High above valley,
Above deep shade coloured with the calls of cuckoos,
The ring of coppersmith's hammer high in the hiss of the wind
Wind filled with spirits and bright with the jangle of horse bells
After a crisp night crammed with stars
It's morning
Over the scratched-up soil, scorched-earth wasted,
Long shadows lead women bearing water
I watch the sway of skirts,
Think of moist spice forests -
Too many pictures
Swirling
Vertigo
Momentum of civilizations
Threw me too far over this time-simple landscape
And I hang here
In this mountain light
A balloon blown full of darkness -
Got to let this ballast go
Got to float upward
Till I burst
Weavers' fingers flying on the loom
Patterns shift too fast to be discerned
All these years of thinking
Ended up like this
In front of all this beauty
Understanding nothing
Rhododendrons in bloom, sharp against
Spring snow
Remind me of another time
In japanese temple -
There was a single orange blossom
At the wrong time of year -
Seemed like a sign -
When I looked again
It was gone
Weavers' fingers flying on the loom
Patterns shift too fast to be discerned
All these years of thinking
Ended up like this in front of all this beauty
Understanding nothing
Known comments by Bruce Cockburn about this song, by date:
1999
"Here's a song I've been meaning to revive for what seems like centuries. It's only years but it's a song I've always sort of liked from - it came from a trip to Nepal that I took in '87. And I don't know if I ever performed it in front of people 'cause I could never remember it. So, I'm hoping I remember it now. Well maybe I should just sing it now that you know it's from Nepal, at least it puts it in a context. It's called Understanding Nothing."
-- from Live at the Mountain Stage, 1999, West Virginia. Submitted by Doug Stacey.
4 June 1999
"This song's a few years old. It came from Nepal originally.....at least that's where I found it."
-- from a performance at Styleen's Rhythm Palace, Syracuse, New York, 4 June 1999. Submitted by Doug Stacey.
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This page is part of The Cockburn Project, a unique website that exists to document the work of Canadian singer-songwriter and musician Bruce Cockburn. The Project archives self-commentary by Cockburn on his songs and music, and supplements this core part of the website with news, tour dates, and other current information.
