Crescents and Stars
Written by Aaron Jones
Arranged by Rachel Walker and Aaron Jones
Strings arranged by Rachel Walker
Musicians
Aaron Jones (Vocals, Cittern)
Rachel Walker (Vocals, Keys)
Katrina Lee (Violin)
Patsy Reid (Violin)
Rhoslyn Lawton (Viola)
Alice Allen (Cello)
Aaron’s inspiration:
Mary Somerville (1780-1872) was a scientist, writer, polymath and astronomer. Born in Jedburgh and raised in Burntisland, Fife, Mary’s translation and expansion of ‘Mécanique Céleste’ in 1831, which was published as ‘Mechanisms of the Heavens’ opened the skies to a whole new generation of astronomers by, “…translating Laplace’s algebra into common language.” She was a huge advocate for the arts and in particular, a fan of the works of Dante and Shakespeare.
Mary, along with Caroline Herschel, was one of the first two women ever to be elected as an honorary member of the Royal Astronomical Society. She is featured on the front of the Royal Bank of Scotland polymer £10 note launched in 2017, alongside a quotation from her work ‘On the Connection of the Physical Sciences’. Her observations are widely credited with enabling the discovery of Neptune and she has a comet and crater of the moon named after her. An intellectual heavyweight and a truly inspirational woman.
LYRICS
Collecting shells between the tides.
The rolling of waves, like stars in the day.
You learned the language of the skies,
By music and song inspired.
The darkness unto you seems bright,
Perplexed becomes plain, pure from ill and vain.
And love can turn the day to night,
In heavenly arms entwined.
And you knew that on this earthly place,
Not Neptune, Venus, Mars.
The only things from paradise,
Were flowers, children, stars.
You helped us all to see the light.
The constellation was ours, it’s crescents and stars.
The mechanisms of the night.
The planets and satellites.
You looked, you learned, and then you knew.
The oceans of blue, the ring and the moons.
And your comet’s coming into view.
It burns with a light so true.