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1. Swifts
Commissioned by The Young Naperville Singers
for their 15th anniversary concert celebrating "Family Ties".
Words and Music by Malcolm Dalglish
Family Apodidae is the Swift family, the most aerial of birds.
Chaetura Pelagica is the Latin name for Chimney Swift.
Ooolitic Music for Dulcimer and SATB voices:Lydia, Naomi,
Malcolm, with special guests Mia Dalglish, Anna Dale on Vocals,
and N. Scott Robinson on Mbiras, Caxixi, Maraca, and Foot Bells

Summer! Sundown! Playing in the street!
Allie Allie Um Kum Free!
My family and I have a favorite phenomenon we like.
We all lay down in our local school ground.
Heads on each other's stomachs,we will watch up in the sky
the silhouetted pirouetting wings drawing nigh.
Family! Family! Family Apodidae.

What is it that lives up in the air? -Chaetura Pelagica
Seems to flit about without a care -Chaetura Pelagica
A thousand miles a day it flies,
Drawing lines up in the skies,
In winter to Peru it flies away.
Chaetura Pelagica,Chaetura Pelagica.

Turn and the wind pulling you up
Will suddenly pull you down again.
Turn and the wind pulling you down
Will suddenly pull you up and then you glide.

Swirling round the chimney where they dwell,
Circus in the sky, a carousel.
That little clown doesn't care what's up or down!
And that one there,somersaulting through the air!

They seem to have no purpose but to revel in the fun
of coming back together with the setting of the sun.
Family! Family! Family Apodidae.

More and more will join this noisy throng -Chaetura Pelagica
And when last light of day is nearly gone-Chaetura Pelagica
In one fell swoop out of the blue,
This ritual chimney rendezvous,
Will disappear into the flue to sleep.
Chaetura Pelagica,Chaetura Pelagica.

Swifts! Swifts! Chimney Swifts!

2. Sheep in the Meadow
Commissioned by The Indianapolis Children's Choir
Northumbrian lullaby arranged by Malcolm Dalglish
Plymouth Music HL-527 for Dulcimer and SA voices:
Lydia, Moira, Georgia Rose, Suzannah, Beth

Sheep are in the meadow and the kye's in the corn,
Thou's owerlang in thy bed bonny at at morn

(Chorus)Canny at night,bonny at morn,
Thou's owerlang in thy bed, bonny at morn.

We're all laid idle wi' the keepin' o' the bairn.
The lad wi' not work and the lassie won't lairn.

The bird is in the nest and the trout's on the burn,
Thou hinders thy mother at many's the turn.

3. Epitaph
Commissioned by The Indianapolis Children's Choir
A funeral song that sets Wendell Berry's poem for his father
to the Scottish/Irish bagpipe lament, Lochaber No More .
Plymouth Music HL-229 for Dulcimer and SSAA,or SSAT Voices:
Lydia, Naomi, Moira, Georgia Rose, Suzannah, Beth, Jenna, Malcolm,
Nick, Dan S., Nils, Dan R., Special guest: Jennifer Armstrong,
Bagpipes

Having lived long in time,
he lives now in timelessness
without sorrow, made perfect
by our never finished love,
by our compassion and forgiveness,
and by his happiness in receiving
these gifts that we give. Here in time
we are added to one another forever.

The poem, Epitaph, is from "Entries", copyright 1994 by Wendell Berry,
used by arr. with Pantheon Books, a div. of Random House, Inc.

4. Bye Oh Baby
Commissioned by The Indiana University Children's Choir
Traditional folk song arranged by Malcolm Dalglish
This performance is for my father, Garven Dalglish (Pops)
Boosey& Hawkes OCTB6633 for Dulcimer and SA Voices:
Lydia, Naomi, Moira, Georgia Rose, Suzannah, Beth

 Bye oh baby, bye oh,Bye oh baby, bye.
Pop has gone on the mail boat,Bye oh bye.
Bye bye, bye bye Stars shine brightly,
number one, number two, number three, Good Lord!
Bye bye, bye bye, Good Lord! Bye bye, bye bye.

