Faerie Queen

One wintry night a wondrous sight I met while riding back

Returning from a ceili, with me fiddle in me pack

My horse, he stopped quite suddenly, his ears began to twitch

He bucked and threw me pack and all into a nearby ditch

I tried to rise, but then my eyes alighted on a scene

Of faerie creatures dancing by, cavorting 'round their Queen

She'd been out hunting, it was plain, delighted by her prize

And though he was in thrall to her, I knew his gentle eyes

I stood again and shouted when they drew abreast of me,

"I challenge you, for you have caught my husband-soon-to-be!"

They stopped and she stared down at me, the Queen astride her steed,

"I see you have the courage, dear, but skill is what you need!"

Be it carved from out the finest wood

And strung with silver string

Only mortal trust or faerie dust

Can make a fiddle sing!

"We each shall play and I will say which fiddle is played best,

And should you win this mortal toy I'll free, without protest."

They handed her a violin, as black as she was fey

She placed a bow upon the strings and then began to play

[Faerie Queen's solo]

My spirit low I raised my bow, I knew not where to start

I looked within my lover's eyes and then within my heart

My head was filled with mortal dreams, of love beneath the moon

Of sun and rain and season's change, and so began my tune

[Fiddler Girl's solo]

I raised my head my arms like lead my heart ablaze once more

The Faerie Queen looked down at me, shaken to the core

"I've played for many centuries, yet, by the stars above,

You've taught me skill is not enough. It can't compare to love."

Be it carved from out the finest wood

And strung with silver string

Only mortal trust or faerie dust

Can make a fiddle sing!