Rose Polenzani - Molly's Lily lyrics

Molly, you've got to Put your saddle on tight. You've a red, red runner For your final flight. You're my only sister, But a price is a price, And he's not going lower Than my sister's life. Would that I may go with you, But a rule is a rule, And the red, red rascal Is no sister's fool. In the Putnam meadow Grows a poison lily, If I were a smart girl, I would take it with me. So she's taken her dress up, And she's tied back her hair With a winsome ribbon Such as never were, And she looked as brazen As the scalded sea, When the sun rips its favors Into morning's peace. She's an auburn woman On mahogany mare, She was dressed full bloody For the devil's despair. And it was no lily For his cardamom lips, But for girl and filly, And for hooves and hips. All the plants in Putnam Grow a venomous green. It was milk and money Made the meadows mean. There she's taken her flower, And she's borne it away, Under nettled fingers That she daren't display. From the Ipswich river, Riding easterly To the black oak sapling, Where three fences meet, And she knows he's waiting, And she's down from her horse, And per their agreement, She is walking backwards. Cloven hoofprints pressing In a ravenous reel, It's a phantom tarries At her heart and her heel. And with each foot stepping, There's a petal has gone From a noxious blooming To a maidenly tongue. Did the devil take her? Did the devil decide On a red carnation Or a red-blooded bride? He's been up her ankle, And he's taken his treat, And he's eaten apples Full of poison lily. Satan wears a flower Like a dandy heathen, It's a fairer lily Than the one that she gave him. He's a rowdy rascal With a hearty complexionâ€"â€" It's the very color Of a lily stamen.