There are Fairies at the Bottom of Our Garden - old song, free

by Louisa John-Krol

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Cindy-Lee Harper Utterly delightful, so surprised I haven't heard it before.

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about

'There's an old fairy song I loved in childhood', sighed Anne Atkins, her wild eyes shining. Sequinned lace sparkling, ringlets tumbling from around a rose in her hair, she was barefoot with a heart sticker on a toe, and a star on her brow. Anne led Wonderwings Fairy Shop. We storytellers would enter, garlanded, in a swish of chimes beneath Pegasus wings. We'd curtsey, whirl, inhale rose oil and face puckish masks, plumes, tutus, wings, jester caps & marottes, harlequin ruffs, vintage velvet, snow-globes, mobiles, mirrors, scrolls and a cabinet of curiosities with waxen, flaxen haired dolls in petticoats. In the next room, on a ring of toadstool cushions and fresh eucalyptus leaves, people partook of fairy tales to the swish of chimes, fairy dust and ditties, as liquid swilled into goblets. A glass artist making gorgeous wands, Anne dazzled the media with her whimsy and flamboyance. She was also my first patron. Playing and selling my cassette The Faerietale Woman (1991) in her store, she commissioned my duo of that time (Fionvarra, with Andrew Persi) to produce a soundtrack, Wonderwings (1992). Here now is that song Anne requested: 'There are Fairies at the Bottom of Our Garden'.

We recorded it too fast. It raced along. Anne had always hoped it would be more of a sway than a sprint. Thirty years later, in a new century, technology had advanced enough that it became possible to slow tempo without lowering pitch! So that is what happened. At last we have this andante / adagio, a pace that glides.

lyrics

There are fairies at the bottom of our garden
Not so very faraway
Past the garden shed and keep on ahead,
I hope they’ve come to stay!
There’s a wood with moss and beetles,
A stream quietly runs through …
You wouldn’t think they’d dare to come merry-making there
Well, they do!

(I dare you to believe, the magic that you see,
Rushing on a stream, or deep inside a tree -
Could it be in me? Could it be in you?
Was it just a dream, or was it a fairy?)*

There are fairies at the bottom of our garden
Dancing away on Summer nights!
Birds and butterflies turn with the bees
While the rabbits hold the lights.
If you’ll ride upon a moonbeam,
Take a little star to make a fan -
Dance away up there, in the middle of the air
Well, you can!

(I dare you to believe … etc., as above)

There are fairies at the bottom of our garden
You know how fine they are!
Standing to sing when the Royalty
Are floating down upon a star …
The King is proud and very handsome!
The Queen - now guess who that could be?
A child all day, by night she’s away
Well, it’s me!

credits

released May 18, 2021
Lyrics: adapted from a poem by Rose Fyleman (1877 - 1957), except for the addition of a *Fairy Incantation stanza (4 lines): 'I dare you to believe ...' etc. by Louisa John-Krol, as indicated with an Asterix in lyrics above.
Melody: Louisa John-Krol, except for the opening title line that Liza Lehmann set in 1917 to Rose Fyleman's poem.
Instrumentation: Andrew Persi. He chose olde-worlde sounds from a collection that likely included Dulcimer, Lap Harp and/or Harpsichord. There was a hint of honky tonk, fairground Organ, music box jangle or a family gathered around a Pianola.
Vocals, acoustic Guitar: Louisa John-Krol
From the cassette Wonderwings by Fionvarra
Tempo slowed down 30 years later by Brett Taylor, Pilgrim Arts
Special thanks to our first patron and fairy queen, Anne Atkins of Wonderwings Fairy Shop, who commissioned this music.

Update: Anne died on the 1st day of Spring, October 2022. We miss you dear Fairy Anne. I shall provide the best of our Wonderwings commission here freely asap.

Cassette tape has a short lifespan, so I converted all the Fionvarra recordings to digital storage. This is my first sharing of them online. Free, in honour of Anne Atkins and all fairies.

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about

Louisa John-Krol Australia

Louisa is an Australian singer, composer, writer & faery storyteller who has released many albums of ethereal music on indie labels, primarily in France. She's completing a fantasy series, The Elderbrook Chronicles, with a soundtrack.

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