Cygnet Cares Lantern Parade Songs

The Cygnet Lantern Parade Songs!

The Cygnet Lantern Parade is an annual winter solstice event of much beauty, and we have a bundle of songs that are sung each year. These are the same songs so everyone gets a chance to get to know them well and associate them with this event. My choirs are there singing them and we warmly invite anyone to learn to the songs and come join in with us on the night.

Everything you need to learn the songs is here on this page. Start with the teaching video, and then below there is more info about all the songs and sound files if you would like to use them.

This year (2025) the Lantern Parade is on the 21st of June.

Hurruh and tra la la, Rose

View this on youtube to use timestamps to jump to each song.

Song One.

Forget Your Perfect Offering.

By Jeffrey Alfonsus Mooney

Forget your perfect offering
(Forget Your perfect offering)
Just ring the bells that still can ring
(Just ring the bells that still can ring)
There is a crack in everything
(There is a crack in everything)
That’s how
(That’s how)
The light
(The light)
Get’s in
(That’s how the light get’s in).

Watch Thrive Choir sing it:

Song Two

Dark Times

Lyrics Bertolt Brecht, Music Rose Wilson.

In, in the dark times, will there also be singing.
In, in the dark times, will there also be singing.
Oh yes (clap clap) there will be singing,
(Stomp) singing about the dark times, the dark times.

This soundcloud sound file is in two parts, but we will be singing it in three parts (it sounds very awesomer) for the Lantern Parade. A 3 part version can be found in the resources via that download button below.

Unscary Singing · In the Dark Times 2 Part Round

Download Sheet Music and Sound Files

Song Three

The Light Will Return

By Penny Stone

Everyday the shadows grow shorter,
Everyday the sun rises higher,
Everyday the the earth grows warmer,
I can hear the spring calling, and the light will return.

Watch from 4 mins in the teaching video of all the songs above to learn this one.

Song Four

It May Be Cold Out

By Rose Wilson

It may be cold out, but it’s warm right here,
It may be cold out, but it’s warm right here,
There’s a warm fire, and there’s a warm song,
It may be cold out but it’s warm right here.

It’s warm right here, it’s warm right here,
It may be cold out, but it’s warm so warm right here.

This is a song in two part harmony. In the teaching video above I have just taught one part, and members of my choir will be adding the lower part. That said, if you want to, you are more than welcome to sing the other part! You can hear it in this recording, and the sheet music is here to download too if that is of use to you.