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First Light

from The Going Away by Helen Dorothy

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about

The arrival of the new millennium on Pitt Island in the Chathams, where inhabitants gathered at the top of the steep Hakepa Hill (‘Walk-em-up’) to wait for that sunrise.

lyrics

First Light
© Helen Dorothy (2006)

The days, the weeks, the months, the years, they never drift apart
When one is heading to its end the next is soon to start
I like to think of the rising of the sun
As a time that marks the time that’s gone and the time that’s just begun
First light—I know she’s always there

There’s all these deadlines to be met and headlines to be made
But you only have to lift your head to watch the colours fade
They fade to grey, then grey fades away, it seems
I’m waiting in the darkness in a shooting starry dream
For first light—and I know that she’ll be there.

On ‘Walk-‘em-up’ they walked them up, the horses to the fire
Above them buzzed a chopper that the TV news had hired
Tourist boats were twinkling, anchored to the time
Watching the horizon, and waiting for a sign
Of first light—and feeling lucky to be there

And when the noisy muttonbirds had taken off to sea
First light sent her first ray to touch the hearts of you and me
The sky was dark and cloudy, the rocks were bathed in gold
And first ray move on its way to let the day unfold

And all around the turquoise turmoil
Rises, falls, swells and rolls
Hides ‘crays’ in mesh pots soon to spoil
The tables of those other lucky souls
Frothy breakers tumble over glass
Leave spiral shells and biscuit stars
In the first light—and I knew that she’d be there
First light—I knew that she’d be there
First light—I felt certain I could taste the cold first air
First light, when she came, I was there.

credits

from The Going Away, released April 1, 2009
Helen Dorothy - vocals, acoustic guitar
Richard Prowse - double bass

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Helen Dorothy New Zealand

Helen Dorothy is “an acoustic folk artist in an honest sense” (NZ Musician, 2009). She writes "beautifully-crafted, intelligent songs rich in memorable imagery" (fRoots Magazine, Jan 2014).

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