Corsair ballad verses (starts the book)
O curse the name Mad Eyes,
Say woe to the day
When he tried to steal
Tears of all Oceans away.
All corsairs and searats
Whose messmates lie dead,
Saw blood and hot flame
Turn the seas flowing red.
Throug northcoast lies far
And the ocean is wide,
Run from the green arrows
Of vengeance, and hide.
For the price of six tears
through the dreams of us all,
Walks the fear of a Warrior
From the place called Redwall.
Now the life of our Brethren
Who followed the sea,
Will ne’er be the same
For such rovers as we.
‘Twas the greed of a tyrant
That brought us to shame,
Six tears for a crown-
Curse the Emperor’s name!
**********
Sung by Piknim and Craklyn (p. 31)
“As I strode out gaily, one morning in spring,
I spied a fair mousemaid, who happily did sing,
She sang just as sweetly as a lark’s rising call,
For she wore a green habit, and she came from Redwall.”
“I walked alongside her, and bade her good morn,
And her smile was as pretty as rosebuds at dawn,
She captured my heart, and she held it in thrall,
For she wore a green habit, and she came from Redwall.”
“I said, ‘Lovely mousemaid, where do you go to?’
‘To Mossflower Wood, sir, for flowers of blue,
To decorate my bonnet, at the feast in Great Hall,”
For she wore a green habit, and she came from Redwall.”
“To the woodlands we went, and ‘twas there in a glade,
I gathered wild bluebells for my young mousemaid,
Then I walker her back home, lest she stumble or fall,
For she wore a green habit, and she came from Redwall.”
“ ‘Pray sir,’ said the mousemaid, ‘be my gallant guest,’
O how happy was I to take up her request,
For I never will leave that old Abbey at all,
Now we both wear green habits, and we live at Redwall!”
**********
Said by Fermald, as told by Durral (p. 43)
“Dead and gone, no, gone to be dead,
Following the crack that runs through his head.
From beyond the sunset, they will appear,
Tell them, the weasel was never here.
Remember my words and use them someday,
To keep the wrath of Mad Eyes away!”
**********
Said by Grath (p. 52-53)
“Run from me, hide from me,
Still my shafts will find you.
All you vermin of the sea,
I must bring swift death to.
Lutra’s Holt has not yet gone,
By my bow, I swear it so,
I alone will carry on,
Wreaking vengeance where I go.
Run from me, hide from me,
Hear my longbow singing,
Grath of Lutra’s family,
Sleep to you is bringing.”
**********
Written by Fermald the Ancient (p. 71-73)
Unusual it is to call a vermin friend, but this weasel Graylunk,
a poor lonely creature whose mind was sore troubled by his past, I call
him friend. But why? Have not the vermin, more so those who
come from the seas, always the foebeast? I call Graylunk friend because
he called me friend. Creatures below stairs did not understand him,
they grew weary of his constant weeping. But I knew by the deep wound
in his head that he could not help behaving in the way that he did.
Ah, cruel wound! to cut short the seasons of one still young.
Death is no stranger to me, I could see its mark upon Graylunk
and I did all in my power to make his last days comfortable. He told
me of many things; together we sat in this dusty attic, I listened to his
words and in my mind I was transported, far over the seas to where
there is no winter. In my imagination I saw the surf booming against
the warm coast of Samptera and learned of the Emperor Mad Eyes. My
friend had led a wicked life, but in his final days he repented of all
evil. Though I tried to set hi mind at ease, he was troubled, frightened
of the vengeance that would stretch across the ocean to claim him.
Graylunk told me a secret and begged me to speak of it to no living creature.
One morning I awoke and he was gone, fled from this Abbey to
die alone someplace where he would not bring evil upon me, his friend.
One day, if I still live, I will stand before those who follow him from
afar and I will do as my friend told me, I will deny that ever I knew of
him. I will say Graylunk was never within the walls of this Abbey.
In this way I will try to keep Redwall safe for it is my home.
As for the secret imparted to me, I will keep my promise and
never speek of it to any living creature. I will not speak, but I
will write, lest the Tears of all Oceans remain forever lost. Someday
they may be needed for a great purpose. Graylunk left the Tears with
me, a final gift to his only friend. When I am gone the only one
to possess them will be the creature with the wit and wisdom to find them.
The Tears would only bring grief and death to a beast with little sense.
I have spoken in my dreams to the spirit who long ago founded Redwall,
Martin the Warrior of old, and I know what I do now is right.
