Halls Of Meroniel
Behind the wych elm, high on the moor appears the rising sun
And stepping by the stable door the dapple grey is gone
With a toss of his head as he crosses the meadow
Who in Creation could not love a horse?
The shining girl with the gold in her hair is riding the moors
And so she puts him into the trot; they ride to meet the day
Far from the Land of Whether-or-Not upon a dapple grey
Shunning the bridleways, running the riverbeds
Down hidden valleys of bracken and gorse
The shining girl with the gold in her hair is riding the moors
A blackbird’s cry then shatters the peace upon the crystal moor
And there before her rides a man where no man rode before
Saying “I am a knight of the Court of Meroniel
King of the land where the sun may not shine
And you must now to my master’s hall and with him you shall dine.”
“Ah,” says the maid,” “That never shall be, for you may mean me harm.”
“Ah,” says the knight, “we shall see what we see,” a-raising of his arm
And the sky it turned black and the earth it did crack
And it swallowed up maiden and dapple and all
Until she rode on the horse’s back into the Elf-King’s hall
Stricken with a dread, she looks about her
Spies an old man, grave and grey
A silver crown upon his head - rises to greet her
Says, “My pretty fair maid, good day.
“I am Meroniel, King in the Underworld
King of the land wherein the sun may never shine
And I have brought you here tonight for to grace my table
And with me you now shall dine.
“For I am an old man, older than the forest and my time is almost nigh
And in a year and a day they will lay me in the forest
In a year I am bound to die.”
“And what is that to me?” cries the maiden
(Steel in her eye and the golden in her hair)
“I need me a son,” laughs Meroniel
“And you shall be the mother of my heir.”
“Never!” cries the maid (steel in her hand now)
“Never with a stranger shall I lie
And, aye the minute that you try, you try to have your will of me
In that minute you shall die.”
“Spoken like a hero!” laughs Meroniel
“Spoken like the mother of the King that is to be
Ha, but the deed’s already done!” laughs Merioniel
Cast is the spell, and we shall see what we shall see
“The seed is growing yet in thee,” laughs Meroniel
“And in a little twelvemonth a mother you shall be. . .”
And at his words some darkling mist about her doth arise
And slow the crown-ed King begins to fade before her eyes
Then gone is the underground world of Meroniel
Bright is the sun in the welcoming sky
And in the meadow lies the maid, the dapple grazing by
“A dream! A dream!” so gladly she cries and smites the ground for glee
“A dream indeed,” the valley replies “And yet how real to thee!”
So mocking the air for her fairytale reverie
Laughing at where foolish fancy may roam
She walks the dapple down from the hill and brings him safe to home.
A year she passes, contented and fain to dwell in mortal realm
But soon the sun climbs crimson again behind the dark wych elm
And the very next morning her mother awakes
To the cry of a maiden so happy and wild
“Oh mother, mother, come and look upon your new grandchild!”
And seven knights on seven steeds appear upon the moor
And stately ride ‘til solemn they bide before the maiden’s door
“We have buried this morning our master Meroniel
And to this hearthside our blessings we bring!
We come to claim his only son who is our rightful king!”
No-One Writes A Blues Song Anymore
Feeling like I don’t know what to do feeling like I’ve been this way before
Need to sit and sing a blues or two or three or four
Cos troubles never come in ones or twos,
When it rains you know it’s gonna pour
Feeling like I need to sing some blues
But no-one writes a blues song anymore
What’s a girl to do, when she’s feeling sad and blue and lonely
Time was, some relief from all your pain and grief
Was only a blues song away but, hey,
Seems like all the old tunes done left town
Left those blues a-hanging round my door
Hello fellas, come on in, sit down
Cos no-one writes a blues song anymore
Same Old Song
Steel sky and an open road, I’m headin’ for the eastern light
Seein’ a friend from way back when
Gonna play some swing tonight
Soft light from your house is shinin’, spreadin’ round a warmin’ glow
I’m headin’ where I needn’t care
If I let a little feelin’ show
Chorus: Nowhere to go but home
Behind the wych elm, high on the moor appears the rising sun
And stepping by the stable door the dapple grey is gone
With a toss of his head as he crosses the meadow
Who in Creation could not love a horse?
