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Lady Isabel and the Elfin Knight

from Crossroads of Galahad by Austin Moffa

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about

Another ballad I came to by way of Lomax's book, and another case of this being a version I put together by combining different versions I found. My only major change/contribution, apart from a few words here and there for better rhyming, is the change to the ending. In the original, Isabel returns to her parent's estate and I found that a bit antithetical to the rest of the song - so I end by sending her out into the world to forge her own path.

lyrics

There was a knight from London town
Sir William was his name
He sailed across the raging sea
For Isabel he came

come give to me your father's gold
and your mother's fee
and two of the best horses from
your father's thirty-three

she mounted on a milk-white steed
and he a dappled grey
they rode till they had found the sea
three hours before the day

"Alight, alight, dear Isabel",
"Alight, alight," said he,
For six young maids I've drowned before
the seventh you shall be"

"Now take off your silken dress,
and hand it here to me,
for it's much too fine a gown you wear
to let it rot at sea"

"I will take off my silken dress,
but you must turn to face the trees,
for a man so false and cruel and you
shall not cast eyes on me"

So the knight he turned himself around
and faced a willow tree
when she caught him round his middle so small
and pushed him in the sea

at times he rose, at times he sank
but when he rose said he,
"Give to me your hand, my dear
and my loving bride you'll be"

"Lie there, lie there, you false-hearted man
you lie there instead of me,
for you may have drowned six other maids,
but the seventh has drowned thee"

And away she rode on her milk-white steed
and lead the dappled grey
and with father's gold and mother's fee,
she went to make her way

credits

from Crossroads of Galahad, released May 3, 2021
Guitar and Vocals - Austin Moffa
Traditional

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Austin Moffa Fairfax, Virginia

Austin Moffa is a musician based out of Fairfax, VA. He has previously released 10 industrial/ambient albums under the pseudonym "ROZKOL". Moffa was born and grew up in a small Pennsylvanian town along the Allegheny Mountain Range.

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