The legend of Daphne is included in Ovid's Metamorphoses and tells the tale of the wood nymph Daphe, who was desired and pursued by the God Apollo. To protect her virginity she was transformed into a laurel, and, as such, became sacred to Apollo.
The exact meaning of this myth is unclear but is suggestive of the importance of female chastity in ancient society.
This beautiful song by the New York-based singer songwriter Lia Ices stays close to Ovid's words, creating a work that is replete with ethereal pagan spirit, and hints at the realization of deeper meanings.
Lyrics:
Daphne in the wood
You'll become the wood
Fire in his eye's gone
and fueled your flight
so high
Over the river rocks
the wind will carry thee
Call on nature now
for she'll keep you safe
from your own beauty
A heavy numbness
seizes her into bark
Feet so swift to root
arm to branch
and hair to leaf
Woman to tree
A heavy numbness
seizes her into bark
Feet so swift to root
arm to branch
and hair to leaf
Woman to tree
In the end it's the difference of the spirit and the matter
It's the difference of the lover and the flyer
Don't it make you want to cry?
It's nothing less, nothing less between the worldly and the one self
All this breathing and the truth that's in your last breath
Don't it make you want to cry?
So fly, fly and we'll wear you like a leaf crown
Fly cause your truth is in the solid ground
Fly
Yeah fly, fly and we'll wear you like a leaf crown
Fly cause your truth is in the solid ground
Fly
C.B.Liddell
A Pagan Place
11th February, 2012