Ballads, poems, songs, limericks and haiku

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

Post a favorite of yours along with a bit about the author or maybe history of the bit you share.

I'll start: Versions of this story appeared in the first half of the 16th century or before and take place in Southern Scotland along the border.

I forbid you maidens all that wear gold in your hair
To travel to Carterhaugh for young Tam Lin is there
None that go by Carterhaugh but they leave him a pledge
Either their mantles of green or else their maidenhead
Janet tied her kirtle green a bit above her knee
And she's gone to Carterhaugh as fast as go can she
She'd not pulled a double rose, a rose but only two
When up there came young Tam Lin, says "Lady, pull no more"
"And why come you to Carterhaugh without command from me?"
"I'll come and go," young Janet said, "and ask no leave of thee"

Janet tied her kirtle green a bit above her knee
And she's gone to her father as fast as go can she
Well, up then spoke her father dear and he spoke meek and mild
"Oh, and alas, Janet," he said, "I think you go with child"
"Well, if that be so," Janet said, "myself shall bear the blame
There's not a knight in all your hall shall get the baby's name
For if my love were an earthly knight as he is an elf in grey
I'd not change my own true love for any knight you have"

Janet tied her kirtle green a bit above her knee
And she's gone to Carterhaugh as fast as go can she
"Oh, tell to me, Tam Lin," she said, "why came you here to dwell?"
"The Queen of Faeries caught me when from my horse I fell
And at the end of seven years she pays a tithe to Hell
I so fair and full of flesh am feared it be myself
But tonight is Hallowe'en and the faerie folk ride
Those that would their true love win at Miles Cross they must bide
First let past the horse that's black and then let past the brown
Quickly run to the white steed and pull the rider down
For I ride on the white steed, the nearest to the town
For I was an earthly knight, they give me that renown
Oh, they will turn me in your arms to a newt or a snake
But hold me tight and fear not, I am your baby's father
And they will turn me in your arms into a lion bold
But hold me tight and fear not and you will love your child
And they will turn me in your arms into a naked knight
But cloak me in your mantle and keep me out of sight"

In the middle of the night she heard the bridle ring
She heeded what he did say and young Tam Lin did win
Then up spoke the Faerie Queen, an angry queen was she
"Woe betide her ill-fard face, an ill death may she die
Oh, had I known, Tam Lin," she said, "what this night I did see
I'd have looked him in the eyes and turned him to a tree"

Tam Lin (interpreted for a song by Fairport Convention) from metrolyrics

Tam Lin is an old fairy ballad from the borderlands of Scotland, concerning a mortal woman who encounters a mysterious man in a forbidden forest. When she finds herself pregnant with his child, she seeks him out again and learns he is a mortal man, captive to the faeries and at risk for sacrifice as their tribute to hell. To rescue him, she must find the faeries at midnight on Halloween and pull him from horse as the faerie troop passes by. She must hold onto him as he is transformed into a variety of beasts, or fire, or other dangers. She does so, and at the end of the tale, the Faerie Queen speaks her wrath at the departed man, wishing she'd taken out his eyes or his heart to prevent his rescue.

Tam Lin has been a beloved tale for centuries, both because of the magic in the tale, and because it is a traditional tale centered on female daring and bravery. Some versions of the ballad date back centuries, while others are still being written today. The story has also grown well outside the traditional format, and can be found in prose books, plays, artwork, and other forms.

This website is intended to give those interested in the story of Tam Lin a place to learn more about the history and forms of the story.
http://tam-lin.org/

[seveneyes]

1. But the air on stage is burning our lungs

Chains to the legs, bolts to the ground
"You boys ain't leaving 'til this crowd turns around"
They don't hear nothing
...Nothing at all

The colder the night, the hotter the lights
Your sweat drips down and the crowd starts fist-fights
They hear nothing
...Nothing at all

But the air on stage is burning our lungs
And we're all going deaf from the beating drums
And you can't see a thing for all the blood
And sweat in our eyes