| Threes (Original) |
| Deep into the stoney hills, miles from town or hold A troop of guards comes riding with a lady and her gold. She rides bemused among them shrouded in her cloak of fur, Companioned by a maiden and a toothless, aged cur. Three things see no end, a flower blighted err it bloom, A message that miscarries and a journey that is doomed. One among the guardsmen has a shifting, restless eye. He scans the barren hillsides as they rise against the sky. He wears both sword and jewels worth more than he can afford, And hidden in his baggage is a heavy secret hoard. Of three things be wary of, a feather on a cat, The shepherd eating mutton and the guardsman that is fat. Little does the lady care what all the guardsmen know, That bandits ambush caravans that on these trade roads go. In spite of trick and clever traps and all that men can do The brigands seem to always sense which trains are false or true. Three things are most perilous, the shade that walks behind, The ice that will not hold you and the spy you cannot find. From ambush bandits screaming charge the pack train and its prize. And all but four within the train are taken by surprise. And all but four are cut down as a woodsman fells a log. The guardsman, and the lady and the maiden and the dog. Three things share a secret, a lady in a dream, The dog that barks no warning and the maid who does not scream. Then off the lady pulls her cloak, in armour she is clad. Her sword is out and ready and her eyes are fierce and glad. The maiden makes a gesture and the dog's a cur no more. A wolf, swordmaid and sorceress now face the badit core. Three things never anger or you will not live for long, A wolf with cub, a man with power and a woman's sense of wrong. The lady and her sister by a single traitor lone, Were hired out to try to lay a trap of all their own. And no one knew their plan except the two that rode that day. For what you do not know you cannot ever give away. Three things it is better for that only two should know, Where treasure hides, who shares your bed, and how to catch your foes. The bandits growl a challenge but the lady only grins. The sorceress bows mockingly and then the fight begins. When it ends, there's only four left standing from the hoard: The witch, the wolf, the traitor, and the woman with the sword. Three things never trust in, the maiden sworn as pure, The vows a king* has given and the ambush that is sure. They strip the traitor naked and then whipped him on his way Into the barren hillsids like the folk he used to slay. What of all the maidens that this bandit raped and slew? So as revenge the sorceress makes him a woman too. Three thing trust above all else, the horse on which you ride, The beast that guards your sleeping and your shieldmate at your side. *I dont reccomend singing this song as it is in front of royalty. We replace "vows a king has given" with "vows a rogue has given". Back to Leslie Fish Songs Back to the Lyrics Home Page |