To the goodbeast whose name I do not know, nor ever shall, I
say this. Seek and find the Tears of all Oceans, be not blinded by
their beauty, use them wisely.
Look not up, nor to the four main posts,
But where our paws do tread, the dead oak joints.
There wrought by mother nature ‘neath the main
Lies that which holds the beatuy, or the bane.
**********
Chanted by Ublaz (p. 83)
“Golden guardian of my wealth,
Hear me now, be still,
Deathly fang and coiling stealth,
Bend unto my will.”
**********
Traditional Corsair challenge sung by Romsca (p. 87)
“I’m the babe of a bloodripper,
Born in the teeth of a gale,
I’m the one who wields the sword,
An’ makes the foebeast wail.
I’m as sharp as the reef rock,
I carry death in me paw,
Go where I like, slay who I will,
That’s the corsair’s law!
Blood’s me favorite color,
I’m swifter’n lightnin’ aye,
Stand out me way, stand out I say,
Step aside now, or die!
‘Cos I’m the spawn o’ nightstorm,
An’ death sails in me wake,
I sheath me blade in innards,
An’ what I want, I take!
Come one, come all, I’m waitin’,
I’ll flay yer carcass bare,
So everyplace I go they’ll say,
‘Ahoy, you bold corsaaaaaaiiiiiirrrrr!’ ”
**********
Sung by Curlo (p. 90)
“Guosim! Gousim!
Sail ‘im dip ‘im, douse ‘im.
If’n you see a shrew in river or stream,
Who can jump like a trout an’ swim like a bream,
Fight like a pike an’ sing like a lark,
An’ paddle a boat from dawn ‘til dark...
Yer lookin’ at a Gousim!
O Gousim! Gousim!
Sail ‘im, dip ‘im, douse ‘im.
If’n you see a shrew who c’n cook up a stew,
Brew dark beer, an’ bake bread too,
An’ bend ‘is back an’ pull an oar,
Row all day an’ shout for more...
Yer lookin’ at a Gousim!
Sail ‘im, dip ‘im, douse ‘im.
Not an otter or a waterdog,
No nor a spiky ole ‘edge’og,
Even a warty toad or frog,
So it’s three cheers for our Log a Loooooooooog!
We’re Gousim Gousim Gousim!’
**********
Second poem to find the second pearl (p. 100)
For you my old friend higgle,
I shed a single tear,
The kindesses oft showed me,
Your food and smiling cheer.
Go, find my gift, good Friar,
This tear is given free,
Not hid away in secret,
But there for all to see!
**********
Sung by the Gousim (p. 123-124)
“Hey la ho, hey la ho,
Our hearts go with you where you go,
Hey la hey, hey la hey,
Maybe we’ll meet again someday.
Like a feather on the breeze,
Blown to wander restlessly,
Out upon the open seas,
Travel speedily and free.
But as the earth turns,
And our fire burns,
And the moss grows on the lee,
When the long day ends,
Think of old friends,
In whatever place you be.
Hey la ho, hey la ho,
Fortune follow you were e’er you go,
Hey la hey, hey la hey,
May sunlight warm your back upon the way.”
**********
Third poem for third pearl (or second pearl if you don’t count the one that came with the shell) (p. 127-128)
I shed my second tear, into the cup of cheer,
But look not into any cup, the answer’s written here!
My first is in blood and also in battle,
My second in acorn, oak, and apple,
My third and fourth are both the same,
In the center of sorrow and twice in refrain,
My fifth starts eternity ending here,
My last is the first of last...Oh dear!
If I told you the answer then you would know,
‘Twas made in the winter of deepest snow.
**********
Sung by Piknim and Craklyn (p. 128-129)
“If string cannot sing then answer this riddle,
What sings as sweet as the strings of a fiddle,
The fiddlestring sings, but it never can throw
An arrow so far as the string of a bow,
But a bow plays a fiddle and I’ll marry thee,
If you bring a bright bow of ribbon to me!”
**********
Forth poem for forth pearl (p. 138)
“My sad third tear is shed, for one who now lies dead,
A friendly foe it was to me, a cunning old adversary.
Now heed the clues and read my rhyme,
Patience pays but once this time.
Inside the outer walls I lie,
Without me you would surely die.
I am not earth nor am I stone,
No shape at all to call my own,
Not bird or beast or flow’r or tree,
Yet captives live within me free!”
**********
Otter poem as told by Glenner (p. 152)
“Frisk in the water if you wish,
But stay cler of the big ole fish,
‘Specially those with the fin like a sail.
