[Verse 1] They came for her at sunup, They struck her mother down, They broke her door and dragged her By the hair across the town. Her hair was long and white as frost, She stumbled, begged him, “Please,” But the big man only pulled her harder, Dragging her when she fell to her knees. [Verse 2] He read out from a paper All the charges cast her way: The crops that failed, the sickness, All of it her foul play, Then read the names of all the neighbors Who’d accused her, one by one, And when she tried to speak, he kicked her Till the reading there was done. [Chorus 1] “Witch!” they cried. “Witch!” And curses at her flew, It’s easier to blame a girl Than face what’s really true. [Verse 3] She saw the pyre from down the road, The kindling stacked and dry, The town already gathered there To watch a witch-girl die. They hauled her up and tied her fast Against the standing post, And the only sound left in the square Was her sobbing, almost lost. [Verse 4] Two men approached with torches, And she lifted up her head, She did not weep, she did not beg, She watched them come instead. The flame was at the kindling When a cold wind crossed the square, And snuffed the torches both at once, And left the men standing there. [Chorus 2] “Kill her now!” a voice rang out, “Before she does more harm!” Then he clutched his throat, and his head spun round Like a weathervane in a storm. [Verse 5] Two ran in with pitchforks raised, But both men tripped and fell, And the tines they’d meant for the witch-girl Ran them through too well. Some turned to run; their legs gave out, Crushed flat as by a hand; Some rushed the pyre and burst in flame And fell where they would stand. [Chorus 3] Then the square was still, so still, Not a living soul was there But a girl with hair as white as frost, And a woman crossing the square. [Verse 6] The woman stooped and took an ax From a dead man’s open hand, She climbed the pyre and raised it high, And the girl shrank where she was tied And could not understand. [Chorus 4] “Who are you?” the girl asked, And the ax came swinging down, It cut the rope that bound her, And the rope fell to the ground. [Spoken Outro] “I am The Witch,” the woman said.
