The Gypsy

Their heir stood before them
Strung with stones of white
Like a lavish lady waiting
For her lover to dare
To pluck the jewels from her
To meet her icy stare
Make her surrender to him there
Dreaming they dance
As daylight disappears
Casting silver shadows
Laughing without fear

Lucy she smiled as she heard the stars sing
And her hand it was warmed by her zodiac ring
Lucy she smiled, thought no more of the day
Wondered why her body felt colder than clay

High upon the hill
Silent streams below
Three brothers await
Lay for Lucy low
Three sisters wail
As the wind began to rise
Whirling round the hall
Scalding Lucy’s eyes
And as Lucy drank
The rain began to pound
Like the basilled butterfly
Pinned her to the ground

Lucy she smiled as she heard the stars sing
And her hand it was warmed by her zodiac ring
Lucy she smiled, thought no more of the day
Wondered why her body felt colder than clay

As the sun rose in the sky
Puzzled people came
Wondered at this lady
Laying without shame
Saw her silky skin
Savaged by the storm
Clutching at the hail
With the hand that was still warm
So the dancing leaves
Heard a lamenter sing
Saw a laughing child
Take the lady’s ring

Lucy she smiled as she heard the stars sing
And her hand it was warmed by her zodiac ring
Lucy she smiled, thought no more of the day
Wondered why her body felt colder than clay

I’d like to tell you people I met her at a fair,
But I met her in a pub down by the far side of the square.
She was dark and she was handsome and her name was Mary-Lee,
And I’ll tell you of the good times of Mary-Lee and me.

She said she was a gypsy and I knew she didn’t lie -
You could see the fires of India in her dark and roaming eyes.
I knew I couldn’t hold her, I knew she must be free
But no power on Earth could quench the love I had for Mary-Lee.

She said that all her horses had long since passed away.
The family remembers them as carefree happy days.
Her granddad used to drive in a pony and a trap,
But now they lived in Bradford where her father dealt in scrap.

I couldn’t really tell you how we passed away our time.
We mostly spent the evenings drinking Tetley’s Ale and wine.
Although it may seem commonplace the way I’m telling you,
To me a life with Mary-Lee was like a dream come true.

I courted this young gypsy girl from autumn into spring
And I thought that the time had come for me to offer her my ring.
But I never plucked my courage up 'fore I became to see,
That Mary-Lee grew restless with the pudding of the trees.

It was on a Sunday afternoon I called to take her out.
It was Mary’s dad, not Mary, who answered to my shout,
?If it’s her that you’re seeking you’ve a long long way to go,
She joined a band for Scotland at least twelve hours ago.?

For a while I stood there speechless at what her father said,
And the promises I’d hoped for were still ringing in my head.
And I knew that I must travel on the road that she’d gone on -
Even if it took me to the dark side of the sun.

So early the next morning I started for Ilkley.
The city was silent and still as a stone.
With hope in my heart and fire in my head,
I set off to find where the gypsies had gone.

I flagged down a car that dropped me at Bolton
The valley before me had harnessed my pack.
Walking alone by the low hills of Wharfedale,
By the black top of Keighley I saw the dawn crack.

The first one I met on the road was a farmer.
He nodded his head as he passed me by.
I asked him politely if he’d seen the gypsies,
?They were camped up at Langstrothdale,? came his reply.

By the evening I came to the village of Buckden
And decided that here I should make my night’s stop.
?Have you seen the gypsies?? I asked my friend Jackie,
?They’ve moved on,? he said, ?They’ve gone over the top.?

So next morning I took the road into Wensleydale,
Moorland before me, stretched out like a dream.
Up by the boulders and over the bridge
Where the white lady walks into the stream.

I stopped an old man I’d met once before:
Kit Cowbert, the maker of Wensleydale cheese.
And when I asked Kit if he’d seen the gypsies,
The words that he spoke failed to put me at ease.

He said, ?The gypsies left early, I watched as they went
They had one amongst them, thy dark haired lass.
She shouted to me from the back of a wagon
They were making for Keld by the Buttertubs Pass?.

Now the Buttertubs Pass, it’s steep and it’s high
And the horses would find it a hard way to go.
If I set on the road and my boots didn’t fail me
I might catch them up before daylight was through.

