“The Rose and the Raven”

Verse I

Beneath the sky of ancient gray,

Where winds through blossoms sigh,

A maiden fair with eyes of bay

Did weave her dreams nearby.

But from the wood a raven flew,

A sign of doom and woe,

And the rose within her bosom

Turned to sorrow’s cruelest show.

Chorus

Oh, the rose and the raven,

A dance of light and mourning.

Love was ever so eternal—

As brief as its first dawning.

Verse II

A young knight rode with heart aflame,

Chasing echoes of her song,

But mists and winters sealed his name

In silence cold and long.

No crown nor shining glory,

No bells to mark return,

Only shadows and a story

Where the soul must ever yearn.

Chorus

Oh, the rose and the raven,

A dance of light and mourning.

Love was ever so eternal—

As brief as its first dawning.

Bridge

They say when falls the silver moon,

The raven guards her bloom,

And whispers drift upon the wind—

An ancient love in gloom.

Final (a cappella or with lute)

Oh, the rose and the raven,

A fate forever twined.

Beneath the oak, their shadows still

In sorrow’s waltz aligned.