I was the madcap Queen of May
Daughter of the wild, wild rose,
I was the hare, the fallow deer
Upon the heath, the flight of crows.
I was the child of summer’s day
I was the child of blackthorn spring
I was the child of autumn moon
I was the child of Winter King.
And you gave me a pocketful, a pocketful, a pocketful
A pocketful of promises, a crown of summer rose
And you gave me a pocketful, a pocketful, a pocketful
And you gave me a pocketful, a pocketful of crows
You were the son of noblemen
Your line, my love, was old and proud
You wore the crest of your father’s kin
You had a name, and you spoke it loud.
Mine was the colour of the dawn
Mine was the sound of falling snow
Mine was the dance of circling stars
A name that you could never know.
And you gave me a pocketful, a pocketful, a pocketful
A pocketful of promises, a crown of summer rose
And you gave me a pocketful, a pocketful, a pocketful
And you gave me a pocketful, a pocketful of crows.
And so you named and bound me fast
In love, you said, love that would last
As long as you drew breath, you said
A love as strong as Death, you said.
Your love it lasted till the rose
Had dropped its petals, one-by-one.
It lasted with the cuckoo’s song
It lasted almost summerlong.
And you gave me a pocketful, a pocketful, a pocketful
A pocketful of promises, a crown of summer rose
And you gave me a pocketful, a pocketful, a pocketful
And you gave me a pocketful, a pocketful of crows.
And then you found another girl
With hair like silk and skin like pearl
You gave her peaches, ripe and sweet
You laid your fortune at her feet.
And so I said: “Take back my name
Let me be wild and free once more.”
But I could not give back my name
Until the world was free of yours.
And so I took a pocketful, a pocketful, a pocketful
A pocketful of vengeance, a crown of thorn and rose
And I gave you a pocketful, a pocketful, a pocketful
And I gave you a pocketful, a pocketful of crows.
And then I danced upon the green
Around the winter hawthorn tree
And I became the Carrion Queen
Alive, and merciless, and free
And then I went into the sky
And in a snowy owl, I flew
And ate the hearts of faithless men
Of faithless men, my love, like you.
And I gave you a pocketful, a pocketful, a pocketful
And I gave you a pocketful, a pocketful of crows
And I gave you a pocketful, a pocketful, a pocketful
And I gave you a pocketful, a pocketful of crows.