Nottingham’s asleep. Merry Men, keep low. Mind the watch. No lantern. No road. And do try not to get caught. John called, “Wrong turn!” from somewhere in the trees I said, “Only if they follow.” Marian said, “Obviously.” We had thirty borrowed horses and twenty-seven sound By dawn their precious ledgers would be ash beneath this town At the ford stood a taxman with his hand upon the till Marian asked about the weather while I took back every shill Hooves off the bridge Lanterns cut left One hand raised and the crew held their breath Wait for the horn Wait for the gap Then all at once— Gone like that Run, my love, run Let them wake to the dust By the time they draw their arrows there’ll be nothing left of us The rich sleep heavy and the poor wake fast Kiss me once for the gallows then ride like hell past Friar met us by the bridge with his coat pulled up for rain said “three farms past the east gate lost their crops again” So we split the sheriff’s silver by the acre, by the name Bread for every table Coin for every claim John threw back the goblets said “too loud for the road” Kept the coin and burned the ledgers then we vanished through the smoke Hooves hit the bridge Lanterns burned red One hand raised and the crew held their breath Wait for the turn Wait for the track Then all at once— Gone like that Run, my love, run Let them wake to the dust By the time they draw their arrows there’ll be nothing left of us The rich sleep heavy and the poor wake fast Kiss me once for the gallows then ride like hell past We were clear of the smoke when the horns found the road John said, “Keep riding.” I said, “Let them come close.” The carts had the bread and the coin tucked low Marian said, “Robin!” I said, “I know…” So I rode where the torchlight could catch on my shoulder let the sheriff see the claret flashing red from my coat While the carts slipped low with the bread and the silver I drew every rider to the wrong side of the road There were hooves in the water and a horn at the marker There was rain on the leather and a curse in the dark I cut hard left where the blackthorn thickens gave one sharp whistle and took the turn hard— Run, my love, run Let them wake to the dust By the time they draw their arrows there’ll be nothing left of us Let the bells ring louder Let the whole world ask How a thief with nothing stole everything back The rich sleep heavy and the poor wake fast Kiss me once for the gallows then ride like hell past Next time, darling... We’ll give them a head start.
