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Sylvia Woods Harp Center

August 2026 Newsletter

In last month's newsletter, I announced a contest to write lyrics for the Scottish song Farewell, which is in my Teach Yourself to Play the Folk Harp book. Thank you to everyone who took the time to enter. I hope you had fun writing your lyrics.


Many people who submitted lyrics mentioned that they had written them for a loved one who had recently passed away, or a close friend who had moved to a different location. Several said that writing the lyrics helped them to emotionally say "farewell." This warms my heart.


I'm pleased to announce the two contest winners: Julia Fleming and Michelle Haws. They have each won a $50 Sylvia Woods Harp Center Gift Certificate.


Here's how Julia described the inspiration for her lyrics. "One of the signs of changing seasons here in Nebraska is the flocks of migrating birds. I imagined someone who had migrated south for work during the summer returning home, as the birds passed overhead in the fall, and thinking of the woman he had left behind."


Michelle's lyrics were inspired by the Santa Clara Valley of California. Now known as Silicon Valley, it was once called the Valley of Heart’s Delight because so many varieties of fruits were grown there. Michelle wrote about memories from her childhood and from her grandmother’s day, acknowledging how deeply embedded she is in this place, should she ever have to leave.


Congratulations to our two winners!

Sylvia

Farewell Song Lyrics Contest Winners!

Farewell lyrics by Julia Fleming


1. Dry your tears. Dawn is breaking.

Kiss me now and let me go.

Hope for the day when leaves are falling.

I will come before the snow.

You are my light in times of shadow:

Sun, and moon, and morning star.

In my heart, I never leave you,

Close as breath, however far.


2. Say farewell. Whisper softly.

Only you can set me free.

Like a perfume, your voice will linger,

Balm within my memory.

Know when the geese fly south in autumn,

They will witness my swift pace,

Striding north, my journey homeward,

Dreaming of my true love’s face.
girl and flying geese

Farewell lyrics by Michelle Haws


Mourning doves coo at evening. 

Fog blows in on gentle heights. 

Scent of the earth from redwood forests, 

Valley of my heart’s delight. 


 Refrain: 

I cannot know where life will take me, 

Over black and lonely seas, 

But farewell is not forever 

Santa Clara calls to me. 


 Verse 2 

Acorn, fig, plum and cherry, 

Eucalyptus scents the breeze. 

Rain from the winter greens the hillside, 

Rolling down to icy seas. 

REFRAIN 


 Verse 3 

Keep my heart, august valley, 

Safe for when I come back home. 

Gently I’ll sow your precious traces 

O’er the trails that I must roam. 

REFRAIN 

More Farewell Song Lyrics

My sister Sheryl and my friend and student Charlotte help me edit this newsletter every month. We all also wrote lyrics for Farewell. Since we are "insiders," none of our lyrics were eligible for the prizes. But I'd like to share them with you.


By the way, France has experienced five record-breaking heatwaves in the past few months. Hence, the subject of Sheryl's Farewell lyrics.

Sheryl's lyrics from Paris


Fan thee well, Boy is it hot!

Woe is me, the AC’s broke.

Where is the breeze for instant cooling?

Summer’s heat is not a joke.

Where are the clouds and welcome raindrops?

Are they gone forevermore?

Will this heatwave last forever?

Use that sunscreen at the shore!

Fan thee well!



Charlotte's lyrics


Fare thee well,

You must go now.

That's your final exit cue.

How many times

And how many ways, dear,

Must I find to bid adieu?

Gone are the days

When I'd be civil.

Shed this burden now I must.

I won't mix my words with drivel.

Time for you to bite the dust!

Sylvia's lyrics

#1. Say farewell to all your worries.

Say farewell to all your strife.

Playing the harp will heal your spirit,

And bring joy into your life.

It matters not if you’re an expert.

People love what e’er you play.

Learn one part, and then the chorus,

Learn some more another day.


#2. Pluck some strings, gently pluck them

Feel the sound fill up the air.

Pluck some more, then you will notice

Lovely music everywhere.

And when you play, the people listen

Letting go of all their stress.

Open hearts and smiling faces

Tell you that you’re truly blessed.



#3. Play the harp for your neighbors.

Share your music with your friends.

When you play, the magic happens,

And the healing never ends.

Say farewell to all your worries.

Say farewell to all your strife.

Play the harp to heal your spirit,

And bring joy into your life.

Original Gaelic Farewell / Soraidh Lyrics

Soraidh is the original Gaelic title of the Farewell piece.


In response to last month's newsletter, two people sent me links to the Largs Ladies Gaelic Choir website in Scotland. One page on the site includes the Gaelic lyrics for Soraidh and an English translation by Tom Colquhoun. I emailed Tom and told him about the lyrics contest in my newsletter and mentioned that I was writing to him from Hawaii. Here's his fun response about the contest.


Soraidh is clearly a song of unrequited love, but this does not preclude the tune from being used for words of a different genre. There is a centuries-old tradition of tunes passing between Scotland, England and Ireland and being applied to different songs in each land. This tradition has moved on to embrace folk music in most of the English-speaking world. It is no surprise, therefore, to find Hawaii included in the loop.


I also asked Tom for permission to include the lyrics in this newsletter. Here is part of his reply.


Feel free to make use of my translation of Soraidh. Please make your readers aware, however, that it is a literal translation and is in no way intended as a lyrical translation. The reason for being so literal is to allow the singer to identify the most meaningful words in a phrase and place the correct emphasis on important words. This sometimes makes it difficult to fully understand a song and requires a certain amount of reading between the lines.


