The Lei of Scarborough

 

Scarborough Lei

Verse 1: Roman

Signal-fires flared on the far sea’s rim

Watchmen waited where the waves broke

Villa of stone, vine in courtyard

Lord of the land looked to the bay

High walls echo with distant drums

Shadows lengthen as banners sway

Time of glory slips away

Chorus

O echoes of empires washed by tides

Whispers of ages beneath these skies

Though walls stand tall, fate’s tide ascends

And the sea remembers in the end

Verse 2: Saxon

Fishers hauled

from foam and tide,

timber huts

by the tide-wrack stood.

Cross was carved

from crumbled stone,

songs of Christ

on the cliff-top sang.

Outro

And the sea remembers… the sea remembers

Deep in its heart, the faults of men

And the sea remembers… forevermore

Verse 3: Viking

Sea-stallions surged

South Sands welcomed

Skarthi’s men staked their hall

Palisade rose, prow-boards gleamed

Yet earth forgot though the name remained

And the sea remembers

Chorus

O echoes of empires washed by tides

Whispers of ages beneath these skies

Though walls stand tall, fate’s tide ascends

And the sea remembers in the end

Verse 4: Norman

Stone was quarried, keep was kindled

Mary’s bells by the bay were borne

Monks laid blocks, mass was chanted

Scar of the cliff crowned with faith

And the sea remembers

Outro

And the sea remembers… the sea remembers

Deep in its heart, the faults of men

And the sea remembers… forevermore

Verse 5: Kormac and Steingerd

But you and I,

like Kormak, like Steingerd,

hold different truths

of the same fire.

You saw warmth,

I saw ashfall.

Love and sorrow

part our voices.

And we do not agree

Contra

In the silent hush of stone and tide

We trace the scars time cannot hide

You felt hope in embers left behind

I saw ruins in each whispered line

Two hearts adrift on fractured shores

Bound by grief, but yearning more

We speak in echoes, soft and worn

Our truths divided since the dawn

Reflected Dreams Verse

Where moonlight paints the ocean’s face

We carve our names in empty space

A promise held in salted air

Fades like footprints lost somewhere

Yet in the hush of restless sea

I feel your voice return to me

A silent vow beyond the night

Guiding love toward the light

Refrain

Echoes ride the rising tide

Ancient vows that lie inside

Though walls may crumble into sand

The ocean knows each broken strand

Waves will carry every plea

Beyond the bounds of memory

In every crest and every fall

We rise to meet our ocean’s call

Epilogue

The ocean holds our whispered cries

Knit by time beneath its skies

Two voices drift in ceaseless roam

The sea preserves our tales of home

And when the moonlight meets the foam

Our stories find their final home

In every crest and every fall

We live within the ocean’s call

Coda

And the sea remembers… the sea remembers

Deep in its heart, the faults of men

And the sea remembers… forevermore

At last count, our music directors have written about 400 pieces of music around the Scarborough theme. We are starting to release some of some of these, particularly those prepared by Maryan and Beth. Others, like this lei, will await an appropriate video.

c. Peter Quinton 2026