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The Ghost of Passenham Mill

from Leaf On a Windy Day by Kevin Adams with Dave Makins

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about

A ghost story from Passenham, a hamlet on the River Ouse just upstream from Stony Stratford. A figure in white bearing a child in her arms is sometimes seen by the Passenham Mill race. She is said to be Nancy Webb, who had lost her husband in the Crimean War and her new born son shortly after. In her grief she threw herself into the Mill race where she was taken by the wheel.
Rod Hall wrote this as part of the Living Archive Band's radio ballad 'The Horse and the Tractor', though the song was not included in the final version.

lyrics

The Ghost of Passenham Mill
by Rod Hall

I come and wait each night beside the weir
But no-one see me standing there
My boots are buttoned and my hair is brown
Just like the colour of my gown
My babe lies sleeping on his mother’s breast
And I hold him near, I hold him tenderly
I know no rest, I know no rest

And at the field gate when the day is done
I do not lack for anyone
No lamplight glow for me, no fireside bright
No lover’s kisses in the night
And when the church bell rings and prayers are said
For the shepherd, then I bow my head
I never cry, I never cry

I lift my skirts and step into the pool
The moon withdraws behind a cloud
The reeds are whispering and the air is cool
The water wraps me like a shroud
So if you see a shadow fleeting by
Don’t be afraid, and don’t turn away
It’s only me,
It’s only me,
It’s only me,
It’s only Nancy

credits

from Leaf On a Windy Day, released January 2, 2019
Words & music: Rod Hall
KA: vocal, guitar, piano
Dave Makins: piano, keyboards, bass

license

all rights reserved

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about

Kevin Adams Milton Keynes, UK

Blending traditional folk music with a love of other genres- classical, jazz, folk-rock, prog-rock, pop… music, music, music…

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