LADY OF THE SIDHE
I was walking through the wood;
(With drink me wits were dim)
When I did stumble up the hill
Upon a fairy ring.
I tripped meself and laid me length
Across the frosty turf;
And when I opened me eyes again
I rued me evenin’s thirst.
I saw the dark, I saw the lights
O’ Mary, comfort me!
I saw her rise before me eyes-
A lady of the Sidhe.
I lay me there an’ felt the nip
O’ winter on me toes;
I felt the cold o’ freeze-to-death
Approachin’ of me nose;
I tried to raise meself an’ run
From that unearthly scene;
But I was frozen at the feet o’
The lady dressed in green.
I saw the light, I saw the dark
O’ Mary, comfort me!
I saw her come to strike me dumb-
A lady of the Sidhe.
Her face was pale, her hair unbound
I swear she was a maid;
Her eyes were young but old as time
A wondrous thing, indade;
Smiling sweet, she welcomed me;
“I know thee, Master Dan,
It pleaseth me to lie with thee
Thou lusty mortal man.”
I saw the hope, I saw the fear
O’ Mary, comfort me!
I saw her stand wi’ folded hands-
A lady of the Sidhe.
I swear she cast a faerie spell
That made me rise and follow
The girl in green beyond the ring
To find a grassy hollow
She cast her gown and laid her down
And soon she had me bare;
Me rump was cold, but she was bold
And how she loved me there!
I saw the fear, I saw the hope
O’ Mary, comfort me!
I saw her fair, with unbound hair-
My lady of the Sidhe.
An’ when she’d had her way wi’ me
An’ I’d had mine wi’ her
She kissed me once, an’ kissed me twice
An’ picked me free o’ burrs;
“I loveth thee tonight,” she said;
“And promise, mortal man,
That when our babe is cradled, then,
Like thee, he shalt be ‘Dan’.”
I saw the love and saw the pain
O’ Mary, comfort me!
For tho’ we’d part, she had me heart-
That lady of the Sidhe.
I was walking through the wood
With shock me wits were dim;
When I did stumble down the hill
Beyond the fairy ring.
An’ since I woke this mornin’, oh!
I still don’t understand;
Who the lady thought I was-
Me name is Joe, not Dan!
I saw the pain and saw the love
O’ Mary, comfort me!
I wish I’d deigned to ask her name-
That lady of the Sidhe.
The
Clansman's Words to his Love
The
Courtship of Kate and Will.
The
Knight's Lady Weeps For Shame
Lady of
the Sidhe
The
Seaman's Lady at her Prayers