Close your sleepy eyes. Close your sleepy eyes.
Pop has gone to the mail boat, Bye oh bye.


5. Pleasure
Commissioned by The Sumter High School Choir
by Malcolm Dalglish
Ooolitic Music for SA TB voices:Lydia, Naomi, Malcolm
Special guest,Sage Dalglish on tenor


6. Quil 'O Quay
Commissioned by The Southlake Children's Choir
Based on a version of a Child ballad I learned from the singing
of Nimrod Workman, a Kentucky born coal miner.
Plymouth Music HL-520 for Dulcimer and SA voices:
Lydia, Naomi, Moira, Georgia Rose, Suzannah, Beth

The bottler came to the wild boar's den, Quil 'O Quay
He spied the skulls of a thousand men.
Quil 'O Quay, quang, quaddle down.

The bottler made him a wooden knife, Quil 'O Quay
Swore he'd put an end to the wild boar's life.

Here come a wild boar, cuttin' 'n a slash, Quil 'O Quay
Mowin' down hickory, white oak 'n ash.

The bottler took out his wooden knife, Quil 'O Quay
There he put an end to the wild boar's life.


7. The Selchie and The Fisherman
Commissioned by The Hathaway Brown School Choir
Words and Music by Malcolm Dalglish
Based on the old Scottish legends of the Selchies,
mythological creatures who are seals in the sea ,
but take human form on land. Verse three quotes the
original Child ballad, "Selchie of Sule Skerry."
Ooolitic music for Dulcimer and SSA voices: Lydia, Naomi,
Moira, Malcolm Solos by Malcolm, Lydia, and Naomi

On the moonlit shores of Sule Skerry,
A fisher he mends his tangled nets,
Where a wounded seal lays on the ground,
With eyes that are so deep and dark and round.

"You have the eyes of one so dear,
I'll wrap you in my coat so warm"
But when he opened it at home,
Up spoke a very strange yet human form:

"I am a woman on the land,
But I'm a selchie on the sea.
And when I'm far and far from land,
My home it is on Sule Skerry."

A beautiful and strong young maid;
Her hair was wild, her palms were wide.
Her wounds were healed by the fisherman,
She fell in love and chose to be his bride.

High on the cliffs she'd watch for him,
Where the seabirds dive down to the waves,
And in the mist above the foam,
They're born aloft to soar on open wings.

A sudden storm arose one day.
She saw her husband's boat go down.
She leapt into the raging sea -
Some say that she was never ever found.

Now he lives on to tell the tale
Of a seal who'd born him to the shore.
Where he looks out on Sule Skerry
The seals they play, the waves crash and roar.

8. Reel a' Bouche
Commissioned by The Indianapolis Children's Choir
Based on a French Canadian mouth music piece
Plymouth Music HL-205 for Dulcimer and SSA voices:
Lydia, Naomi, Georgia Rose, Suzannah, Beth
Special guest: Glen Velez on Bodhran and Maraca

9. A Psalm of Life
Commissioned by The Tampa Bay Children's Chorus,
Words by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow,
Setting and Arrangement by Malcolm Dalglish,
Plymouth Music MD-200 for Dulcimer and Three Part Treble Voices:
Lydia, Naomi, Moira, Suzannah, Beth, Solo by Georgia Rose

Tell me not in mournful numbers
Life is but an empty dream,
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And things are not what they seem.


(Chorus) Life is real! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal;
Dust thou art to dust returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.

Lives of great ones all remind us,
We can make our lives sublime,
And departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time.

Let us then be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait.

10. Pegasus
Commissioned by The Masterworks Chorale
Words and Music by Malcolm Dalglish
The melody used in the "mouth music" section
comes from the 14th century Italian Laude,"Ave Regina."
Ooolitic Music for Dulcimer and SATB voices: Moira, Malcolm
Special guest: N. Scott Robinson on Ubang (made by Wright Hand Drum Co.),
Riq (made by Remo), Maraca, Foot Bells, and Suspended Cymbal

Chorus: Flying in a dream, a wing 'n a prayer,
Soaring above, horse o' the wind, up in the air.

