Abbess Songbreeze Swifteye

Songbreeze Swifteye, also known as Song, was a female squirrel leader of Redwall Abbey. She was the daughter of Rimrose and Janglur Swifteye and the granddaughter of Ellayo and Gawjo Swifteye.

Renowned for her singing voice, Songbreeze was frequently called upon to entertain her family and friends. During her early seasons, her family were nomadic Mossflower Woods residents, until the threat of the Marlfoxes forced them to relocate to Redwall. While there, Songbreeze and her friends Dippler and Dann were placed on guard duty in Great Hall; however, they were inexperienced, and unable to stop the Marlfoxes Ascrod and Vannan from stealing Tapestry of Martin the Warrior.

In a dream vouchsafed to Dann, Songbreeze was classified as one of four questors who were destined to travel to Marlfox Island to retrieve the Tapestry. Song departed the Abbey and traveled towards the island, along with Dann, Dippler, and their new friend Burble. Her weapon during the journey was a special stick with a green stone on its top known as the Leafwood.

She and Dann rescued Dippler and Burble when the pair were captured by Raventail and his band of ferrets. She was separated from her friends when she spotted the osprey Mighty Megraw drowning in a river and dove in to save him; both of them were swept over a waterfall.

Song and Megraw were rescued by a male cormorant, but were not allowed to stay in his nest because his mate distrusted newcomers. Later, the pair met Torrab the hedgehog and her siblings, and the squirrel was reunited with her long-lost grandfather Gawjo, who was living with the hedgehogs.

After the band rescued Dann, Dippler, and Burble from some reptiles and frogs, they completed the journey to Marlfox Island and recovered the Tapestry, defeating the last Marlfox and freeing a group of slaves and water rats from his service. Song gave her Leafwood to Burble, who later used it as a scepter when he was elevated to chieftain of the Riverhead tribe of voles. Upon returning to Redwall with the Tapestry, Song was formally appointed Abbess by her good friend Lady Cregga Rose Eyes, who had been told in a dream from Martin the Warrior to give the position to the young squirrel.

As Abbess, Song led the Redwallers for many seasons. As she grew older, her eyesight began to fail; however, she was too proud to use glasses and instead kept the monocle of the late Perigord Habile Sinistra in her habit sleeve, so she could use it in secret when necessary. She also developed the habit of taking naps in the Infirmary when it was empty.

Like her predecessor Abbot Arven, Song did not appoint a successor before she died. However, she left a special poem sealed in a wooden squirrel for Cregga to find, which, many seasons later, helped the badger select Mhera as the next Abbess.