The Ferryman’s Curse

Lyrics

The boatman lived in a stone-built house Three score years and ten on earth His wife was younger by several years They lost their only child at birth Father raised the house with his bare hands Mother toiled the fields by day He never spoke of the lady of the lake The brush with death which caused him sway The boatman made an honest living Along the river's south-side bank Family gatherings, household trips From time to time the river grew dank One such day when the river was foul The boatman took his wife to town Breathing heavy on the journey home Fever struck as the sun went down The sickness raged for several days The doctor rambled in despair The old priest read the sacraments Decay and death hung in the air A coin for the mouth of his dying wife Was duly placed beside the bed A knock on the door on that moonless night The boatman feared the word had spread A stranger stood on the front porch step Stovepipe hat and long black coat "I come from the other side" he whispered "I carry souls in the ferryman's boat" The ferryman growled, "I've come for your wife" The boatman said, "She ain't dead yet" The ferryman raged, "I need her now It's time that you repaid your debt" The boatman tried to make the peace The ferryman spat and cursed and swore As evil speaks as evil must He called the boatman's wife a whore "You lusted for my daughter fair Betrayed her in a mire of sin You married, knowing of her fate Time has come for the reckoning" The boatman said "No debt is due" The ferryman's rage could get no worse "It was me who caused you suffering The still-born child of the ferryman's curse" "I ain't yet put the coin in her mouth" The boatman said with rising fear "That job is mine" the ferryman said And slashed the boatman on the ear The ferryman held a wicked knife Razor sharp, serrated blade Stabbed at the boatman's arms and face Terrifying were the screams he made The boatman reached for his Bible To shield him in the violent fight He reached for a log from the open fire And set the ferryman's hair alight The ferryman fell to the floor in agony Dropped the knife on the boatman's bed The boatman stabbed him in the gut The screams died as the floor turned red The boatman sat beside the bed Holding his young wife's tiny hand Her eyes opened wide as the fever left He gently stroked the wedding band She sat up slow, looked all around Bared her pointed teeth and smiled Flung herself in the boatman's arms "I am with child, I am with child" They dragged the ferryman to his boat Placed the coin in the deadman's mouth They silently rowed to the other side The ferryman's curse was the boatman's prize