The shining girl with the gold in her hair is riding the moors
And so she puts him into the trot; they ride to meet the day
Far from the Land of Whether-
Down hidden valleys of bracken and gorse
The shining girl with the gold in her hair is riding the moors
A blackbird’s cry then shatters the peace upon the crystal moor
And there before her rides a man where no man rode before
Saying “I am a knight of the Court of Meroniel
King of the land where the sun may not shine
And you must now to my master’s hall and with him you shall dine.”
“Ah,” says the maid,” “That never shall be, for you may mean me harm.”
“Ah,” says the knight, “we shall see what we see,” a-
And it swallowed up maiden and dapple and all
Until she rode on the horse’s back into the Elf-
Stricken with a dread, she looks about her
Spies an old man, grave and grey
A silver crown upon his head -
“I am Meroniel, King in the Underworld
King of the land wherein the sun may never shine
And I have brought you here tonight for to grace my table
And with me you now shall dine.
“For I am an old man, older than the forest and my time is almost nigh
And in a year and a day they will lay me in the forest
In a year I am bound to die.”
“And what is that to me?” cries the maiden
(Steel in her eye and the golden in her hair)
“I need me a son,” laughs Meroniel
“And you shall be the mother of my heir.”
“Never!” cries the maid (steel in her hand now)
“Never with a stranger shall I lie
And, aye the minute that you try, you try to have your will of me
In that minute you shall die.”
“Spoken like a hero!” laughs Meroniel
“Spoken like the mother of the King that is to be
Ha, but the deed’s already done!” laughs Merioniel
Cast is the spell, and we shall see what we shall see
“The seed is growing yet in thee,” laughs Meroniel
“And in a little twelvemonth a mother you shall be. . .”
And at his words some darkling mist about her doth arise
And slow the crown-
Then gone is the underground world of Meroniel
Bright is the sun in the welcoming sky
And in the meadow lies the maid, the dapple grazing by
“A dream! A dream!” so gladly she cries and smites the ground for glee
“A dream indeed,” the valley replies “And yet how real to thee!”
So mocking the air for her fairytale reverie
Laughing at where foolish fancy may roam
She walks the dapple down from the hill and brings him safe to home.
A year she passes, contented and fain to dwell in mortal realm
But soon the sun climbs crimson again behind the dark wych elm
And the very next morning her mother awakes
To the cry of a maiden so happy and wild
“Oh mother, mother, come and look upon your new grandchild!”
And seven knights on seven steeds appear upon the moor
And stately ride ‘til solemn they bide before the maiden’s door
“We have buried this morning our master Meroniel
And to this hearthside our blessings we bring!
We come to claim his only son who is our rightful king!”
No-
Feeling like I don’t know what to do feeling like I’ve been this way before
Need to sit and sing a blues or two or three or four
Cos troubles never come in ones or twos,
When it rains you know it’s gonna pour
Feeling like I need to sing some blues
But no-
What’s a girl to do, when she’s feeling sad and blue and lonely
Time was, some relief from all your pain and grief
Was only a blues song away but, hey,
Seems like all the old tunes done left town
Left those blues a-
Cos no-
Same Old Song
Steel sky and an open road, I’m headin’ for the eastern light
Seein’ a friend from way back when
Gonna play some swing tonight
Soft light from your house is shinin’, spreadin’ round a warmin’ glow
I’m headin’ where I needn’t care
If I let a little feelin’ show
Chorus: Nowhere to go but home
No-one to see but you
Nothing to sing but the same old song
To a tune we always knew
Good times, that don’t mean we’re always laughin’,
‘Cos happy don’t mean full of wine
Just playin’ slow and talkin’ low
And singin’ with a friend of mine
Good friends, we never have to try, never have to force a smile
This ain’t a song we like to play too strong
No, this one has different style
Chorus
Goodnight, see you in the mornin’, coffee in the dawnin’ light
Be dreamin’ soon of that last tune
You know I never felt a thing so right. . .
Good times, that don’t mean we’re always laughin’,
‘Cos happy don’t mean full of wine
Just playin’ slow and talkin’ low
And singin’ with a friend of mine
Chorus
. . .It’s still the same old story, a fight for love and glory,
A case of do or die
The world will always welcome lovers as time goes. . .
Nothing to sing but that same old song to a tune we always. . .
This is Radio 2, music through the night. . .