Lyrics:

Once and Future King
(Prior/Holland/Donockley)
Arthur's achievement was short-live. He probably held the English in East Anglia, Kent and Sussex for twenty years or so, but when he died the tribes fragmented again and the invaders were settled enough to bring over their monarchy. They gained ascendancy and eventually drove the Britons back to the hills of Wales and Cumbria and into Cornwall. Many had already fled to Brittany, and eventually settled there. The Celts had a cult of the head, and one of their stories is of Bran who was decapitated, but continued to speak and enjoy the company of his companions, until one of their number opened the forbidden set of doors (O, perfidy!) and Bran finally died. He was taken to be buried on a hill looking to the coast and it was said that he would return if ever the land was in need. This image of talismanic protection is a powerful one and appeals to our vulnerability and was incorporated into the later stories of Arthur.

The seed has blown
The bird has flown
The sap returns to earth
The chocking weeds
Spawn their seeds
O sweet garden overgrown

There is a promise made
A promise of return
When all is care and pain.
The Once and Future King
Will return to his own
And make the garden bloom again.