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This song was inspired by the 13th century poem about the abduction to Elfland by the Fairy Queen of Thomas the Rhymer. Thomas was a real person, also known as Thomas Lermount, a Scottish laird whose supernatural powers were said to rival those of Merlin. He was called True Thomas because he was said to have received the fairy boon of the Tongue That Can Never Lie.
Whether or not Thomas actually was abducted by the Queen of Elfland, I’ll leave up to you and your imagination!
I’m very grateful to APi_ZZ for providing such a beautifully evocative soundscape for our fairy ride from Dreamland to Elfland! You can find here: https://soundcloud.com/api_zz
Words and vocals by Annie Dieu-Le-Veut
© Annie Dieu-Le-Veut, April 2024
Music by APi_ZZ
© APi_ZZ (Andreas Pirner , April 2024)
Words:
True Thomas was lying on a grassy bank, when a marvel with his eye spied he...
There he saw a lady bright come riding by the hawthorn tree.
Her skirt was of the grass-green silk, her mantle of the velvet fine,
And at each lock of her horse’s mane hung fifty silver bells and nine.
True Thomas, he pulled off his cap and bowed down to his knee:
“All hail, thou Queen of Heaven! For thy peer on Earth I never did see.”
“O no, O no, Thomas,” she chuckled, “That name does not belong to me;
"I am but the Queen of fair Elfland that am hither come to visit thee.
“Sing and play, Thomas,” she said, “Sing and play along with me,
And if you dare to kiss my lips, then certain of your body I will be.”
“Betide me weal, betide me woe," replied he, "That fate shall never frighten me.”
And then he kissed her rosy lips, all under the hawthorn tree.
“Now you must come with me,” she said, “True Thomas, you must come with me,
And you must serve me seven years, through weal and woe, as chance may be.”
Then she mounted on her milk-white steed, and she took True Thomas up behind.
And every time her bridle rang, the steed flew faster than the wind.
On they rode, on, and farther on, the white horse swifter than lightening,
Until they reached a desert wide, and living land was well behind them.
“Lie down, lie down now, True Thomas," she said.
And rest your head upon my knee;
Abide and rest a little space, And I will show you wonders three.”
“So do you see that narrow road, so thick beset with thorns and briars?
That is the path of righteousness, though after it but few enquire.”
“And see ye not that broad, wide way that lies across the lily leven?
That is the path of wickedness, although some call it the road to heaven.”
“And see ye not that lovely lane that winds about the fern’d hillside?
That is the road to fair Elfland, where you and I this night must ride.
“But Thomas, you must hold your tongue, whatever you may hear or see,
For if you speak in fair Elfland, you’ll never get back to your own country.”
So on they rode.... and on.... and farther on,
And they waded through rivers above the knee,
And they saw neither sun nor moon,
But they heard the roaring of the seas.
It was dark dark night, and there was no sun light,
And they waded through red blood to the knee;
For all the blood that’s shed on Earth runs through the springs of that country.
Soon they came to a garden green, and she pulled an apple from a branch on high,
“Take this for thy wages, True Thomas, it will give you the tongue that can never lie.”
"My tongue is my own,” True Thomas said,
“A goodly boon that you gifted me!
I’d neither buy nor sell it, at fair nor tryst where'ere I may be.
“I dare neither speak to prince nor lord, nor ask favor from fair lady. “
“Now hold thy peace,” the Lady said, “For as I say, so must it be!”
So now True Thomas has a coat of elven cloth,
And a pair of shoes of elven green,
And till seven years are gone and past
True Thomas on Earth will never be seen.
- Genre
- Ambient