The Hero on the Hill
A four-part suite inspired by a fictional account of the
origin of the geoglyph, The Long Man of Wilmington,
in the book ‘The Spirit of the Downs’ by Arthur Beckett.
Beckett imagines that The Long Man was cut into the turf
in honour of Woden following victory in a great battle
during the Saxon invasions.

Part IV: The Long Man
With growing confidence, drink the mead of poetry
And dream of these great pastures new
Rejoicing for a whole moon with feast and song and dance
Then a sacred bond is recalled to mind

Woden with his faithful Gungnir and a spear to spare
The Torslunda dancing man Is in the air

A hero to honour
A hero like Beowulf
Who slayed the grim dam of Grendel at Heorot
So, Wilmington Hill is their canvas

Long Man!
They dig for twenty days and twenty nights
(And twenty nights)
Hewn into the turf
Long Man!
They dig for twenty days and twenty nights
(And twenty nights)

So then, larger than life
The Long Man grows up on the down
Long Man, head in the clouds
Long Man, he will dwell here
For evermore