Lark And Dove

A goodwife weeded her garden roots
The lark sings sweet in the morning-o
Humming a tune to the sound of hooves
The dove speaks soft at night

The hoofbeats ceased at the garden wall
The lark sings sweet in the morning-o
She smiled and stood at the rich knight’s call
The dove speaks soft at night

When last they’d met, they’d both been young
The lark sings sweet in the morning-o
With a secret love that had gone unsung
The dove speaks soft at night… The dove speaks soft at night

He’d taken her favour ten years before
And he’d sworn he’d treasure no other
He’d carried it with him through the war
And now he’d returned to his lover-o
He’d finally returned to his lover

But here she was, another man’s wife
With children and prosperous steading
He’d guarded that torn veil with his life
While she had been forgetting-o
While she had been forgetting

Her eyes grew hard, though her smile remained
The lark sings sweet in the morning-o
She told him she would not be blamed
The dove speaks soft at night

Ten years ago, he’d left her alone
So she’d given up tears and regretting
She’d thought in the foolish flush of youth
She’d stitched that veil for her wedding-o
She’d stitched that veil for her wedding

But he’d left without binding his future to hers
No request, nor an oath, nor a ring-o
And she’d seen, while she’d thought him the boy of her dreams
He was foremost a squire to his king-o
His heart belonged to his king

The troubadours say that the girl should wait
But she’d no trouble then in deciding
“I want a good man with a loving heart now
Not a duke after ten years of crying-o
Not you after ten years of crying.”

The bridle chimed as he turned his back
The lark sings sweet in the morning-o
With the veil in the mud of the farmhouse track
The dove speaks soft at night

A goodwife hums in her garden rows
The lark sings sweet in the morning-o
With a silk tied high to scare the crows
The dove speaks soft at night… As the dove speaks soft at night

The lark sings sweet in the morning-o
And the dove speaks soft at night
The dove speaks soft at night