This is a folk song about Saint Mary Mackillop but written before she was beatified. It is another one of Michael Herry’s Dare to Dream songs with lyrics by Tricia Walsh. By coincidence, today is her feast day.
The sheet music is freely available from the Marists and you can hear their version there as well.
BIAB does simple folk well.
WOMAN FOR TODAY
1 What did you see young Mary, as you
Rode the plains with windswept hair?
Rough bush huts and children,
Their poverty, their despair.
What did you hear gentle Mary,
as the crimson sunrise birthed a new day?Refrain
Mary your voice calls down the years;
A message of hope it brings.
Lead simple lives of service;
Depend on God in all things.
2 What was your dream, brave Mary,
As you saw beyond the storms of the day?
A land of plenty, shared by all,
With schools to light the way.
Who joined you on your journey
As your dream took root in barren land?
All who came to hear the call,
Brave hearts and helping hands.
Mary your voice calls down the years;
A message of hope it brings.
Lead simple lives of service;
Depend on God in all things.© 1993 Michael Herry
3 We honour you, blessed Mary.
Your way of life shaped our history.
Living faith and stirring hope
For justice and dignity.
Woman of courage; spirit free;
Faith tested and proved like gold.
Heroic in vision, word and deed,
Your life a treasure we hold.
Mary your voice calls down the years;
A message of hope it brings.
Lead simple lives of service;
Depend on God in all things.
