[Intro: Soft lute and harp melody] [Verse 1] Are you going to the May-Day fire? (Ash, thorn, birch and oak) Remember me to the one who dwells there, For once he was a true love of mine. [Verse 2] Tell him to make me a cambric shirt, (Ash, thorn, birch and oak) Without no seams nor needle work, Then he shall be a true love of mine. [Verse 3] Tell him to wash it in morning dew, (Ash, thorn, birch and oak) Where never spring water nor rain ever fell, Then he shall be a true love of mine. [Verse 4] Tell him to leap through the twin-bonfires high, (Ash, thorn, birch and oak) To burn out the winter and winter’s long lie, Then he shall be a true love of mine. [Bridge: Melancholic lute solo] [Verse 5] The blossom is white on the crooked old thorn, (Ash, thorn, birch and oak) But rust in the heart is a burden of iron, Long for the love that was never yet born. [Verse 6] Are you going where Beltane burns bright? (Ash, thorn, birch and oak) Where shadows of May-time are lost in the light, For once he was a true love of mine. [Verse 7] Are you going to the hollow hill? (Ash, thorn, birch and oak) Where the Good People dance, and the old gods bide, For once he was a true love of mine. [Verse 8] Tell him to weave me a kirtle of mist, (Ash, thorn, birch and oak) Stitched with a promise that cannot be kissed, Then he shall be a true love of mine. [Verse 9] Tell him to gather the Midsummer dew, (Ash, thorn, birch and oak) From the stone where the Crom Cruach grew, Then he shall be a true love of mine. [Verse 10] Tell him to leap through the twin-bonfires high, (Ash, thorn, birch and oak) Before the Fey claim him beneath the May sky, Then he shall be a true love of mine. [Bridge: Eerie, fading harp notes, a whisper in the wind] [Verse 11] The blossom is white on the crooked old thorn, (Ash, thorn, birch and oak) But the old blood wakes when the veil is torn, Long for the love that was never yet born. [Verse 12] The Lily shall dance with the Iris of gold, (Ash, thorn, birch and oak) To the tune of a lyre, while secrets unfold, Then he shall be a true love of mine. [Verse 13] Are you going to May-Day fire? (Ash, thorn, birch and oak) Beware of the shadow, for there's no return, For once he was a true love of mine. [Outro: Slow lute fade out, distant, low drumming] [End]