High on the road, and nobody near me,
Far from the city, and far from all harm.
Sheep on the hillside, grouse in the heather,
The blind windows of a far-distant farm.

As the sun dropped down low I came into Thwaite,
Leaving behind me the dusk on the fell.
I started straight 'way down the road into Keld
When anyone’s played his harmonium fails.

From a field by the road I saw the smoke rising.
I hitched up my pack and I rounded the bend.
I first saw the horses, and then saw the wagons,
And I knew that my journey was nearing its end.

Mary walked up to me and I looked into her eyes,
And the sadness in her face is a thing I can’t describe.
We didn’t speak a word, there was nothing we could say
About the closing of a love affair, the closing of a day.

Mary took my hand in hers, I took her hand in mine,
Just one more night together before we had our time.
We couldn’t sleep inside the van (there wasn’t any room)
So I spent the night in Mary’s arms beneath the haloed moon.

I woke up in the morning, the light was cold and grey.
The gypsies and their caravans had gone upon their way.
In my head a burning pain, in my heart a hole,
By my side a note was pinned, ?Have mercy on my soul?.

The last time I heard a word about my Mary Lee,
She was married to a tinker and was living in Dundee.
They say she has a baby now to bounce upon her knee,
And I wonder in the long nights if she ever thinks of me.

Up flies the kite
Down falls the lark
Aunt Lucy Broadwood got lost in the dark.

Lucy left home about half past eight
And she hadn’t got further than the garden gate
When a big black bird dropped a stone from the sky,
Left Lucy there on the path to die.
Lucy jumped up and shook her fist
Saying, ?Heres another girl from the town you’ve missed?
But she looked again and she was alone -
Nothing on the ground but a feather and a stone.

Up flies the kite
Down falls the lark
Aunt Lucy Broadwood got lost in the dark.

At the edge of the wood where the grass is wet
Up jumped a man with a clarinet.
Blew a note both loud and clear
And left it hanging in Lucy’s ear.
Aunt Lucy Broadwood was quite impressed,
Closed her eyes and started to undress,
Turned three times around and the man wasn’t there -
And all she could do was stand and stare.

Up flies the kite
Down falls the lark
Aunt Lucy Broadwood got lost in the dark.

Lucy went further than she knew she should,
She came to a house in the middle of the wood.
The door was bolted and the windows were barred
And she thought she heard the voice of her Ma.
So she called out ?Mother, I know you’re in there,?
And up went the cry through the still green air.
If Mother was there, she never heard,
The only sound was the screech of a bird.

Up flies the kite
Down falls the lark
Aunt Lucy Broadwood got lost in the dark.

Lucy didn’t know which way to turn
When a bush behind her started to burn.
She though of Moses in the Holy Book
Turned around to have a look.
And who should it be but the devil in black
He blasted out of the ground with a crack,
Hoisted her up on his hungry shoulder
And carried her off to hell like a boulder.

Up flies the kite
Down falls the lark
Aunt Lucy Broadwood got lost in the dark.

Hell was hot and what was more,
Hell was a terrible, terrible bore.
She didn’t think she could last the night
So she opened the door and turned on the light.
The bulb fused out with a fizz and a crack,
And the door slammed shut on Lucy’s back
Up flew the kite, down fell the lark,
Aunt Lucy Broadwood was lost in the dark!

Up flies the kite
Down falls the lark
Aunt Lucy Broadwood got lost in the dark.

"Well met, well met" said an old true love
"Well met, well met" said he
"I’ve just returned from the salt, salt sea
And all for the love of thee"

"I could have married the King’s daughter dear
And she would have married me
But I have forsaken her crowns of gold
And it’s all for the love of thee"

"My, will you forsake your house carpenter
And go along with me?
I’ll take you to where the grass grows green
And the banks of its salt sea"

She’s picking up her little babe
And kisses gave him three
Saying "Stay right here my darling baby
Keep your poppa company company"

They had not been gone two weeks
I’m sure it was not three
When this fair lady began to weep and moan
And she wept most bitterly

Are you weeping for your silver and gold
Are you weeping for your store?
Or are you weeping for your house carpenter
Whose face you’ll never see no more

"A curse, a curse to the sailor," she cried
"A curse, a curse," she swore
"I’m weeping for my sweet little babe
That I never shall see no more"

They had not been on board three weeks
I’m sure it was not four
Until this boat sprang a leak and sank
Never to rise no more

Elvira was a circus girl who walked the tightrope bravely.
She travelled through Europe, and she knew what men were for.
He was in the cavalry wore braid upon his tunic;
A handsome bearded horseman who had never been to war.

