UNDER THE APPLE TREE {SINGLE} - Ailsa Mair Fox
release date November 6th 2021, the Global Day for Climate Justice, during COP26
This song is about truth-telling, about the coming down off pedestals to speak from the heart, about seeing beyond the (metaphorical) mask to meet and speak with authenticity. It is an offering from my heart written under a friends’ apple tree in Bristol a good few years ago, and which still moves powerfully through me.
‘Beyond the mask, the river flows,
beyond the mask, wildflowers grow,
beyond the mask, the heart it knows,
beyond the mask, true power shows...’
It is a call for vulnerability as well as magic, both of which are hopefully present in this very live recording made from a single take with drummer Robert Burgess, playing together in our unique barn with a stream running through it called the Cuncumén (also known as ‘the sacred living room’) here at Tir Cyffredin Housing Co-operative in Machynlleth. I, Ailsa, take full responsibility for the cello being quite low in the mix, but I think Badger did a rather good job of salvaging the track and I hope you enjoy it!
It feels appropriate to release it now, at the end of apple season, and in the midst of the incredibly important COP26 summit in Glasgow, in prayer that the world leaders will be true leaders, speak from the heart and move ahead with true power in a way that serves all beings. I am grateful to be able to use an image created last week in our living room as a lino-cut for flags accompanying a small group of friends cycling the 400 or so miles from Machynlleth to Glasgow to attend the summit. On the flags were also written the words by activist, author and teacher Joanna Macy ‘The Great Turning’, a reference to a ‘shift from the Industrial Growth Society to a life-sustaining civilization’ (words from her website - www.joannamacy.net). The waters indeed are flowing and change now is inevitable...
Over the coming weeks this track will become part of a full-size physical CD extended re-release of my 2018 EP ‘finding dashti’, and there will be more news to follow on my plans to make a fully-fledged, properly-produced, multi-instrumental album in the new year. Keep posted!
Thank you for your support, Diolch yn fawr,
Ailsa X<3
P.S. you can find me on social media @fairytalecellist (FB & instagram)
and join my mailing list by emailing ailsahughes@hotmail.com
lyrics
As I walked under the apple tree,
A rosy fruit fell down.
As I walked under the apple tree,
It knocked off my gold crown.
Oh, if you could see me now,
Without my golden crown,
Oh, if you could see me now,
Without my velvet gown…
Oh river running through my heart
Is red as any blood,
And feet cannot be told apart
From roots buried in mud.
Star inside the apple fruit,
You hold the tiny key,
Go look inside your own red heart
And follow what you see…
As I walked under the apple tree,
A rosy fruit fell down.
As I walked under the apple tree,
It knocked off my gold crown.
Oh, if you could see me now,
Without my golden crown,
Oh, if you could see me now,
Without my velvet gown…
Oh river running through my heart
Is red as any blood,
And lips cannot be told apart
From roses new in bud.
Star inside the apple fruit,
You hold the tiny key,
Go look inside your own red heart
And from your masks be free…
Beyond the mask, the river flows,
Beyond the mask, wildflowers grow,
Beyond the mask, the heart it knows,
Beyond the mask, true power shows,
Oh it shows...
As I walked under the apple tree...
credits
from Under the Apple Tree,
track released November 6, 2021
Song, cello, voice - Ailsa Mair Fox
Drums - Robert Burgess
Mixing and Mastering by Badger Brown
Copyright Ailsa Mair Hughes 2021
Recorded by Ailsa in the Cuncumén at Tir Cyffredin Housing Co-operative, Machynlleth
Artwork:
Linocut design by the Mach Cyclivist crew (originally made for their cycle to COP26 in Glasgow from mid Wales)
Ailsa Mair (known by some as The Fairytale Cellist) is a Singing Cellist, Viola da Gamba rebel, Songwriter, Composer and Improviser living in, mid-Wales.
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