HALLOW'S EVE
As recorded by Lisa Theriot on "A Turning of Seasons," 2001.

On Hallow's Eve, on moonlit night,
On Samhain, when the veil is thin,
Between the worlds of dark and light,
Dare you let a stranger in?

Most folk beside their hearth will stay
The night when frost first chills the sod,
When spirits walk, as some will say,
An evil night to be abroad.

But I was sat beside the fire
With shadows dancing on the floor,
And as I watched the flames leap higher,
A knock came on my cottage door.

‘Who's there?’ I called with trembling voice
That did my fearful state betray.
I was resolved that, given choice,
Behind my oaken door I'd stay.

‘Don't be afraid; I mean no ill.’
A voice like honey filled my ears,
And just as if it bent my will,
I drew the bolt despite my fears.

There stood a man with raven hair,
As tall and straight as Gallows Oak.
His face held beauty and despair,
And with that same soft voice he spoke:

‘I walk this night with weary tread,
My hours but a precious few,
Among the unremembered dead
To seek the love I never knew.

'I prayed that Fate would help me find
A loving heart that would not fear,
And guide my steps to someone kind.
In all the world, it led me here.’

‘Don't be a fool!’ my reason quailed,
For some there are that call me wise,
And yet my foolish heart prevailed,
My wisdom lost in dark, sad eyes.

When blackest night gave way at last,
The gray cock crowed, and then the red.
‘The day has come; my time is past.
I must away!’ my lover said.

‘Oh no!’ I cried, ‘It cannot be!
My heart should burst from such a pain!
If day must part my love and me,
For mercy, will you come again?’

‘I know not if there be such power
To life again my soul to bind,
But here I pledge that hopeful hour
This earth to walk, my love to find.’

And as the dawn broke high above,
The coal-black cock crowed on the green.
Without a sound my phantom love
Was gone as if he'd never been.

I live now as I always have.
I tend the sick with healer's art,
But cannot find the balm or salve
To close the wound upon my heart.

Though I may no more see his face,
And may be damned if I believe,
No mortal man will e'er replace
My love that came on Hallow's Eve.

On Hallow's Eve, on moonlit night,
On Samhain, when the veil is thin,
Between the worlds of dark and light
I wait to let a stranger in.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yzkG9-cu-E