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about

This was inspired by the song "Old Man From The Barrow" by Heather Alexander, which is from the point of view of a young woman being romanced by a ghost who was going to take her away to the grave. I wondered what her family thought of this.

lyrics

Jenny wouldn't tell me why she lay awake last night,
But I saw her wide eyes glisten in the candle's gauzy light;
When I felt her body tremble to the pounding of her heart,
I reached to touch her shoulder, and I heard the music start.
I sat right up in bed and flung the window shutter wide
My sister's flesh was icy as she shivered at my side
The chestnut cast a shadow as I'd often seen before
But I saw Jenny's eyes and she saw something more--

There is something by the chestnut tree that from the barrow came;
It is singing to my sister, it is courting her by name.
She says that she must marry him the night he comes again;
I'll be rolled in flour and fried before he'll have our Jen!

The flute's my only sweetheart; if this spirit fey and fell
Thinks that music is his power, he may find it's mine as well.
So I told her "Courage Jenny, for I think we have a chance;
Though I cannot stop the wedding, let me play the wedding dance."
It was an eerie wedding night, with no one there to see
A shadow, and a shadow, and my sister there, and me
And when the words were spoken and the spirit turned away,
I lifted flute to lip, and I began to play.

The flute spoke air and dancing; it was all that I could hear,
And the starry sky above us made an icy chandelier
My sister took the hand of someone almost in my view
And drew him, half against his will, till he was dancing too.
Jenny stepped and swirled with a shadow in the gloom
Leading out the dancing, as they must as bride and groom
And shadow doubled shadow, till apparent to my glance,
The kinsmen of the groom were come to join the dance.

I play their dance for hours in the melody entwined
Till Jenny's passing feet are leaving tracks of blood behind.
I see I have accomplished all I hoped I would achieve;
They are captive to the dance, and while I play they cannot leave.
But I cannot play forever here beneath the freezing skies
My arms are made of lead, my hair is hanging in my eyes
My fingers start to falter and to lose their strength and grace
And the look of terror deepens on my sister's face--

I force my hands to melody; I know I must prevail
For but a dozen minutes now--the sky is growing pale.
The sun puts forth his finger as a soul in terror moans
And the groom and all the wedding guests are only standing stones...
Jenny crumples suddenly and all my strength is done
And we laugh and cry together and we bless the rising sun
And turn to eye the barrow, for the treasure it may hold--
For Jen's the Master's widow, heir to all his gold!

credits

from Under The Gripping Beast, released October 1, 1997

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Echo's Children Portland, Oregon

In 1995 Cat Faber and Callie Hills teamed up to form Echo's Children, a duo known for well crafted harmonies and interesting lyrics about science fiction and fantasy subjects. They worked together until 2003, when Cat Faber moved to Tennessee and the group broke up. ... more

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