Ride of Eleanor
Eleanor's Ghostly Ride: Love Beyond the Grave
Lyrics
Sweet Eleanor waved her William off to war,
Sweet Eleanor bids farewell to her lover William, sending him off to war.
He would return and wed her,
She anticipates William's return, expecting to marry him as he promised.
This was his solemn swear,
William solemnly swore to marry Eleanor upon his return.
Late nights perched at her window,
Eleanor spends nights waiting by her window, anxiously looking for news of William.
No news of William came,
No information about William's well-being reaches Eleanor.
Nightmares of war her only visitor,
Eleanor experiences nightmares related to the horrors of war as her only companions.
with prayers in vain,
Her prayers for William's safety seem unanswered.
Years passed and men returned,
Years pass, and soldiers return, but William is not among them.
but Eleanor was spurned,
Eleanor is rejected and ignored, neither William nor news of his fate reaches her.
for neither William or a letter of his passing came,
There's no sign of William or any communication of his demise.
and on one moonlight night,
On a moonlit night, Eleanor is heartbroken and in pain.
Her heart in ardent pain,
She seeks solace, possibly contemplating desperate actions due to emotional distress.
She called to holy father,
Eleanor turns to a holy figure, calling for help.
and cursed his holy name!
In her anguish, she curses the holy figure's name for not helping her.
Why do we ride so fast
A shift to a different perspective, questioning the urgency of riding.
It is the speed of death
Explanation that the urgency is driven by the inevitability of death.
Please leave the dead alone!
A plea to let the dead rest undisturbed.
With hooves and screams they quicken pace unto their wedding bed,
The narrative returns to Eleanor's story, describing a rapid journey towards a symbolic wedding bed.
Beyond the valley of the dead,
The journey transcends the realm of the dead.
One night a rapping came,
A mysterious knocking occurs on Eleanor's window.
Upon her window pane,
William, in ghostly form, beckons Eleanor.
In ghostly white her William beckoned her upon his steed,
They ride together at supernatural speed past open graves and ghosts.
With hellish speed they rode by open graves and dancing wraiths,
Witnesses from hell observe their forbidden love.
Denizens of hell to witness love's embrace
Reiteration of the urgency driven by the inevitability of death.
Why do we ride so fast
Questioning the need to disturb the dead.
It is the speed of death
Repetition emphasizing the speed of death.
Please leave the dead alone!
A plea to let the dead rest undisturbed, echoing earlier sentiments.
With hooves and screams they quicken pace unto their wedding bed,
Similar to line 18, emphasizing the rapid pace towards the symbolic wedding bed beyond the realm of the dead.
Beyond the valley of the dead,
Reiteration of transcending the valley of the dead.
The horseman points,
The horseman, likely representing death, points towards a symbolic marriage bed.
This is your marriage bed,
Confirmation that the pointed location is the marriage bed.
But yet he points to open grave,
A paradoxical situation where the horseman points to an open grave containing William's shattered corpse.
Inside is William's shattered corpse and broken armor
Description of the condition of William's remains and armor inside the grave.
And cast inside is Eleanor
Eleanor's fate is revealed—she is buried in the same grave, surrounded by dirt and rain.
encased in dirt and rain
Confirmation of Eleanor's entombment in the grave, depicting a tragic end to her story.
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