back [Bridge] I hear the echoes In the furrow and stone From hands long gone To the soil I’ve known Not mine alone Not theirs alone Just one long breathing Of leaf and bone [Final Chorus] Wake up, dear earth Wake up, dear earth I stamp my slippers down And you answer back Wake up, dear earth Wake up, dear earth A flower says my name And I say it back I catch the plants through the window pane And I smile, held softly By the bell of life