about
LEAP OF FAITH
While visiting Malmesbury Abbey in Wiltshire we were intrigued by a stained-glass window showing a monk holding a pair of wings. Fortunately, there was a full explanation in the abbey literature; Eilmer was an 11th century Benedictine monk who was the first recorded person to have attempted flight. He was a scholar who studied nature and was particularly curious about the flight of birds and bats. This was a story that had to be told. We mapped out the song elements on the drive home. Libby said it could be called ‘Leap of Faith’, which seemed a perfect title. It was also clear that it had to be sung by Peter Jones, not that he had knowledge of this decision. Thankfully Peter agreed and represented Eilmer and his brotherhood. The opening music is the theme of ‘The Comet’. Eilmer saw Halley’s comet as a young boy and once again in 1066 shortly before his death, a remarkable lifespan for someone living at that time. At the start we find the elderly Eilmer in reflective mood before we hear the abbey bells and his story is told, from his solitary studies to his ascending rise of the bell tower, his leap and fall. “He was a man learned for those times, of ripe old age, and in his early youth had hazarded a deed of remarkable boldness. He had by some means, I scarcely know what, fastened wings to his hands and feet so that, mistaking fable for truth, he might fly like Daedalus, and, collecting the breeze upon the summit of a tower, flew for more than a furlong. But agitated by the violence of the wind and the swirling of air, as well as by the awareness of his rash attempt, he fell, broke both his legs and was lame ever after. He used to relate as the cause of his failure, his forgetting to provide himself a tail.” William of Malmesbury : Gesta regum Anglorum, 1125
lyrics
The Comet (instrumental)
Evensong the day is done
Fading my time now has come
Fearful most terrible flame
Returning to warn us again
Long ago this child became man
Seeking the heavenly plan
Inside the monastery walls
I eat and I sleep and I pray
Something inside me awakes
On Ascension Day
Candlelight
Shows the way
Illuminate
Day by day
Observing the birds and the bats
I read and I think and I pray
And follow the passion within
That I must obey
Daedalus
Can this be done?
Icarus
Beware the Sun
I plan and I build and I write
In willow and parchment and wax
God willing these wings will take flight
In a leap of faith
Step by step
I climb prepared
These ever winding stairs
The wind on my face
Will I feel God's embrace?
One look below
Its time
Time to go
Eilmer standing at the edge
Nervous feet on narrow ledge
Father save this humble wretch
Soaring now the world beneath me
High above the crowd
People gaze with awe and wonder
Gliding without sound
We can all fly like the angels
Hearts and minds unbound
Imperfect beings dream of glory
We can all fly
‘Til we hit the ground
credits
from
Rise and Fall,
released February 22, 2020
John Holden - Guitars, Bass, Keyboards, Programming
Peter Jones - Vocals, Recorder, Whistle
Vikram Shankar - Piano & Keyboards
license
all rights reserved