There is no melody here, no heartbeat counting time,
Nor tender whisper in your ear, or universal sign,
No crashing cymbal, there is no token bird,
Nor holy hymnal, there is no spoken word for peace.

(Mouth music syllables)
Over fields and down to the mountain,
Weightless water in the crest o' the fountain.

There isn't any vision here or voices in your head.
There isn't any resting place in what was left unsaid.
The skin is hungry on the hand to cling to rock and stone,
The white upon the knuckle, the need to be alone.

Tangled branches reach beneath you,
Tranquil water in a clearing to greet you.

Flying in a dream, a wing 'n a prayer, soaring above.
Flying in a dream, horse o' the wind in a sweep across the sky.

Playing with the forces that hold you to the ground,
The hobbled flying horses are suddenly unbound.
Their nostrils flared and steaming, their wings pull on the wind,
Loose the reigns! Let 'm go, swiftly flying.

Like a leaf in fall wind blowing,
Like a child up in a swing letting go,
Flying flying, a wing a wing, soaring soaring, air air.
Flying and dreaming on horses in air.
Air air air air air.

11. Kitty Alone
Commissioned by The Wyandotte Academy Youth Choir
American folk song l Iearned from Georgia Rose and Suzannah.
Arranged by Malcolm Dalglish
Ooolitic Music for Dulcimer and SA voices:Lydia, Naomi,
Special guests Anna Dale and Mia Dalglish on vocals

Saw a crow flyin' low, Kitty alone, Kitty alone.
Saw a crow flyin' low, Kitty alone, a lie.
Saw a crow flyin' low and a cat spinning tow,
Kitty alone, a lie Rock-a-ma-rye-ree.

Big old owl in a tree.......
Looks as sleepy as he can be,

Big old possum in a log.......
Looks just like a big groundhog.

Way up yonder 'bove the moon........
The bluebird sits in a silver spoon.

Way up yonder 'bove the sun.......
Eagle flies till his work is done.

12. Woody Knows Nothin'
Commissioned by The Indiana University Children's Choir
American folk song arranged by Malcolm Dalglish
Boosey & Hawkes OCTB6689 for Dulcimer and SSA voices:
Lydia, Naomi, Moira

Woody knows nothin' but peckin' on the bough,
Ah, but the skies of blue!
Never knew till I met you
What love, oh love could do.

Can't you see yon turtle dove,
Fly from pine to pine,
Mourning for his own true love,
As I my dear for mine.

Blue Jay pulls a four horse plow.
Sparrow why can't you?
'Cause my legs is little and long,
They might get broke in two.

Red Bird sittin' on a sycamore limb,
Singin' out his soul.
Big black snake crawled up that tree,
And swallowed that poor boy whole.

Well, I'm nothin' but a country boy,
Money have I none,
But there is silver in the moon,
And gold in the morning sun, oh sun!

13. Bushy Tail
Commissioned by The R.J. Baskett & Mississinewa Middle School
Setting of a traditional folk song by Malcolm Dalglish
Ooolitic Music for Dulcimer and STB voices:
Lydia, Naomi, Malcolm

The squirrel's got a bushy tail and the possum tail is bare
Raccoon tail is ringed all around and stumpy goes the bear,

The quail is a pretty bird and she carries a speckled breast,
But she steals off all the farmer's grain and hides it in her nest,

Somebody stole my ol' coon dog. I wish they'd bring 'm back.
He chases the big ones over the fence and the little ones through the cracks.

There's a rabbit runnin' down the road. "Rabbit! Where you goin'?"
"Look out brother! Get out of my way! There's a hound dog close behind!"

There's a possum up a persimmon tree and a raccoon on the ground,
"Look out brother down here below! Won't you shake some 'simmons down?"

There's a little boy pickin' out hick'ry nuts 'n a pickin 'm from the shell
Wondering why squirrels fly, hopin' he'll do as well.

The fox has got a bushy tail and the muskrat tail is bare.
Rabbit's got no tail at all, jus' a little tuft of hair, a little
tuft of hair back there.


