Starling Song

for children’s choir and piano (2025)

Text

Part 1

Shiny black, spots of white,
Starling in morning light.
See them flock, twist and glide,
Clever bird, busy mind.

Starling flying way, way up high,
Painting patterns in blue, blue sky,
Dancing to the sound of their own tune.

Whistle, chirp, rise and fall,
Listen close, hear its call.
See them flock, twist and glide,
Clever bird, busy mind.

Starling flying way, way up high,
Painting patterns in blue, blue sky,
Dancing to the sound of their own tune.

In the hush of fading light,
Starling sleeps till morning bright.
When the stars begin to gleam,
Starling rests and starts to dream.

Part 2

Small, bright, black, white,
See them take flight.

Starling sings at break of day,
The morning sky begins to sway.
Its feathers shine in purple blue,
With specks of white like drops of dew.

Starling flying way up high,
Always painting patterns in the sky,
See the starling flying way up high,
Always painting patterns in the sky,


Commissioned by Whiddon Autumn Festival and performed by children from local primary schools in Whiddon on 18 September 2025.