I`ve become introduced to Loreena`s music only recently. At first I disregarded her as we usually do the things that do not appeal to us at first glance or at first note. Fortunately, I listened to her again and grateful that I did, I enjoy today the art of one of the most complete authors of the contemporary music. Her lyrics are beyond comparison, her voice and tunes invoke imagination and create peace, her diary entries printed with each song are the pearls of wisdom and insight. Today I consider Loreena as a truly remarkable human being. Unique and inspiring. A desirable creative role model.

Loreena was born on February 17th, 1957 in Morden, Manitoba, Canada. Her family has lived in Canada for a couple of generations but the origins of her family on both sides are Irish. She spent a lot of time in Ireland and now owns a cottage in County Clare.

She is not married and has no kids. She has two dogs Julius (a labrador/ bouvier cross) and Perceval , (a dalmatian), as well as a couple of cats, Isis and Minnaloushe. When talking about her spirituality, she uses the Sufi notion of "polishing the mirror of one's soul", which she interprets as "striving to improve one's talents and abilities so that they can be used to reflect something positive back into the community".

Dante`s Prayer When the dark wood fell before me And all the paths were overgrown When the priests of pride say there is no other way I tilled the sorrows of stone. I did not believe because I could not see Though you came to me in the night When the dawn seemed forever lost You showed me your love in the light of the stars. Cast your eyes on the ocean Cast your soul to the sea When the dark night seems endless Please remember me. Then the mountain rose before me By the deep well of desire From the fountain of forgiveness Beyond the ice and the fire. Cast your eyes on the ocean Cast your soul to the sea When the dark night seems endless Please, remember me. Though we share this humble path, alone How fragile is the heart Oh give these clay feet wings to fly To touch the face of the stars. Breathe life into this feeble heart Lift this mortal veil of fear Take these crumbled hopes, etched with tears We`ll rise above these earthly cares. Cast your eyes on the ocean Cast your soul to the sea When the dark night seems endless Please, remember me, Please, remember me.

Diary entry with this song, Dec. 18th 1995. Trans-Siberian Railway: The Divine Comedy keeps running through my mind as I gaze out at the landscape passing before me, thinking of the people who inhabit it and how they share this human condition...Are we helping or hurting each other?...How has the West come to this place of transition?Honorably? What are we bringing them? What are their expectations? Are our lives really what they imagine? We always want to believe there is a place better than our own....

Breaking the silence

I hear some distant drumbeat
A heartbeat pulsing low
Is it coming from within
A heartbeat I don't know

A troubled heart knows no peace
A dark and poisoned pool
Of liberty now lost
A pawn an oppressors tool

Oh my heart be strong
And guide when eyes grow dim
When ears grow deaf with empty words
When I know there's life within

A gunfire shatters silence
Where birds once sweetly sang
A mother cradles a child now dead
Now death where life began

From the troubled heart of South Africa
Nicaragua's festering sore
The turmoil on the streets of China
Death crying out for more

But oh my heart be strong
And guide when eyes grow dim
When ears grow deaf with empty words
When I know there's life within

A change is slow in coming
My eyes can scarcely see
The rays of hope come streaming
Through he smoke of apathy

But oh my heart be strong
And guide when eyes grow dim
When ears grow deaf with empty words
When I know there's life within

May the spirit never die
Though a troubled heart feels pain
When this long winter is over
It will blossom once again

A tribute to Amnesty International
Music and lyrics by Loreena McKennitt
From: Parallel dreams (1989).

More about Loreena

Aaron McMahon`s Page

A Tribute to Loreena McKennit

Albums

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