A young man walked through the forest
with his quiver and hunting bow
He heard a young man singing
and followed the sound below
There he found the young man,
who lives in the willow
He called to him as he listened
from a ring of toadstools red
‘Come with me, my young one,
come from thy willow bed’
He looked at him serenely
and only shook his head.
‘See me now, a ray of light in the moondance
See me now, I cannot leave this place
Hear me now, a strain of song in the forest
Don’t ask me, to follow where you lead’
A young man walked through the forest
with a flower and coat of green
His love had hair like moonlit silk,
his eyes an emerald gleam
He wrapped himself in beauty,
so young and so serene
He stood there under the willow
and he gave him the yellow bloom
‘My heart is yours, it beats for you,
I’ll take you from your doom’
But the youth, with eyes like emerald,
said, ‘I cannot be tamed’
‘See me now, a ray of light in the moondance
See me now, I cannot leave this place
Hear me now, a strain of song in the forest
Don’t ask me, to follow where you lead’
A young man walked through the forest
with an axe sharp as a knife
‘I’ll take you from this forest home,
and bind you for my life
With you, I’ll build my kingdom,
with you, I’ll make you mine’
But the youth, though broken, begged him,
‘Please, don’t take my soul’
Yet the prince, with heart so cold,
said, ‘You belong to me whole.’
He struck the roots, and with a roar,
he felled the tree to show.
‘See me now, a ray of light in the moondance
See me now, I cannot leave this place
Hear me now, a strain of song in the forest
Don’t ask me, to follow where you lead’
He led him from the ruins,
and still the youth would plead
But as he walked, his heart ached deep,
his future torn, unseen
He faded like a flower,
that blooms but once and then is gone
For he could not escape the chains,
of a love that was never meant to be.
