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The Beacon

by Harbottle and Jonas

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mickeblue
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mickeblue Every Creature Is A Book ~ love the violin on this
Rob Hill
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Rob Hill A treasury of moving and memorable folk songs of nature, love, loss and light that truly shine like a beacon in these strange times.

The Beacon shines on World War One nurse Edith Cavell who saved soldiers' lives on both sides without discrimination and the brave NHS nurses of the current pandemic.

Freya Jonas' song about her Grandad Fred is deeply moving and David Harbottle reminds us how our love can be a beacon in the darkness. Favorite track: Edith Cavell.
Charlie45
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Charlie45 Thanks so much for your album launch at the Barrel House. Looking forward live music! Warm respect, Charlie.
narvask
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narvask Here is a snippet of my review from my blog Folk Horror Blog:

Harbottle & Jonas, The Beacon, is simply astonishing, their extraordinary skill in their chosen craft are unmatched by almost all I've heard before. The Beacon, in my humble opinion, reaffirms Harbottle & Jonas as the benchmark of English Folk and one of the best bands I've ever had the pleasure of hearing, long may they reign.
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    ‘The Beacon’ is a collection of songs inspired by the difficult circumstances we all faced during the global pandemic of 2020. It is an album of hope, new beginnings and re-rooting to the ancient ways. It has been a journey of discovery and has taught us the importance of love, compassion and empathy, whilst discovering the needs and delights of our inner creature. Much like the beacons of old that served as a warning with flaming fires, we hope that this period in our history will encourage us to reflect, adapt and sing together once more...

    Includes unlimited streaming of The Beacon via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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  • Full Digital Discography

    Get all 10 Harbottle & Jonas releases available on Bandcamp and save 10%.

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Wild Goose, Live @ The Great Hall with The Cleaves, The Beacon, The Sea is My Brother, Anna is a Dancer, We Shall Overcome, Cutthorpe Hill, Dawn Breaks, and 2 more. , and , .