They’re the rogues who’ll take yer tail,
So stay in the shallows an’ bright sunlight,
An’ y’ll live to sleep round the fire at night!”
**********
Sung by Piknim and Craklyn (p. 170-171)
“Pick me flowers for Redwall,
To grace the tables of Great Hall,
Go out upon the grassy ground,
Where flowers bloom all round.
Periwinke primrose pimpernel,
Buttercup burnet and bluebell,
Arrowhead anemone asphodel,
Tansy’s a flower as well!
Campion cowslip columbine,
Speedwell spurge and snowdrop fine,
Toadflax thrift and also thyme,
But pretty Tansy’s mine!
Foxglove figwort feverfew,
Harebell hemlock hawkweed too,
Forget-me-nots with petals blue,
Sweet Tansy, I’ll pick you!”
**********
Fifth poem for fifth pearl (p. 200)
My forth tear I shed,
For the Abbey Redwall,
Laid where it never
Should hatch or fall.
Below the mouth of a mouse looking south,
All in a deserted dwelling.
So sit o’er the maidenhair, gaze up north,
And solve what my next words are telling.
Put a home with our Abbey Warrior,
North East South at the start,
Then to complete this riddle,
Add the last thing in ‘my heart’.
**********
Poem recited by the Friar (p. 200-201)
“When the damson tree’s crowned white,
And wild pear blooms also,
I thank the season for this sight,
That lets good creatures know
Summer is come to shed its gold,
Warm days grow long as holm oak flow’rs,
The bees hum songs they learned of old,
To shorten night’s long hours.
For spring is fled and summer’s come,
Gather its blossoms and bring me some.”
**********
Sung by Guja (p. 206-207)
“Would yer plunder from yer mother?
Yes I would, yes I would,
For my mother always said I was no good.
I’m a searat bred an’ born,
An I’m sailin’ in the morn,
Stan’ aside, me lucky buckoes, let me go!
Cut me teeth upon a cutlass
Yes I did, yes I did,
An’ me pore ole daddy ran away an’ hid,
Sayin’, ‘That’s no child o’ mine,
Let ‘im sail across the brine,
Stan’ aside now for the vermin, let ‘im go!’
If there’s plunder in the offin’
That’s fer me, that’s fer me,
An’ I never charge, I’ll kill you all fer free.
Give me lots o’ lovely loot,
An’ a cask o’ grog ter bot,
Up the anchor, loose the sails an’ let me go!”
**********
Guosim boatnaming poem (p. 212)
“Whether she sails on river or sea,
May the wind be always behind ‘er,
May she always be welcomed by friends like me,
May the foebeast never find ‘er.
Let ‘er crew hold the lives of each other dear,
And avoid every sharp rock or reef,
Good seasons and fates now listen and ‘ear,
Keep this gallant Freebeast from all grief!”
**********
Sung by Clecky (p. 231-232)
“Of all the creatures in the land,
The sea or in the air,
None of ‘em is half so grand,
Or noble as a hare.
A hare can jump, a hare can run,
He don’t live down a hole,
In fact a hare’s a lot more fun
Then almost any mole.
A hare’s courageous and so brave,
Good-mannered and quite courtly,
Sometimes he’s serious and grave,
But never fat, just portly.
He never puts a footpaw wrong,
His disposition’s sunny,
With ears so elegant and long,
Not stubby like a bunny.
So sing his praises everywhere,
This creature bold, with charm to spare,
There’s one thing better than a hare,
Is two hares, that’s a pair!”
**********
Sung by Plogg (p. 236)
“Oh, I’m ‘appy as the day is long,
I’m cheery, merry, bright,
From early morn I sings me song,
Until last thing at night.
Chop off me paws, slice off me tail,
An’ my pore neck start wringin’,
You’ll never ‘ear me cry or wail,
Because I’ll still be singin’!
Ooooo, flugga dugga dugga chugchugchug,
With a smile like a duck upon me mug!”
**********
Sung by an unknown mousemaid (p. 254)
“High o’er the hills, far o’er the seas,
Fly with the small birds, follow the breeze,
Go with your heart, where you would roam,
Back to the rose-colored stones you call home,
Where faded summers will echo again,
Brown autumn trees, or the spring’s gentle rain.
Shadows are falling ‘cross woodlands you know,
Rest, weary one, in the warm firelight glow.”
**********
Sung by Craklyn (p. 266)
“Fare you well upon your journey,
To the bright lands far away,
Where beside the peaceful rivers,
You may linger any day.