You'll find the Gaelic lyrics and Tom's literal translation below. You can also find more information here:

https://largsgaelic.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Soraidh.pdf


Here is a link to one of the many field recordings of Soraidh in the Tobar an Dualchais archive: 

https://www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/track/48383?l=en

I suggest you listen to it while you read the Gaelic lyrics below, so you can hear the correct pronunciation.

Seist (Chorus)

Och! nan och! na bheil air m’aire,

Och! nan och! is it not in my thoughts,

’S truagh an nochd na bheil am dhìth;

Would that tonight I did not need (you);

Sud e rìgh, gur mòr mo ghaol ort,

It is strange, so great is my love for you,

Ged nach fhaod mi bhi ’ga inns’

Although I must not tell you.


Rann 1 (Verse 1)

Tha mi ’g iondrainn ’is chan àicheadh

I have a longing that cannot be denied

Mi’n té bhàn a bha’s an fhrìth,

Me and the fair one in the deer forest,

’N déidh dhomh buachailleachd ’ sa hàrach

After I have finished herding and tending

’S eagal leum gu ’n d’fhàg i mi.

I am afraid that she has left me.

Rann 2 (Verse 2)

A Bheinn - bhreac nan creachan àrda,

On Ben Breck of the high summit,

’S tric a shàraich thusa mi:

Often you hurt me:

Ach tha mi ’m bliadhna dol ’gad ’fhàgail!

But this year I am going to leave you!

Soraidh slàn leat gus an till.

Farewell and health to you until I return.


Rann 3 (Verse 3)

Soraidh leis gach beinn ’is fireach

Farewell to each hill and moor

A’ bheinn o’m mithich dhomh bhi triall,

The hills that I should now be climbing,

Guidheam fada féidh ad ghlacaibh;

I hope you will catch deer for a long time;

B’e bhi’n taice riut mo mhiann.

To assist you would be my desire.
This Month's Sale
Cross-stitch pattern

This month's sale features music from Scotland. I'm also including fun cross-stitch, knitting, and quilting patterns of Celtic harps from the Craft Pattern PDFs section of my website.


To get the 15% discount, enter the code word Scotland in the "Enter Promo Code" box on your shopping cart page and click "Enter Code" by August 31, 2026. See the "How to get the 15% discount" section at the bottom of this newsletter for more information.
52 Scottish Songs

52 Scottish Songs

arranged by Sylvia Woods

Book or PDF, CD or mp3

15% off with Scotland code

------------------------------

A Scottish Tunebook

by Sue Richards

PDF

15% off with Scotland code

------------------------------
Jackson Traditional Scottish

Traditional Scottish Music

by William Jackson

PDF

15% off with Scotland code

------------------------------

Scottish Harp Celebration

by Evelyn Tiffany-Castiglioni

PDF

15% off with Scotland code

------------------------------

Scottish Harp Collection #1

by Evelyn Tiffany-Castiglioni

PDF

15% off with Scotland code

------------------------------
Ballads by Burns

Ballads by Burns

by Ray Pool

PDF

15% off with Scotland code

------------------------------
Sunita Scottish flute

Scottish Music for Flute and Harp

by Sunita Staneslow

PDF

15% off with Scotland code

------------------------------

Scottish Medley for Teacher and Me harp duo

by Joyce Rice

PDF

15% off with Scotland code

------------------------------

Scottish Harp Cross-Stitch Pattern

by Amy Clough

Cross-Stitch Pattern PDF

15% off with Scotland code

------------------------------
Clarsair cross-stitch

Clarsair Cross-Stitch Pattern

by Amy Clough

Cross-Stitch Pattern PDF

15% off with Scotland code

------------------------------
Harp pillow pattern

Pattern for Knitting the "Song of Avalon" Harp Pillow

by Caroline Steinford

Knitting Pattern PDF

15% off with Scotland code

------------------------------
Knitting bag

Pattern for Knitting the "Carry the Tune" Music Bag

by Caroline Steinford

Knitting Pattern PDF

15% off with Scotland code

------------------------------

These next two groups of Harp Quilt Block Patterns are available two ways: as PDFs and as Machine Embroidery Design Files.


Each of the 12 designs in each version are sold separately. But they are ALL ON SALE!

------------------------------
Quilt Patterns

Harp Quilt Block Pattern PDFs

by Caroline Steinford

PDFs

15% off with Scotland code

------------------------------
Maching quilting patterns

Machine Embroidery

Quilt Block Designs

by Caroline Steinford

Knitting Pattern Design Files

15% off with Scotland code

------------------------------
How to get the 15% discount

15% off select sale items when you use the code word Scotland


Our newsletter promo codes are redeemable online and are only valid for the products listed above in the monthly sale section. They are not valid for phone or email orders. This month's code word is Scotland.


Here's how to get your newsletter discount at harpcenter.com:

#1. Put the items you want to purchase in your cart.

#2. On the page where you view the items in your cart, type this month's code word Scotland in the "Enter Promo Code" box and click "Apply."

The actual price of the featured sale products on this page will then automatically change to reflect the discount. For example,


   Unit Price: $9.95 (the original price)

   Total Price: $8.46 (the discounted price)


You'll also see a note below the Promo Code box that shows the name of the promo code you entered and the percentage discount.


REMEMBER: You must enter this month's code word Scotland in the Promo Code box and click "Apply" on your shopping cart page by August 31, 2026, to get the discount!

If you forget or have trouble adding it to your order, email Sylvia immediately.  

 

This offer expires at the end of the day on 8/31/26.

 

Sylvia Woods Harp Center

Lihue, Kauai, Hawaii
 
(808) 212-9525

Sylvia Woods Harp Center | PO Box 3574 | Lihue, HI 96766 US

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