Beautiful, vivid dark ballad folk mixing the traditional and new by the Welsh composer and multi-instrumentalist from Machynlleth whose instruments include the triple harp. This dark ballad was originally made for the project Old Tunes Fresh Takes. To see more music by Cerys, see also the other embedded links below.
There lived a wife in Usher’s Well
a wealthy wife was she
She had three stout and stalwart sons
and sent them over sea
They had not been from Usher’s Well
a week but barely one
When word came to the carline wife
that her three sons were gone.
It fell about the Martinmass
the nights were long and dark
Three sons came home to Usher’s Well
their hats were made of bark
That neither grew in forest green
nor on any wooded rise
But from the north side of the tree
that grows in Paradise.
Cold clay, cold clay
hangs over my head
And green grass grows at my feet
And every tear that you shed for me
but wets my winding sheet
“Blow up the fire, my maidens all
bring water from the well
Since my darling babes are home
they’ve come home safe and well.”
“We may not eat your bread mother
nor may we drink your wine
For cold death is lord of all
to him we must resign.”
Then up and crowed the blood red cock
and up and crowed the grey
The oldest to the youngest said
“It’s time we were away
For the cock does crow and the day doth show
and the channering worm doth chide
And we must go
to the gates of Paradise.”
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