In the forests warm at noontide,
See the flowers bloom in the glades,
Meet the friends who’ve gone before you,
To the calm of quiet shades.
There you’ll wait, O my beloved,
Never knowing want or care,
And when I have seen my seasons,
We will walk together there.”
**********
Sixth poem for Sixth tear (p. 269)
There is a warrior,
Where is a sword?
Peace did he bring,
The fighting Lord.
Shed for him is my fifth tear.
Find it in the title here,
Written in but a single word,
An eye is an eye, until it is heard.”
**********
Sung by Wullger (p.274)
“There was an otter by a stream,
Come ringle dum o lady,
Who fell asleep and had a dream,
All on the bank so shady.
He dreamt the stream was made of wine,
It flowed along so merry,
And when he drank it tasted fine,
Like plum and elderberry.
And all the banks were made of cake,
Come ringle ding my dearie,
As nice as any cook could bake,
That otter felt quite cheery.
He drank and ate with right good will,
Till wakened by his daughter.
She said, ‘I hope you’ve had your fill,
Of mud and cold streamwater!’
Come ringle doo fol doodle day,
Come wisebeast or come witty,
A fool who dreams to dine that way,
Must waken to self-pity.”
**********
Sung by an unknown otterwife (p. 297)
“Ho comb yore whiskers, brush that tail,
Place a flow’r behind yore ear,
Wash those paws in my ole pail,
We’re off a dancin’ dear! Oooooooh!
Paws up high, rudder on the deck,
Pace up to yore partner, check!
Rudder in the air, paws on the groung,
Whirl that otter round an’ round!
Vittles onna table, drink’s there too,
Hear the music playin’,
Smile at me I’ll dance with you,
Every otter’s sayin’ Oooooooh!
Shuffle back an’ clap both paws,
I’ll clap mine an’ you clap yours!
Turn away now back to back,
Slap those tails down whackwhackwhack!”
**********
Sung by Clecky (p. 298-299)
“This is the story of Corkal hare,
Which is most terribly tragic, horribly sad an’ pretty awfully fearfuuuuuuuul!
So pray give attention, list’ to my song an’d don’t fall asleep,
Although ‘tis not too cheerfuuuuuuuuuuul!
Poor Corkal fell foul of an evil fox
Who was mean an’ horribly cruuuuuuuuuel!
An’ foolishly he challenged him,
Next mornin’ at dawn to a duuuuuuuuuuuuel!”
“Both creatures chose as their weapons,
To hurl at each other, salaaaaaaaaaaad!
Good job they never chose soup or else,
I mihgt never have wrote this ballaaaaaaaaad!
So the very next mornin’ as dawn did break,
All bright ‘n’hot’’warm an’ sunneeeeeeeeeeee!
Which considerin’ it was the dead o’ winter,
Our hero did not find too funneeeeeeeeeee!”
“There in the field the two creatures met,
Each beast with salad ladeeeeeeeeeeeeeen!
A terrible sight not fit for the eyes,
Of any tender young maideeeeeeeeeeeen!
An’ the lettuce an’ the carrots an’ the onions they all flew like lightniiiiiiiiiin’!
An’ they fought’n’they ate, an’ they ate’n’they fought,
The scene was pretty frightniiiiiiiin’!”
“But now my friends I’ve reached the end of my most sad renditiiion,
At the end of the epic battle royal this was the sad positiiiion,
Neither the fox nor the hare had won, they were both in bad conditiiiiiiion,
Sufferin’ from fierce indigestion because they’d ate all the amunitiiiiiiiion!”
**********
Sixth poem for sixth pearl (p. 310)
“My sixth and last tear I give unto you,
When Redwallers lie abed,
At midnight se, in full moon view,
The purple arrowhead.
Travel east, six rods from the tip,
To the rose that blooms ever fair,
See if you can find the right hip,
Turn west and you’re halfway there.”
**********
Sung by Gerul and Crakly (p. 328)
“Abroad I strolled in the forest one day,
I walked till me paws were sore weary,
I heard an ould mistle thrush close to by me say,
‘O here’s to the woodland so cheery!
There’s ash and beech and rowan and oak,
Weepin’ willow with leaves trailin’ down O,
Many rowans I’ve know full o’ berries when grown,
And labarnum that wears a crown O.
So of all the trees growin’ here in the wood,
Tell me which is th finest and best, sir,
I’ll find that one ere springtime is gone,
And I’ll surely build me a nice nest there.
