The year of nineteen seventy drew <br />Six hundred thousand folk or more <br />Who came to hear the music play <br />So large the crowd did grow, <br />They made their way to Afton Down <br />By foot by road by bus and car, <br />Then pitched their tents upon the slopes <br />Of 'Desolation Row'. <br /> <br />A purple haze descended there <br />That filled the minds of every soul, <br />Which floated through the darkness <br />And did bathe the land in light, <br />For there they heard the swan song as <br />The blue wild angel scorched the earth, <br />And touched the stars within the sky <br />As fires burned so bright. <br /> <br />The music played and didn't stop <br />Five days and nights it carried on, <br />The lights went down yet few did sleep, <br />And all had so much fun, <br />When Havens took the final stage <br />To close the show as dawn did break, <br />And lit with gold the waiting land <br />He sang 'Here comes the sun'. <br /> <br />And as it shone upon the down <br />The people made their way back home, <br />Soon litter strewn across the field <br />Was all that did remain, <br />The music ceased the air was still <br />And all around a breathless hush, <br />The peace restored so all could hear <br />The songbirds once again.<br /><br />ANDREW BLAKEMORE<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-1970-isle-of-wight-music-festival/
