Iona

Set foot on Iona in 1971 and it lives within me ever since. This song is a Celtic folk-pop, ballad. Female vocals [Fiona G], intimate close-mic, fingerpicked acoustic guitar, brushed snare, Uilleann pipes, low whistle, bowed fiddle, accordion swells, soft bass drone, seaside ambience, tape saturation, room reverb, reflective devotion, hush dynamics, dotted-quarter pulse Iona Once I stood alone upon your shore Watching the Atlantic disappear Never seen such calm beauty before Felt its embrace as it drew me near Iona, I recall my time under your spell Captured by the Abbey's silent grace Fifty years on I still remember quite well What attracted me to your sacred place Resting place of kings and chiefs of clans Beneath the call of Sanderlin in flight Touch the fineness of your beach sands See candles burn late into the night You took me in when all else was lost Gave me for awhile peace of mind I never sought to measure the cost Of leaving all I had found behind I belong to a part of the Hebrides The land my grandfather ploughed Your cold stone floor hurt my knees But then I stood both tall and proud [pipes solo] Once I stood alone upon your shore Watching the Atlantic disappear Never seen such calm beauty before Felt its embrace as it drew me near Iona, I recall my time under your spell Captured by the Abbey's silent grace Fifty years on I still remember quite well What attracted me to your sacred place Resting place of kings and chiefs of clans Beneath the call of Sanderlin in flight Touch the fineness of your beach sands See candles burn late into the night You took me in when all else was lost Gave me for awhile peace of mind I never sought to measure the cost Of leaving all I had found behind I belong to a part of the Hebrides The land my grandfather ploughed Your cold stone floor hurt my knees But then I stood both tall and proud