The Ballad of Halfling Dan
Oh, me mother was a fairy wench
As winsome as the day;
She found me da one frosty night
And sure, she had her way-
She meant to breed a hero strong
To lead the fairy band
Instead she got the likes o’ me-
They call me “Halfling Dan.”
Oh I never cast a glamour,
An’ I never laid a spell
Me mother bore an oddity
But sure, she loved me well-
She meant to breed a handsome lad
To lead the fairy band
Instead she got the likes o’ me-
No hero, Halfling Dan.
I found no place to call me own
Nor any fairy steed
I never rode the ragwort stem
Nor played a broken reed-
I meant to be a hero, fine,
To win the band’s respect;
But I am half a mortal man,
So what can ye expect?
Oh, I never cast a glamour
An’ I never laid a spell
Me mother bore an oddity
But sure, she loved me well
I’m not so strong as fairies are
Nor handsome as the day
An’ when I go from here to there
I walk the mortal way.
The fairy girls all passed me by
They called me “Halfling Dan”,
An’ sure, I am no fairy lad
But half a mortal man-
I cannot bid the mist to fall
Or whistle down the breeze
And as I have no magic I
May wander as I please.
Oh, I never cast a glamour
An’ I never laid a spell
Me mother bore an oddity
But sure, she loved me well-
I’ve not the grace a fairy has
Nor any silver words
I never perch upon a bough;
I leave that for the birds.
The day that I was twenty-one
I left the fairy hill;
Me mother gave me such a hug
Be sure I feel it still!
I headed for the hiring fair
To find a life for me-
I wore a shamrock in me hat
And breeches to me knee.
Oh, I never cast a glamour
An’ I never laid a spell
Me mother bore an oddity
But sure, she loved me well-
I’m not a tinker or a smith
I cannot raise a flame
But I’m as strong as mortals are
An’ I can write me name.
I found the meadow where they stood
The serving girls an’ men-
An’ sure a lady smiled at me
An’ heartened me again.
She said she liked me eyes of green
An’ left me not a doubt
That she would have some work for me
Before the day was out.
Oh, I never cast a glamour
An’ I never laid a spell
Me lady knows me history
An’ sure, I please her well
I’m not so strong as fairies are
But I can clasp her near
An’ sure she loves her Halfling Dan
An’ sure I hold her dear.
I love me lady every day
An’ keep her warm as well
We sit before the fire at night;
She likes the tales I tell-
She says the mortal part of me’s
The bit that makes her laugh-
But in our bed when lights are low
She loves me fairy half!
Oh, I never cast a glamour
An’ I never laid a spell
Me lady knows me history
An’ sure, I please her well
I’m neither fay nor mortal man
But fall betwixt the two
There’s better stuff in Halfling Dan
Than fairy lasses knew.
The Ballad
of Halfling Dan
The
Clansman's Words to his Love
The
Courtship of Kate and Will.
The
Knight's Lady Weeps For Shame
The
Seaman's Lady at her Prayers
