Ballad by Simon Oak to remember the 2023 edition of the Traditional Singing Weekend in Inishowen. The stone is real and still on his desk in Holland.

Lyrics

There you are, just a stone
Are you waiting for some company?
On the sand, all alone
May I steal you? Take you home with me?

Others see just a stone
But you mean this whole green isle to me
Lovely songs, missing bones
Famine walls that hurt and guided me

Tullagh Strand, Inishowen
From Binnion Hill down to the restless sea
Ocean waves kept you going
Shaped you maybe for a century

You lost your sharp edges over the years
Rolled and danced with the waves and the tears
Till this last big one washed you up on the strand
Your rolling and dancing have come to an end ^(x2)

Now you shine in my hand
Bringing back those lovely memories
Not a soul can understand
How a stone connects to melodies

I hear songs of love and joy
When I see you on my window sill
Election Day, The Croppy Boy
The Kangaroo, The Flower of Corby’s Mill

Chorus:
It’s a fine thing to sing, I don’t want to forget
And you, pebble souvenir, remind me of that
Thanks to one wave, you were laid on the strand
Your rolling and dancing have come to an end ^(x2)

When I’m gone you’ll still be there
Maybe dumped onto a gravel way
Or colourful, in someone’s care
An Easter egg, not subject to decay

There you are, little stone
Keeper of my lovely memories
Of Ballyliffin, our singing home
And early morning Scottish harmonies

Chorus

There you are, just a stone.