Faehound Lyrics - The Ballad of Tuiren

[redheart]

Come all ye youthful seekers hence
All maids who after love give chase
You'll find it not within the smile
Of partners merely fair of face

Run on instead until ye find
The one who proves their heart is fierce
Whose touch is kind yet bears the gaze
of one whose depths your soul shall pierce

Such was the tale of young Tuiren
The beauty of the clan Fionn
Whose hair was dark as clearest night
With eyes that sparkled like the dawn

Heed well the words that speak of she
This maid who fell for one untrue
And for her folly faced a trial
Scarce dreamed by mortals of this earth

Chase thy dreams on nimble feet
Give hunt and sing of running free
As hound or maid, it matters not
Trust in the heart that carries thee

Chase thy dreams on nimble feet
Give hunt while singing to the sky
As hound or maid, it matters not
So long as to thy love you fly

Young Tuiren loved a poet fair
Whose verse had swept her off her feet
She pledged her heart unto this man
"Your equal I shall never meet."

To man Ullan, he felt the same
"Pray tell me more of you," he said
And as the hours turned fast to weeks
He knew that they must soon be wed

Now Tuiren was aunt to the king
And Ullan boldly asked her hand
Which fierce king Fionn was glad to give
Believing him an honest man

And so the marriage came to pass
All at singing out the joy they felt
Save for Fergus who spoke the rites
and loved Tuiren in quiet guilt

Chase thy dreams on nimble feet
Give hunt and sing of running free
As hound or maid, it matters not
Trust in the heart that carries thee

Chase thy dreams on nimble feet
Give hunt while singing to the sky
As hound or maid, it matters not
So long as to thy love you fly

Within the year the news was shared
The news that brought the clan great joy
That fair Tuiren and her Ulann
Would give birth to a healthy boy

But news that travels cross the wilds
Of mortal man shall soon extend
And reach those deep in faery land
Who've often claimed the hearts of men

And one such lady of the Sidhe
Who long had known the fair Ulann
Burned wild with rage to hear her love
Had ta'en a wife of mortal stand

Garbed as a royal messenger
The Bhean sidhe called upon Tuiren
"Your husband needs you at his side
Oh lady, we must go at once."

Chase thy dreams on nimble feet
Give hunt and sing of running free
As hound or maid, it matters not
Trust in the heart that carries thee

Chase thy dreams on nimble feet
Give hunt while singing to the sky
As hound or maid, it matters not
So long as to thy love you fly

Tuiren ran swift to help her love
But once beyond the castle's bounds
The jealous faery cast a spell
And changed her form into a hound

The faery led her, great with child,
a rope placed round her dark, furred head
To the home of Fergus Fionnlath
Who hated beasts and wished them dead

Yet e'en as Fergus struck Tuiren
Thinking her but a hated hound
She laid her face upon his chest
And took the blows without a sound

Her eyes met his and showed him all
The depths of pain she held within
And Fergus, moved by this display
Swore ne'er to strike a hound again

Chase thy dreams on nimble feet
Give hunt and sing of running free
As hound or maid, it matters not
Trust in the heart that carries thee

Chase thy dreams on nimble feet
Give hunt while singing to the sky
As hound or maid, it matters not
So long as to thy love you fly

In time Tuiren gave birth to twins
The young boys born as puppies wild
At Fergus' side they ran the woods
As loved as any human child

And Tuiren true to her kind heart
Brought joy to Fergus hence unknown
He could not bear from her to part
And loved her as one of his own

Yet came the day when young Ulann
Returned to find his wife was gone
And seeking truth from witnesses
Learned all, and grieving, sought Fionn

Fionn enraged swore to Ulann
"Leave now and be gone from my sight!
Do what you must to save Tuiren
Or else I'll have your head this night."

Chase thy dreams on nimble feet
Give hunt and sing of running free
As hound or maid, it matters not
Trust in the heart that carries thee

Chase thy dreams on nimble feet
Give hunt while singing to the sky
As hound or maid, it matters not
So long as to thy love you fly

Ulann sought out his faery love
And begged her, "I must have my wife!"
"You'll want her not, oh foolish man,
Unless a hound you'll wed for life."

"Oh change her back, my lover fair.
If only for my safety's sake"
The faery smiled, "Of course my love,
But first a promise you must make."

"All those I've changed within my power
Shall have the body of their birth
But only if you swear that I
Am your sole lover on this earth."

Ulann who wished to save his skin
Agreed with with haste to the faery's plan
The faery smiled, "It is done."
And the poet returned to his clan.

Chase thy dreams on nimble feet
Give hunt and sing of running free
As hound or maid, it matters not
Trust in the heart that carries thee

Chase thy dreams on nimble feet
Give hunt while singing to the sky
As hound or maid, it matters not
So long as to thy love you fly

Ulann returned to find Tuiren
Human arms circled round her sons
Who stayed as hounds, as they were born,
The faery yet had won

She raised her head to see Ulann
The eyes once kind now full of hate
"Begone from me, you wicked fool
I still bear hunter in my frame."

Ulann knew then Tuiren spoke true
And saw the beast within the maid
Though returned to her human form
The lady ne'er would be the same

The poet fled to faery land
And Tuiren turned to face the man
Who'd knew her now in her true form
A woman touched by faery hand

Chase thy dreams on nimble feet
Give hunt and sing of running free
As hound or maid, it matters not
Trust in the heart that carries thee

Chase thy dreams on nimble feet
Give hunt while singing to the sky
As hound or maid, it matters not
So long as to thy love you fly

"I cannot stay here, Fergus love
But know my gratitude is yours.
I cannot stay within a home
I cannot stay behind closed doors"

"I must be free to raise my sons
I must be free these woods to roam
But I shall see you again in time
In gladness for what was our home

I cannot trust in another's love
I will not tie my fate to thine
The gaze that pierces is my own
The heart that races fast is mine"

And so she left with sons behind
The woman neither man nor hound
To seek the love of a life well lived
To seek the joy of answers found

Chase thy dreams on nimble feet
Give hunt and sing of running free
As hound or maid, it matters not
Trust in the heart that carries thee

Chase thy dreams on nimble feet
Give hunt while singing to the sky
As hound or maid, it matters not
So long as to thy love you fly

 

Comments

[itenumuti]

This is unbelievably amazing and epic in the original sense of the word. I cannot wait to hear it! :D :D :D

[meirya]

Ooooh.

(This is gonna be something of a vocal marathon to record, isn't it?)

Very saga/ballad/story. I am in Emky's boat here, I am eager to hear the music! I could almost hear music as I read.