Epilogue Lyrics — Ballad Lines

[SARAH, spoken]
My name is Sarah Carson and the ballads are in my blood. I come from a long line of singers, whose songs have been runnin' down my family for generations

[ANCESTORS]
Strong are the roots and the branch of the tree
Fierce is the flower that blooms
Hidden away is the one silver key
Leadin' to unopened rooms

[SARAH, spoken]
My ancestors Cait and Jamie crossed from Scotland to Ulster, where their first and only baby was born. A boy. As our family tree grew, the ballads spread down its branches. Until three generations later in Ulster, two sisters were born - Shona and Jean. Those sisters carried these songs onboard that ship to Boston, and sang all the way to American shores

[ANCESTORS]
Dark is the ink on the pages of white
Dark as the sky at the time
Deep is the grave where the ancestors lie
Deep as the well in your mind
O, women of water and air
Born under changin' skies
O, in song and in story they share

[SARAH]
The future and past in their eyes

(spoken)
Four hundred years later, those old ballads were still alive and well in West Virginia, Appalachia. My Aunt Betty was far from perfect, but the songs she raised us on - they were solid gold
[ANCESTORS]
Down the line the blood runs red
Fear the thorn, the bird and the berry

[ANCESTORS, SARAH, BETTY]

Down the line the blood runs red, O
Down the line the blood runs hot
Fuel the fire, a heart is a vessel
Down the line the blood runs hot, O
O, to weather the storms every day
When you know they'll return again
O, to go when your God says to stay
O, women of earth, wind and flame
Born under changin' skies
O, common in blood and in name

[SARAH]
With stories and songs in their eyes

(spoken)
I have never crossed an ocean, but I've had a journey of my own, with my own sacrifices along the way. My Aunt Betty used to say, "A song ain't worth singin' if it ain't true to real life". I needed to live a little before I understood what she meant by that. These ballads have stayed with me through my darkest moments. And here I am, still singin'. Cause where one story ends, another begins

(sung)
Strong are the roots and the branch of the tree
Fierce is the flower that blooms
Hidden away is the one silver key
Leadin' to unopened rooms
Last Update: March, 04th 2026