The Burning Times

The Burning Times

original words and music © 1980 by Charlie Murphy
 
(words modified by Sally Eaton 90% & Isaac Bonewits 10%, around 1983)
Key of __

In the cool of the evening / they used to gather
Beneath the stars in the meadows / circled by the ancient trees,
At the times appointed to them / by the seasons,
By the phases of the moon / and the rhythms of the sea.

In the center of all of them / there stood a woman
Equal with the others / and respected for her worth;
One of the many / that now we call the "witches,"
The healers and the teachers / of the wisdom of the Earth.

And her people grew strong / in the knowledge that she gave them:
Herbs to heal their bodies, / spells to make their spirits whole.
Oh hear them chanting / healing incantations,
Calling on the Goddess / with their bodies and their souls:

Isis, Astarte, Diana, Hecate, Demeter, Kali -- Inanna!
Isis, Astarte, Diana, Hecate, Demeter, Kali -- Inanna!
Isis, Astarte, Diana, Hecate, Demeter, Kali -- I~nan~na!

There were those who came to conquer / and to have dominion
Over the Earth and Her children, / no matter what the cost.
And by fear they took control / of every Pagan nation,
Forcing their alliegence / to a dead man on a cross.

And in the name of his God Almighty / the Pope unleashed his Inquisition;
It was a war against the women, / who he feared and despised.
And in the fires of genocide / against the Nature people,
Half a million / European women died.

And the tale is told of those / who by the hundreds,
Clinging to each other / cast their bodies in the sea;
Chanting still the praises / of the Mother Goddess,
Refusing to deny Her, / women were dying to be free:

Isis, Astarte, Diana, Hecate, Demeter, Kali -- Inanna!
Isis, Astarte, Diana, Hecate, Demeter, Kali -- Inanna!
Isis, Astarte, Diana, Hecate, Demeter, Kali -- I~nan~na!

Now the Earth is a Witch / and still the greedy burn Her,
Stripping Her down with mining / and poisoning Her skies.
Still to Her own the Earth is a healer, / a teacher and a mother,
She's the weaver of the web of love / that keeps us all alive.

She gives us the vision / to see through the chaos.
She gives us the power: / it is our will to survive!

Isis, Astarte, Diana, Hecate, Demeter, Kali -- Inanna!
Isis, Astarte, Diana, Hecate, Demeter, Kali -- Inanna!
Isis, Astarte, Diana, Hecate, Demeter, Kali -- I~nan~na!

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Texto extraido de http://www.neopagan.net/IB_Songs_by_Others.html