______ The Wind In The Willows And The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn ______

I originally posted this in Oct 2014. I had forgotten how much I like Van Morrison. He does have the propensity towards poor enunciation on occasion which has me scrambling for a google lyric search - but he's a genius and I really like this song.

 

"The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn" is the name of an enchanting chapter in the classic book "The Wind In The Willows written by Kenneth Graham.

It is in this book from which this classic quote comes from (Ratty is speaking to Mole who he is introducing to the delights of his watery world........

“Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.”

But the chapter entitled "The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn" is about a transcendent encounter and quite a proper subject in a book where 'Talking Animals' are proxies for us human beings and our lives.

I read 'The Wind In The Willows' when I was about 12 years of age, and again when I was an adult. I was enchanted by the book on both readings. C.S. Lewis said that he thought that the sign of a good childrens book was a book that both children and adults enjoyed - which would indeed be true for Lewis' 'Narnia Chronicles' and J.R.R. Tolkeins 'The Hobbit' and 'The Lord of the Rings'.

This chapter was obviously the inspiration for this song written by Van Morrison.

 

"Piper At The Gates Of Dawn"

The coolness of the riverbank, and the whispering of the reeds
Daybreak is not so very far away

Enchanted and spellbound, in the silence they lingered
And rowed the boat as the light grew steadily strong
And the birds were silent, as they listened for the heavenly music
And the river played the song

The wind in the willows and the piper at the gates of dawn
The wind in the willows and the piper at the gates of dawn

The song dream happened and the cloven hoofed piper
Played in that holy ground where they felt the awe and wonder
And they all were unafraid of the great god Pan

And the wind in the willows and the piper at the gates of dawn
The wind in the willows and the piper at the gates of dawn

When the vision vanished they heard a choir of birds singing
In the heavenly silence between the trance and the reeds
And they stood upon the lawn and listened to the silence

Of the wind in the willows and the piper at the gates of dawn
The wind in the willows and the piper at the gates of dawn
The wind in the willows and the piper at the gates of dawn

It's the wind in the willows and the piper at the gates of dawn
The wind in the willows and the piper at the gates of dawn
The wind in the willows and the piper at the gates of dawn