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1.
The Beacon 04:24
Cold blows the wind From these great heights A mist lingering Beneath black and darkened skies You can see it from the valley You can feel it in the air When it gets into your skin The darkness creeping in Ancient is the path That we tread Our internal map Points in one direction Where will the tracks lead our thoughts? When will our hearts beat together as one? What do we bring? To our Beacon Our love is a Beacon Strong and steady Our love is a Beacon We are ready
2.
Edith Cavell 02:34
She was binding the wounds of her enemies When they came They battered the door with their rifle-butts Crashed into it They haled her before the judges Where they sat With question and menace The judges assailed her “Yes, I have broken your law,” she said “I have tended the hurt And hidden the hunted Have done as a sister Does to a brother Deal as you will with me To live in the life I vowed” In the terrible hour of the dawn When the veins are cold They led her forth to the wall She said “Love requires of me all” She faced them gentle and bold
3.
The rusty lace of Autumn Lays her magic down And I remember who I am And where it is I’m found The years of the earth Revealed in fading sunlight As Summer bows her glory Her last swallows take their flight It would take an artist To paint these sunset skies With hands like no other To sketch beauty for our eyes It feels like coming home Back to what we’ve lost I make a nest As all creatures must My soul magnifies The colours of the Moor Internalises every sense And floods me to restore Set within the landscape The flash of red and pink The berries dare Winter on To paint with icy ink I can stand and feel it The lives from years past As they shed their dusty skins Lay them to rest at last To every thing there is a season Autumn gives me all I’ve lost So, I make a nest As all creatures must
4.
Jimmy said Dad was once described As a cross between Clint Eastwood and Stig of the Dump He was brave too, drove his car into Jimmy’s To stop it rolling into traffic and into trouble Time is made up, just everything happening at the same time Whenever you see a robin Don’t forget to tip your hat, dear chaps It was said that Dad was chased by a bear one time Oh boy! did he love his dog called Scooter Riding horses across Spanish mountains I think he wanted to be a cowboy, just need some guns He marched for peace, without a penny to his name On his wedding day, he wore machine gun bullets around his waist You can hear the wolves howling at night In the Western wing at Sparkwell, the wolves he fed as a child He lived in a squat in London, A haunted farmhouse called Bellamarsh Cracklewood in South Brent, trying to create his pyramid He used to ride with the robins on his prized Ducati Following the wind through Thurlestone Staverton, Avon Dam and up The Mountain We lost him on the 5th of December. Sudden and unexpected. Too young, too hard, we weren’t ready for it. Whenever You see a Robin, don’t forget to tip your hat, dear chaps
5.
Like the wing of a butterfly Blown into the wind We are, we are... so delicate Like the hug of the ocean swell We can feel the smallness of ourselves against her We ignite the air Every Creature is a book Every Creature has a hungry ghost Every childlike soul longs to wander Every Creature is a book The push and pull of an endless tide Working our way back into the dust Secure and stable roads Mother nature swallowed them whole The wind is curling, the waves are crashing down The soul is a wanderer and with the seasons change Where possibilities sleep, discoveries emerge
6.
Lights 03:07
Lights fire up the sky I hear you calling I feel you call me Time is but a lie It don’t bring you closer We don’t get closer You I’ve known before See you inside me I recognise it But all the roads I’ve tried Have left me out in the cold All the words I’ve sighed Will never reach your soul Bruise will mark what’s left They’ll fade in time They’ll fade from your mind Tongue tied up and caught But your lips are moving And I find their meaning But all the roads I’ve tried Have left me out in the cold All the words I’ve sighed Will never reach your soul Every single tie is breaking from my hold All these words and lines Are stories we weren’t told But you I’ve known before See you inside me I recognise it
7.
Anam Cara 05:34
‘It will be cold.’ My skin tells me And my mind listens Forces my pores to contract My organs to withdraw As though all I am is blood and bone As though all that is worth honouring is my body. But from this well of flesh My soul whispers And my heart turns and leaps with knowing Commandeers the frigate that is my matter And steers me towards the river And sure enough, as I bathe in its cooling depths Forgiving hands pull away the cells that no longer serve me As I turn to you a small voice whispers ‘It is cold but it is wonderful too’
8.
F.C. Jonas 04:16
How do you measure the life of a man? By years, by words or the lines on his hand? Can you tell a soul good by the deeds it has done? Can you count the days by the miles that they’ve run? You felt time slipping from you And you cut off that limb, though you didn’t need to You say that you’ve lived too long You’re tired of this life and you want to go home And I wonder did you ever know your worth? Did you know how very loved you are? Life is strange and it’s fragile in our hands Maybe our lives never go as we had planned But life is dancing with you Though you buried your soul when you didn’t need to And you think of your time left to roam And you cherish each day before you journey home And you hold every day before you journey home
9.
Shelter 03:56
May your home be a shelter When you roam, won’t you know you’ve got home To comfort you May your feet feel the blessing Of the sacred earth, this ancient path To which we all once belonged And we will return May the weight of this world fall And lighten the load from the burdens you hold On your shoulders And you will unfurl your sail To awaken adventure, your spirit will navigate The stormy seas For you were born to wander For you were born to wander (Wide open arms wait you) Won’t you come home – with your eyes young again Won’t you come home – where your thoughts never think to wander
10.
Black is the colour Of my true loves hair His lips are like some roses fair He’s the sweetest smile and the gentlest hands I love the ground where on he stands I love my love and well he knows I love the ground where on he goes I wish the day it soon would come When he and I could be as one I go to the Clyde and I mourn and weep For satisfied I never can be I write him a letter, just a few short lines And suffer death, a thousand times

about

The Beacon’ is a collection of songs inspired by the difficult circumstances we all faced during the global pandemic of 2020. It is an album of hope, new beginnings and re-rooting to the ancient ways. It has been a journey of discovery and has taught us the importance of love, compassion and empathy, whilst discovering the needs and delights of our inner creature. Much like the beacons of old that served as a warning with flaming fires, we hope that this period in our history will encourage us to reflect, adapt and sing together once more...

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released March 26, 2021

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Harbottle & Jonas Totnes, UK

Harbottle & Jonas are a stunning young folk duo based in Totnes, Devon. Their music is eclectic and is always accompanied with a great story. They have received plaudits from folk royalty including Seth Lakeman, Jon Boden, Rod Clements, Declan Sinnott, BBC Introducing and have recently been endorsed by Seasalt Clothing. ... more

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