Mary of the Wild Moor
Eternal Tragedy: Mary's Cry Across the Wild Moor
Lyrics
It was on one cold winter night
Introduction to the setting, a cold winter night on the wild moor.
When the wind blew across the wild moor
Describing the atmospheric conditions with the wind blowing across the moor.
When Mary came wandering home with a child
Mary returning home with a child in tow.
Till she came to her own father's door
Mary reaching her father's door.
"Father, dear father," she cried
Mary urgently calling out to her father.
"Come down and open the door
Mary's plea for her father to open the door.
Or the child in my arms will perish and die
Expressing the danger the child faces from the harsh winds.
From the winds that blow across the wild moor."
Highlighting the severity of the weather on the wild moor.
But her father was deaf to her cry
Her father ignoring Mary's desperate cry.
Not a sound of a voice did he hear
Emphasizing the father's deafness to Mary's voice.
So the watchdog did howl and the village bells tolled
Describing the eerie atmosphere with the howling watchdog and tolling village bells.
And the wind blew across the wild moor
Reiteration of the harsh winds across the wild moor.
Oh, how the old man must have felt
Speculation on the emotions of the old man at the door.
When he came to the door the next morn'
The discovery of Mary dead, but the child still alive.
And he found Mary dead but the child still alive
Detailing the poignant scene of the child holding onto its deceased mother.
Closely grasping its dead mother's arms
Portraying the aftermath of the tragic event.
In grief, the old man passed away
The old man succumbing to grief.
And the child, to it's mother, went soon
The child joining its mother in death.
And no one, they say, lives there to this day
Indicating the abandonment of the cottage and the desolation of the place.
And the cottage, to ruin, has gone
Confirmation that no one resides there anymore.
But the villagers point out the spot
Local reference to the site of Mary's death, marked by willow trees.
Where the willows grew over the door
Describing the location where nature has taken over the abandoned dwelling.
Saying, "There Mary died, once the gay village bride
Identifying Mary as the once joyous village bride.
From the wind that blow across the wild moor
Reiteration of the cause of Mary's demise—the winds across the wild moor.
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