Karine Polwart - The Wife of Usher's Well lyrics

There lived a wife at Usher's Well And a wealthy wife was she She had three stout and stalwart sons And she sent them o'er the sea They hadna been a month frae her Not one month and a day Till cauld, cauld d**h come o'er the land And he stole those boys away She said "I wish the wind would never mair blaw Nor fish swim in the flood Till my my three boys come hame tae me In earthly flesh and blood In earthly flesh and blood" Well it fell aboot the Martinmas time When the nichts are lang and mirk The carlin wife's three boys come hame And their hats were o' the birk That neither grew in any wood Nor down by any wall But at the gates o Paradise Aye, the birken tree grew tall So she has laid the table braid Wi bread and blood red wine "Come eat and drink my bonnie boys Come and eat and drink o mine" "Oh mither bread we cannae eat Nor can we drink the wine For cauld, cauld d**h is Lord of All And to him we must resign" "For the green, green gra** is at oor heads And the clay is at oor feet And how your tears come tumbling down Tae wet the winding sheet Tae wet the winding sheet" So she has made a bed full braid And she's made it lang and deep She's laid it all wi golden thread And she's lulled those boys tae sleep But the co*k he hadna crowed but once Tae welcome in the day When the eldest tae the youngest says "Brother we must away" "For the co*k does craw, the day does daw And the chunnerin worm does chide And if we're missed out o' oor place Then a sair pain we maun bide" "For the green, green gra** is at oor heads And the clay is at oor feet And how your tears come tumbling down Tae wet the winding sheet Tae wet the winding sheet" She said "I wish the wind may never blaw Nor fish swim in the flood Till my three sons return to me In earthly flesh and blood In earthly flesh and blood"