When in the spring time of the year
When the trees are crowned with leaves
When the ash and oak, and the birch and yew
Are dressed in ribbons fair

When the owls call the breathless moon
In the blue veil of the night
The shadows of the trees appear
Amidst the lantern light

We've been rambling all the night
And sometime of this day
Now returning back again
We bring a garland gay

Who will go down to those shady groves
And summon the shadows there
And tie a ribbon on those sheltering arms
In the springtime of the year

The songs of birds seem to fill the wood
That when the fiddler plays
All their voices can be heard
Long past their woodland days

We've been rambling all the night
And sometime of this day
Now returning back again
We bring a garland gay

And so they linked their hands and danced
Round in circles and in rows
And so the journey of the night descends
When all the shades are gone

"A garland gay we bring you here
And at your door we stand
It is a sprout well budded out
The work of our lord's hand"

We've been rambling all the night
And sometime of this day
Now returning back again
We bring a garland gay

We've been rambling all the night
And sometime of this day
Now returning back again
We bring a garland gay

Check it out on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxTpvA-pUG0 

This is one of the best known songs within the Pagan community. It is about the Burning times and our ways. I believe the 

original artist is Charlie Murphy, and it was composed in early 1980.  Please remember that in the second verse where it 

says "women died", that although Women were the Churches primary target,  there were an estimated 10% or so of the 

victims were men, and 10-15% were children.

The Goddess Chant or Burning times song 

- traditional version

they used to gather,
Beneath the stars in the meadows,

circled by the ancient trees.
At the times appointed to them,

by the seasons,
By the phases of the moon,

and the rhythms of the sea.
In the centre of all of them,

there stood a woman,
Equal with the others,

and respected for her worth;
One of the many,

that now we call the "witches,"
The healers and the teachers,

of the wisdom of the Earth.
And her people grew strong,

in the knowledge that she gave them;
Herbs to heal their bodies,

spells to make their spirits whole.
Oh hear them chanting,

healing incantations,
Calling on the Goddess,

with their bodies and their souls:

Isis, Astarte, Diana, Hecate, Demeter, Kali , Inanna!
Isis, Astarte, Diana, Hecate, Demeter, Kali , Inanna!
Isis, Astarte, Diana, Hecate, Demeter, Kali , Inanna!

There were those who came to conquer,

and to have dominion,
Over the Earth and Her children,

no matter what the cost.
And by fear they took control,

of every Pagan nation,
Forcing their allegiance,

to a dead man on a cross.
And in the name of his God Almighty,

the Pope unleashed his Inquisition;
It was a war against the women,

who he feared and despised.
And in the fires of genocide,

against the Nature people,
Half a million,

European women died.
And the tale is told of those,

who by the hundreds,
Clinging to each other,

cast their bodies in the sea;
Chanting still the praises,

of the Mother Goddess,
Refusing to deny Her,

women were dying to be free:

Isis, Astarte, Diana, Hecate, Demeter, Kali , Inanna!
Isis, Astarte, Diana, Hecate, Demeter, Kali , Inanna!
Isis, Astarte, Diana, Hecate, Demeter, Kali , Inanna!

Now the Earth is a Witch,

and still the greedy burn Her,
Stripping Her down with mining,

and poisoning Her skies.
Still to Her own the Earth is a healer,

a teacher and a mother,
She's the weaver of the web of love,

that keeps us all alive.
She gives us the vision,

to see through the chaos.
She gives us the power: it is our will to survive!

Isis, Astarte, Diana, Hecate, Demeter, Kali , Inanna!
Isis, Astarte, Diana, Hecate, Demeter, Kali , Inanna!
Isis, Astarte, Diana, Hecate, Demeter, Kali , Inanna!

Check it out on YouTube  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzxrpP6BD6U 

The chant only can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDSu0-qDFQ8