Tamlyn I forbid you maidens all And a warning take by me Don't go down to the Chasers Wood If a maid you want to return, return If a maid you want to return Lady Margaret, Lady Margaret she's sitting in her bower She's as red as any rose And she's longed to go to the Chasers Wood To pull them flowers that grow, that grow To pull them flowers that grow Now she's taken out her silver comb Made haste to comb her hair And she's gone down to the Chasers Wood As fast as she could tear, could tear As fast as she could tear But she hadn't pulled the one red rose The rose that grows there in the green When a voice said "Lady, how you dare touch a rose Without no leave of me, of me Without no leave of me" "This rose it is my very own My father he gave it to me And I'll bend and I'll pull and I'll break the branch And I won't ask leave of thee, of thee No, I won't ask leave of thee" He's taken her by the middle so small Down to where the grass it grows so green And what he done, well I just couldn't say But he never once asked her leave, her leave He never once asked her leave Four and twenty maidens all sitting in the hall All playing at the chess All except for young Margaret She's as green as any grass, any grass She's as green as any grass Yes, there's four and twenty maidens all sitting in the hall All as red as the rose All except for young Margaret Pale and wan she goes, she goes Pale and wan she goes Well, up then spoke one of them girls And on her face was a smile "I think my lady's loved a little long And now she goes with child, with child Yes now she goes with child" Up then spoke another of them girls And a pretty little girl was she "I know a herb growing in the Chasers Wood That will twine the babe from thee, from thee That will twine the babe from thee" Lady Margaret, she's taken out her silver comb Made haste to comb her hair And she's gone down to the Chasers Wood As fast as she could tear, could tear As fast as she could tear But she hadn't pulled the one bitter herb The herb that grows there in the long When up then spoke young Tamlyn, Saying "Margret leave it alone, oh sweetheart Margret leave it alone" "Why do you want that bitter, bitter herb That herb that grows there in the grey Except for to twine away the pretty little babe That we got in our play, our play That we got in our play" "Well, tell me this, Tamlyn," she says "If a mortal man you be" "Well, I'll tell the truth without a word of a lie I got Christened as good as thee, as thee I got Christened as good as thee" "But as I rode out on a bitter, bitter day 'Twas from the horse I fell And the Queen of the Elvens did take me In yonder green wood to dwell, to dwell In yonder green wood to dwell" "And it's every seventh seventh year We pay our toll to Hell And the last one here is the first to go And I fear the toll it's meself, its meself Yes, I fear the toll it's meself" "For tonight it is the Hallowe'en When the Elven coach shall ride And if you would your true lover save By the old mill bridge you must hide, you must hide By the old mill bridge you must hide" "First there'll come the black horse and then there'll come the brown They'll both race by the white You must throw your arms up about my neck I must not hear a fright, a fright I must not hear a fright" "And they'll change me then and its all in your arms To many's the beast wild You must hold me tight, you must fear me not I'm the father of your child, you know that I'm the father of your child" Well, the woods grew dark and the woods grew dim Tamlyn, he was gone And she's picked up her little white feet And to the old mill bridge she has run, she has run To the old mill bridge she has run But she looked high and she looked low She compassed all around But she nothing saw, and she nothing heard She heard no mortal sound, no sound She heard no mortal sound Until the darkest hour of that night She heard the bridles ring It chilled her heart, gave her a start More than any mortal thing, any thing More than any mortal thing First there came the black horse and then there came the brown They both raced by the white She threw her arms up around his neck And he did not hear a fright, a fright He did not hear a fright Then thunder roared across the sky And the stars burnt as bright as day And the Queen of the Elvens gave a thrilling cry "Tamlyn he's away! He's away! Tamlyn he's away!" Well, they changed him then, it was all in her arms To a lion roaring wild But she held him tight, she feared him not He was the father of her child, she knew that He was the father of her child Then they changed him again, it was all in her arms To a big black dog to bite But she held him tight, she feared him not He did not hear a fright, a fright He did not hear a fright Then they changed him again, it was all in her arms To a big black hissing snake But she held him tight, she feared him not He was one of God's own make, she knew that He was one of God's own make Then they changed him again, it was all in her arms To a white-hot bar of iron But she held him tight, she feared him not He'd done to her no harm, no harm He had done to her no harm Then they changed him again, it was all in her arms To a mother naked man She threw a cloak around his shoulders Saying Tamlyn, we've won, love, we've won Saying Tamlyn, we've won Now the Queen of the Elvens, how she cursed young Tamlyn Oh how she cursed him good "I should have tore out your eyes, Tamlyn," she said "I should have put in two eyes of wood, of wood I should have put in two eyes of wood" "Yes, curses on you Tamlyn," she says "You once was my very own And when you were mine I should have tore out your heart And put in a heart of stone, cold stone Yes, put in a heart of stone" Child #39 AJS oct97
Thanks to Mudcat for the Digital Tradition!