From yesterday to tomorrow

Lord Bassington-Bassington has spent considerable time over the last few months with his snout buried in books containing what might be seen as the wellsprings of Western civilization. Plato, the Eddas, the Bible, all have been studied with interest. Why? Heaven knows. Any attempt to put his thoughts into words beyond vague babblings about "ancestry", "heritage" and "culture" have so far failed.

Luckily, other people think so that His Lordship doesn’t have to. And he has come across two passages that sum up his feelings.



The first is the opening of the Kalevala, the Finnish national epic:

Mastered by desire impulsive,
By a mighty inward urging,
I am ready now for singing,
Ready to begin the chanting
Of our nation's ancient folk-song
Handed down from by-gone ages.
In my mouth the words are melting,
From my lips the tones are gliding,
From my tongue they wish to hasten;
When my willing teeth are parted,
When my ready mouth is opened,
Songs of ancient wit and wisdom
Hasten from me not unwilling.

(translated by John Martin Crawford, 1888)



The other is the second verse of the song “A Ship is Burning”, by pioneering neofolk outfit Sol Invictus:

On ancient stones
On misty moors
I carve the names
Of those who came before
Washed in moonlight
The shadows move
Hear the voices
Calling out to you

From yesterday
To tomorrow
From yesterday
To tomorrow
From yesterday
To tomorrow
From yesterday
To tomorrow

The complete song can be heard here:



And here’s a nice and punky live recording of the song “Against the Modern World”, which remains one of His Lordship’s favourite Sol Invictus songs.