You would say if you met them they were golden eyed children,
For the one thing they wanted they gave up health and fame.
God help Elvira, and God help her lover,
And God help anyone who tries to do the same.

He left his wife and children in the regiment behind him,
Stripped the braid from his tunic, tossed his buttons on the ground.
She left the roaring crowds and the lights of the circus
To go with a deserter and run from town to town.

And many’s the time they thought they’d found their safety;
A room to love and shelter from the wind and the rain.
But a knock on the door, a face at the window,
And many’s the time they were on the move again.

You would say if you met them they were golden eyed children,
For the one thing they wanted they gave up health and fame.
God help Elvira, and God help her lover,
And God help anyone who tries to do the same.

She sold her last possessions and bought a loaf and butter.
He robbed a hen house and they left once more to roam.
In the middle of a meadow they both sat down to picnic,
When he touched Elvira she was cold as a stone.

Elvira knew that the pistol was hidden in the basket.
She whispered to her lover, ?make it soon, make it soon,?
Elvira chased the butterfly and caught it in her fingers,
She fell from the tightrope and the audience went home.

You would say if you met them they were golden eyed children,
For the one thing they wanted they gave up health and fame.
God help Elvira, and God help her lover,
And God help anyone who tries to do the same.

I learnt to dance when I was a boy
And dancing was my only joy
I’ll still be dancing when you grow old
When the seas dry up and walls take fold
My father taught me how to dance
He said it was my only chance
To show the people how to be free -
An ordinary boy like me!

When the day came to go to school
The teacher took me for a fool
You should’ve heard the bugles roar
As I danced through the classroom door.
But I didn’t cry, I didn’t fret
I told them stuff their alphabet,
I packed my bags that very same night
And I took off in the morning light.

I heard a commodore blow his horn
And saw I knew they’d been forewarned
Twisting and to stir the wheat
The grass sprang up beneath my feet
I knew the dance would help to show
The trees and flowers how to grow
So knowing I must never tire
I gave a yell that there took fire.

One day I took it in me mind
The time had come for me to bind
So with me true love fair and wild
I hailed a toe right up the aisle
The people cheered, the thrushes drank
For miles around the church bells rang
The pub was closed and we were wed
So lost stop to our marriage bed.

In time came children, one two three,
They all looked like their mother and me
And through the hall and up the stairs
And up to bed to say their prayers.
But they still lost that prize on Earth
They soon forgot those steps they learnt
My wife grew old, I knew the day
Had come for me to dance away.

Over the mountains over the sea
Nothing on Earth could hold back me
So let me give you a word of warning
If you walk out on a bright spring morning:
Around the corner of the next street
You hear the sound of my dancing feet
Keep away, try not to hear,
Whatever you do, don’t come too near
The dance may take you as it took me -
From lovers and friends and family.

The singer had left his song on the air
The hunter had shouldered his arms
After the day, the long, long night,
And after the night, the dawn.

All the good times are past and gone
All the good times are ours
All the good times are passed and gone
Little darling don’t you weep no more.

I don’t want a seat at your table so dry
I don’t want a bed on your floor
You can’t let me down through the forest of lore
And nail off my hide on your door

All the good times are past and gone
All the good times are ours
All the good times are passed and gone
Little darling don’t you weep no more.

Forget all the tears that threatened to tear you
Forget all the pain in your head
The meek and the weak shall inherit the Earth
The savage and honest are there.

All the good times are past and gone
All the good times are ours
All the good times are passed and gone
Little darling don’t you weep no more.

Build me a boat where the willows once grew
Where the vole and the otter swam free
Row me away from this desolate land
And make for the open sea.

All the good times are past and gone
All the good times are ours
All the good times are passed and gone
Little darling don’t you weep no more.