14. Bayou Sara
Commissioned by The Indiana Music Educators Association
for the 1994 "Circle the State with Song" Festival,
Based on a roustabout song about a river boat disaster
in the late 19th century on the Mississippi.
Arrangement by Malcolm Dalglish
Plymouth Music HL-404 for Dulcimer and SAB voices:
Lydia, Naomi, Moira, Georgia Rose, Suzannah, Beth, Malcolm, Nick, Dan S., Nils

Just up the river 'n I couldn't stay long,
When the Bayou Sara, she burned down,
She burned down to the water side,
The Bayou Sara, she burned down.

(Chorus)The Bayou Sara, she burned down.

All them people 'gin to scream and squall,
They looked up, they was about to fall,

The whistle went "Wee" and the boiler went "Womp!"
The deck blew off and I had to jump!

Two bright angels swimmin' by my side,
I want to go to heaven when I die.
Look over yonder! What do I see?
The shining lights of the Arkansas City!

I swam till I could not swim no more,
The Arkansas City took me on board.
Who could say it'd be her last trip?
The finest boat on the Mississip!
Lookin' off that promenade, what do I see?
All that's left of the Bayou Sara.

15. Have Your Lamps Gone Out?
Commissioned by The Indianapolis Children's Choir
Arrangement by Malcolm Dalglish.Based on an
African American song of the underground railroad
sung by the roustabouts who worked the Ohio River steamboats.
Plymouth Music HL-403 for Dulcimer and SAB voices: Lydia, Naomi,
Moira, Georgia Rose, Suzannah, Beth, Malcolm, Nick, Dan S., Nils, Dan R.
Special guest, Slats Klug on keyboard

See that woman and see that man
They're takin' their children to the Promised Land.


(Chorus)Have your lamps gone out?Have your lamps gone out?
Watcha gonna do in Egypt when your lamp's gone out?

If you get tired hold out your hand
We're traveling to the Promised Land.


When it's dark at night and you can't see,
You follow that star 'cause it'll set you free.

There was a tree in Paradise
The people all call it the tree of life.

If you get there before I do
Tell all my friends I'm coming too.

16. Fount
Commissioned by The Traverse City Junior High Choir
Traditional American Hymn with Words by Malcolm Dalglish
Text to verses one and five by Robert Robinson
Ooolitic Music for SSATB voices: All Ooolites
Solo by Beth, Duet by Georgia Rose and Suzannah

Come Thou Fount of every blessing,
Tune my heart to know Thy grace.
Streams of mercy never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise!

In the steadfast pull of ocean,
In the sudden rain that falls,
There's a wheel in constant motion,
There's an ancient voice that calls.

In the power of a river,
All our faith becomes a boat.
If we are to be delivered,
We must watch and work and hope.

There's no final destination.
Rivers bend and open wide,
Elements of all creation,
Join the never ending tide.

Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above,
To praise the ground, we walk upon it,
Ground of Thy redeeming love.

Bring our lives and souls together,
Here on earth where we do roam.
Benefactors of a treasure,
Make us worthy of our home.

17. Sail Away
Commissioned by The Indianapolis Children's Choir
Based on the old American fiddle/banjo tune,
with original verses by Malcolm Dalglish
Plymouth Music HL-219 for Dulcimer and SSAA voices:
Lydia, Naomi, Moira, Georgia Rose, Suzannah, Beth, Jenna,
Malcolm, with Special guests: Bob Herring on Fiddle,
Sam Bartlett on Guitar and Abby Ladin on Feet

Dark clouds hide the sun
Rain comes down and the rivers run
Rivers run down to the sea
And when you've got your liberty
Don't you want to sail away?
Sail away ladies, sail away!

Sail on - It' s time to go.
Sail on - You built a boat.
Sail on - Don't let it float away from you.
Sail on - There's a place to go.
Sail on - How do you know?
Sail on - The wind will blow behind you.

Sail away ladies, sail away!
Hoodee-oh adee oo dee-oh...
Don't you want to sail away?...
Sail away ladies, sail away!

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