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The Squire's Daughter

[trad. / Fay Hield arr. The Witches of Elswick]

The Witches of Elswick sang The Squire's Daughter in 2005 on their second and last album, Hell's Belles. They commented in their liner notes:

This song was inspired by the traditional story of Mad Annie of Goathland as told in Michael Wray's book The Witches of North Yorkshire. The accompaniment hit Becky as a flash of inspiration in the car one day. She was dum dum da diddling all the way from Newcastle to Carlisle.

Lyrics

The Witches of Elswick sing The Squire's Daughter

In Goathland town in North Yorkshire
There lived a righteous and noble squire.
His daughter loved a labouring boy
Which left his poor heart in need of joy.

In his grand hall he held a ball,
Invited gentlemen(?) and nobles all.
His daughter showed such little interest
But she loved her labouring boy the best.

“I must endeavour to find a way
To stop my daughter from going astray.“
So in the death hour of the night
Unto Mad Annie's he made his flight.

Three times he's knocked on the witch's door.
“Come in, come in,” the old woman did roar,
“I have the potion that you desire,”
And she gave her bottle unto the squire.

His daughter drank from the poisoned(?) wine,
And straight to bed she did incline.
He could not wake her the whole day long;
He sent for doctors, he could do no more.

Then he spread past, they rang the bell,
The squire's daughter, he sent her a spell,
Then he spread more to the labouring boy
Who went to the wiseman for to employ.

“Wiseman, oh wiseman, come tell me please
How can I cure her of this sleeping disease?”
“The only thing that will be your good
Get her holy water with witch's blood.”

The clock struck twelve in the dead of night,
All on the field ran a hare snow white.
He raised his gun, his shot was good,
Smeared o'er the grass was the witch's blood.

“That's why (...),” he quickly said
And crept around this fair young maid.
He gave her water all mixed with blood
And from her sleep woke his own true love.

From her father's hall this couple sped
And in the City of York will wed.
So fathers, come take a warning from me:
Never fix young girls, just let them be.

Note

There is quite a lot of the song that I could not understand and it seems to me that I missed the whole point of the story... I've just ordered Michael Wray's book and hope that it will help.