Words and Music: Karen Everson (Mistress Veleda of Isenfir)
When I was a young man, or so I am told,
My eyes were of summer blue, my hair autumn gold.
And so the Faerie Queen took me from my home
To live in the hollow hills beneath standing stone.
So with the faerie folk, I lived and grew;
My eyes were the haunted lakes where bright swan mays flew.
My gold hair grew darker, like winter leaves sere,
And I sat at the Elf Queen's feet while the fires burned clear.
A mortal's a warm spice for cold faerie blood;
So it was I earned my place, a man put to stud.
By daylight I guarded an old secret well
Where roses climb in shattered sun in deep forest dell.
And I have loved the Faerie Queen,
With her eyes like the sea in storm,
And her hair is the colour of moonlight on seafoam
Tumbling in to the shore.
And I have seen the swan mays flying
When the dawn turns the river to gold,
And I have danced under stars on the Hollow Hills
While Faerie Fires burn cold,
While Faerie Fires burn cold.
One day a maiden came to my hidden place.
With roses she filled her arms, as joy filled her face.
Her hair, it was chestnut, her skin glowed with sun,
And before the day was fled, my heart she had won.
So each day in sunlight, my love came to me,
And swore as we loved there that she'd win me free
At the next full moon when the faerie folk ride
She would face the Faerie Queen, her magic defy.
At last came the moonrise, the path it shone clear;
Bells rang like silver as the Riders drew near
On horses of ice and mist, the Faerie Ride came;
My love leapt to seize me, our love to proclaim.
And I have loved the Faerie Queen,
With her eyes like the sea in storm,
And her hair is the colour of moonlight on seafoam
Tumbling in to the shore.
And I have seen the swan mays flying
When the dawn turns the river to gold,
And I have danced under stars on the Hollow Hills
While Faerie Fires burn cold,
While Faerie Fires burn cold.
Then said the Faerie Queen, her eyes burning cold,
"Do you seek to challenge me for the Mortal you hold?"
"Oh yes, I challenge you!" my darling replied,
"With my love, I'll defeat you, your magic defy."
"So be it," the Queen said. She burned with cold light.
Her spell blazed around us, but my love held me tight.
Through pain and through horror as I changed in her grasp
To serpent, to bear and troll, my love held on fast.
"Your magic won't move me, or loosen my hold,
For my heart still tells me it's him I enfold."
And with the first cockcrow, the Queen and her Host
Returned to the Hollow Hills and knew they had lost.
And I have loved the Faerie Queen,
With her eyes like the sea in storm,
And her hair is the colour of moonlight on seafoam
Tumbling in to the shore.
And I have seen the swan mays flying
When the dawn turns the river to gold,
And I have danced under stars on the Hollow Hills
While Faerie Fires burn cold,
While Faerie Fires burn cold.
Now by my hearth fire, my children, they play,
And listen while silver bells sing soft far away.
My lady with troubled eyes reaches out for my hand,
And I smile, and hold her, and I stay where I am.
So all you young lads, heed what I say.
From Elf maids and Hollow Hills stay well away.
They'll catch you and hold you in their hair of sea foam,
They'll tumble and toss you, and laugh while you drown.
And no more will I love the Faerie Queen,
With her eyes like the sea in storm.
I'll love in the hearth light with my own true lady,
And ever the Hollow Hills spurn.
For I have held her warm beside me
When the dawn is lighting the skies,
And no Faerie Fire can burn half so brightly
As the love in your own lady's eyes,
As the love in your own lady's eyes.