The Priest's Garden
Nancy Kerr Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

In the heart of the holy city
Where the seeds of our shadows are sown, sown
I went walking all in the priest's garden
And I met a sweet child all alone
I met a sweet child all alone

The hard rain it blew all around him
Till the black earth it was riven with cares, with cares
All the roses were bending and breaking
Oh, the ravens have stolen my prayers, he said
Oh the ravens have stolen my prayers

I was sailing my own little rowboat
With my cross and my Bible and beads, and beads
It was built by my father and mother
And the name of that boat it was creed, creed
The name of that boat it was creed

Well a stream it flowed out of the village
Where the willows they weep by the ford, ford
And that stream it grew into a river
And the name of that river was Lord, Lord
The name of that river was Lord

And that river flowed into the valley
And the valley flowed into a cave, a cave
At the heart of that cave was an altar
And the name on the altar was saved, saved
The name on the altar was saved

But the raven is wary and wily
For he covets our shadows and shame, shame
And he's wearing the robes of the Holy
He will dare you to mention his name, name
He'll dare you to mention his name

Dark roses they bloom in his garden
And their roots they are fed upon fears, fears
Though he preaches of penance and pardon
All the petals are covered with tears, tears
The petals are covered with tears

I will pull down down those brambles and briars
Where they grow from below and above, above
I will build a gate out of this garden




And the name on that gate shall be love, love
The name on that gate shall be love

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Nancy Kerr's song The Priest's Garden are steeped in symbolism and religious allegory. The song describes a walk in the heart of a holy city where the shadow of the past still lingers. The singer encounters a sweet child who laments the ravens have stolen his prayers. The symbolism of ravens in Christianity is negative, as they represent sin and evil, while the prayers are symbolic of faith and hope. The hard rain represents the hardships of life, and the bending and breaking of roses symbolize the fragility of faith.


The singer shares that she is sailing in her own little rowboat with her cross, Bible, and beads. Her boat is named 'creed,' and she is navigating the river named 'Lord.' This reference is symbolic of her journey of faith, and the struggles she has encountered. The deeper she goes, the darker it becomes, and she finds herself in a cave where the altar is named 'saved.' The cave can represent the darkness in life, and the altar represents the saving grace of faith.


However, the priest's garden is not what it seems. The dark roses are symbolic of fear and anxiety, and even though he preaches of penance and pardon, the petals are covered in tears. The raven, who wears the robes of the Holy, is symbolic of hypocrisy, manipulation, and deception. The singer vows to destroy the briars and brambles, and build a gate from the garden with the name 'Love.'


Overall, the lyrics of The Priest's Garden is a representation of the struggle between faith and doubt, good and evil, and the need for redemption.


Line by Line Meaning

In the heart of the holy city
In a pious place far from the reach of sin


Where the seeds of our shadows are sown, sown
Where the foundation of our darkest secrets are planted


I went walking all in the priest's garden
I took a walk in the garden of the clergyman


And I met a sweet child all alone
And there I saw a lonely, innocent young boy


The hard rain it blew all around him
Cold, heavy rain battered him on all sides


Till the black earth it was riven with cares, with cares
Until the soil became divided and troubled


All the roses were bending and breaking
The flowers were wilting and snapping under the harsh weather


Oh, the ravens have stolen my prayers, he said
The boy lamented that his supplications were taken away by the birds


I was sailing my own little rowboat
I was travelling in my small, simple boat


With my cross and my Bible and beads, and beads
I had with me religious symbols and prayer beads


It was built by my father and mother
The boat was crafted by my parents


And the name of that boat it was creed, creed
The vessel was called 'creed'


Well a stream it flowed out of the village
A small water course emanated from the town


Where the willows they weep by the ford, ford
Where the trees have a sad disposition by the crossing


And that stream it grew into a river
And that rivulet developed into a mighty waterway


And the name of that river was Lord, Lord
And it was reverently called 'Lord'


And that river flowed into the valley
This river then flowed into the valley


And the valley flowed into a cave, a cave
The valley further flowed in a cavern


At the heart of that cave was an altar
An altar stood in the middle of this grotto


And the name on the altar was saved, saved
The words on the altar proclaimed 'saved'


But the raven is wary and wily
However, the bird is cautious and clever


For he covets our shadows and shame, shame
Its desire is to obtain our secrets and sins


And he's wearing the robes of the Holy
It disguises itself as a member of the Church


He will dare you to mention his name, name
It may challenge one to speak his real name


Dark roses they bloom in his garden
In its garden, thorny flowers of gloom flourish


And their roots they are fed upon fears, fears
Their roots are nourished with anxieties and dreads


Though he preaches of penance and pardon
Although the bird speaks of atonement and forgiveness


All the petals are covered with tears, tears
The petals are covered with drops of tears


I will pull down down those brambles and briars
I will dismantle those thorns and obstacles


Where they grow from below and above, above
Where they grow from above and beneath


I will build a gate out of this garden
I will construct an exit with the resources at hand


And the name on that gate shall be love, love
I will name this gate 'love'




Contributed by Josiah J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

Genre not found
Artist not found
Album not found
Song not found
Comments from YouTube:

Jeremy Clapham

Absolutely beautiful.

Poetry_is_in_nature

Love it!! Beautiful xxx πŸ’–πŸ’—

David Gordon

In the heart of the holy city
Where the seeds of our shadows are sown, sown
I went walking all in the priest's garden
And I met a sweet child all alone
I met a sweet child all alone

The hard rain it blew all around him
Till the black earth it was riven with cares, with cares
All the roses were bending and breaking
Oh, the ravens have stolen my prayers, he said
Oh the ravens have stolen my prayers

I was sailing my own little rowboat
With my cross and my Bible and beads, and beads
It was built by my father and mother
And the name of that boat it was creed, creed
The name of that boat it was creed

Well a stream it flowed out of the village
Where the willows they weep by the ford, ford
And that stream it grew into a river
And the name of that river was Lord, Lord
The name of that river was Lord

And that river flowed into the valley
And the valley flowed into a cave, a cave
At the heart of that cave was an altar
And the name on the altar was saved, saved
The name on the altar was saved

But the raven is wary and wily
For he covets our shadows and shame, shame
And he's wearing the robes of the Holy
He will dare you to mention his name, name
He'll dare you to mention his name

Dark roses they bloom in his garden
And their roots they are fed upon fears, fears
Though he preaches of penance and pardon
All the petals are covered with tears, tears
The petals are covered with tears

I will pull down down those brambles and briars
Where they grow from below and above, above
I will build a gate out of this garden
And the name on that gate shall be love, love
The name on that gate shall be love

Mohamed Yahi

bedfect modern song❀❀❀

Mohamed Yahi

πŸŽ‰

Mohamed Yahi

very well

ralphyboy25

Thanks for positng

More Versions