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about

Written by Laura Ward based on some of the many suspicions around keeping bees. Verses 1 & 2 are local Sussex proverbs. Verse 3 is based on Ben's great grandmother's swift instructions to her son upon the death of her husband.

lyrics

If you would wish your bees to thrive
Gold must be paid for every hive
For when they’re bought with other money
There’ll be neither swarm nor honey

When The first butterfly you see
Oh cut off his head across your knee
And bury the head under a stone
And money will be your own

As keeper he, when grandpa goes
Then straight away, the bees must know
At once go down and tell the news
Or its pa and the bees we’ll lose

Sent down to earth by Ra’s own eyes
To deliver the messages from the skies
Avoid the swarm when on its move
Of God’s work you may disapprove

If you would wish your bees to thrive
You must pay gold for every hive
For when exchanged for cash or pawn
There’ll be neither comb nor swarm

credits

from Neighbours and Sisters, released October 18, 2019

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all rights reserved

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about

Bird in the Belly Brighton, UK

Bird in the Belly is a Brighton-based Folk group consisting of folk-duo Hickory Signals (Laura Ward and Adam Ronchetti), alt- folk singer-songwriter Ben Webb (Jinnwoo, Green Ribbons), and multi-instrumentalist and producer Tom Pryor. Together they collect little known and forgotten lyrics, poems and stories from around the UK, and set them to their own “hypnotically original compositions” (fRoots). ... more

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