There’s cedar and elm and hornbeam and yew,
Sycamore buckthorn and alder so fine,
Sweet chestnut and fir and shrub elder where
Grow dark berries on which I can dine.
Aye I’ll find a stout tree for to make a safe nest,
Justlike a good-livin’ bird should,
Then me chicks will all fly and just like I,
Seek a tree for themselves in the wood!’ ”
**********
Brother Dormal’s tongue-twister (p. 329)
“If Sister Cicely serves some soup,
She’ll surely see some sup it,
Sip that soup if you’re sick,
Swig it swift, sure and slick,
Should it set stiff’n’slimy, then suck it.
If Cicely suspects that such soup has been scourned,
She’ll slip shyly and even the score,
So if Sisfter persists, woe to him who resists,
Cicely’s certain to serve him some more.”
**********
Sung by Grath (p. 346-347)
“Sad winds sweep the shores,
Near a place called Holt Lutra,
Where first I saw daylight the day I was born,
And the lone seabirds call
O’er the grave of them all,
Whilst my tears mingle into the seas as I mourn.
For those tears of all Oceans,
Six pearls like pink rosebuds,
Once plucked from the waters beneath the deep main,
Oh my father and mother,
Dear sisters and brothers,
In the gray light of dawn all my family were slain.
They sailed in by nightdark,
Those cold heartless vermin,
Their pity as scant as the midwinter’s breath,
Then laughing and jeering,
And slashing and spearing,
My kinfolk were slaughtered by wavescum to death.
But their greatest mistake was,
They left Lutra’s daughter,
I swore then an outh that the seasons would show
My green arrows flying,
And seavermin dying,
Ccursing with their last breath the swift song of my bow.
So vengeance will drive me,
As long as my paw’s strong,
To sharpen a shaft and my bowstring to stretch.
The price vermin paid,
For six pearls from a raid,
Is that death bears the same name as I, Grath Longfletch.”
**********
Last poem after finding last pearl (p. 363)
“Your search is done, the sixth pearl found,
Perfect, rose-hued, pink and round,
Back home now in a scallop shell,
Which I hid well and good.
Tears of all Oceans, truth to tell,
Life stained by death and blood.”
**********
Guosim voyaging song (p. 392)
“Let the birds fly high before us,
An’ our wake trail straight behind,
When yore heart is yearnin’ for it,
Home is not too hard to find.
May our way be bright an’ sunny,
Back to where the campfires burn,
There our friends an’ families waitin’,
For the warriors to return.
Are the old ones happily livin’,
An’ the young ones tall an’ grown?
We will soon see smilin’ faces,
Of all those we’ve always known.
Far we’ve traveled, long we’ve wandered,
Morn till night an’ dusk to dawn,
But there’s no place we’ll rest easy,
Save the land where we were born.”
**********
Told to Tansy by Martin (p. 394)
“Haste to the shore, look to the main,
Be not beset by fears.
Wait faithfully for a Sea King there,
And take with you six tears.”
**********
Sung by Craklyn and shrews (p. 397-398)
“Shrum, shrum, double die dum,
Rivers may flow but the streams they do run,
Kissing the willows that droop sad and low,
Through sunlight and shadow as onward they go.
Shrum, shrum, fie upon thee,
Ye rivers an’ streams that flow down to the sea,
I sit by your banks through the long weary day,
To mourn for my true love who you bore away.
Shrum, shrum, cruel is fate,
How long must I linger by water and wait,
You babble round rock and you swirl around stone,
And share your dark secrets with none but your own.
Shrum, shrum, tears may fall,
I’m bound for the place where the lone seabirds call,
I”ll build me a boat and sail down to the sea,
There I’ll search for the heart that is dearest to me.
Shrum, shrum, shrummmmmmmmmm!”
**********
Martin’s message to Abbot Durral (p. 404)
“She who holds the pearls, the Abbess of Redwall will be,
She who holds on to the pearls, cannot rule in place of thee,
Only an Abbess whose heart sees truth, may give pearls unto the sea.”
**********
Poem at the end of the book (p. 408)
All who come in peace and friendship, stay,
On this eve of cold midwinter’s day.
Good food and drink and, best, good company,
Come share our hospitality for free.
Beneath the lanterns, sit and take your fill,
Sing and dance you may, with right goodwill,
With one condition, as Redwallers say,
If you enjoy it, call another day,
Summer, spring, ‘most any time at all,
And find a welcome waiting at Redwall!
**********