THE MISTLETOE BOUGH



(G) C G C / F G7 C / C G C / F G7 C



The mistletoe hung in the castle hall;

The holly branch shone on the old oak wall.

The Baron's retainers were blithe and gay,

Keeping the Christmas holiday.



The Baron beheld with a father's pride

His beautiful child, Lord Lovell's bride.

And she, with her bright eyes seemed to be

The star of that goodly company.



F G7 C



Oh, the mistletoe bough.



"I'm weary of dancing, now," she cried;

"Here, tarry a moment, I'll hide, I'll hide,

And, Lovell, be sure you're the first to trace

The clue to my secret hiding place."



Away she ran, and her friends began

Each tower to search and each nook to scan.

And young Lovell cried, "Oh, where do you hide?

I'm lonesome without you, my own fair bride."



Oh, the mistletoe bough.



They sought her that night, they sought her next day,

They sought her in vain when a week passed away.

In the highest, the lowest, the loneliest spot,

Young Lovell sought wildly, but found her not.



The years passed by and their brief at last

Was told as a sorrowful tale long past.

When Lovell appeared, all the children cried,

"See the old man weeps for his fairy bride."

Oh, the mistletoe bough.



At length, an old chest that had long laid hid

Was found in the castle; they raised the lid.

A skeleton form lay mouldering there

In the bridal wreath of that lady fair.



How sad the day when in sportive jest

She hid from her lord in the old oak chest,

It closed with a spring and a dreadful doom,

And the bride lay clasped in a living tomb.



Oh, the mistletoe bough.



Published in "Ozark Folksongs" by Randolph and other folk music

collections. It is credited to Thomas Haynes Bayley, who also

wrote "Long Long Ago," and dates back to the early 19th century.



Stately, delicate, and positively creepy.

Recorded by Joan Sprung on "Pictures To My Mind," FSI-73, 1980

@seasonal @death

filename[ MISTLETO

play.exe MISTLETO

DC

===DOCUMENT BOUNDARY