The Swallows of Scicli

This song wrote itself very quickly, with a simple lyric holding together a few different strands. On our first night in Scicli, my colleague Heather said ‘look up at the swallows, aren’t they wonderful!’ All day the clear blue skies seemed to be filled with clouds of swooping, darting swallows.

As we heard about the changes and challenges the arrival of refugees had brought to Scicli, I thought of how the Swallows were ‘immigrants’ from North Africa, who this town had been welcoming for millennia.

The text begins with a ‘Sursum Corda’ which is then linked to Jesus’ words in Matthew 6:26 urging his disciples to consider the birds of the air. The chorus links the movement of these migrating swallows to the energy of the Spirit of God, the breath of life in all life, so offering a positive and dynamic spiritual image of migration.

The second verse tracks their movement from the South, across the Mediterranean (The Sea as they call it in Sicily) – it uses the swallows migrating instinct as a metaphor for the desires for a better life, free from war and poverty, which fire the hearts of so many who travel.

The final verse invokes the parable of the Mustard Seed in Mark 4/Matthew13/Luke 13 with its vision of the hospitable reign of God. The lyric originally said trees, until Heather pointed out to me swallows don’t next in trees! The problem was solved by the addition of only two letters…This is a song which honours the work and witness of all those in Scicli. Christians, Muslims and Humanists who have welcomed those migrating there in recent years, just as the town has always welcomed its migrating swallows.

Lift up your hearts
Lift up your eyes
Look to these cloudless skies
See the birds that fly

All the swallows of Scicli
They are immigrant birds
And they move on the breath of life
On the wings of God
On the winds of God

Drawn from the South
They cross The Sea
Guided by some secret chart
Hidden in their heart

All the swallows of Scicli
They are immigrant birds
And they move on the breath of life
On the wings of God
On the winds of God

The Reign of God
Is like these streets
Where the swallows build their nests
Find a place to rest

All the swallows of Scicli
They are immigrant birds
And they move on the breath of life
On the wings of God
On the winds of God

© Doug Gay 2019 – Creative Commons