THE FARMER’S WIFE Anonymous


“Spring is the time for a wedding Em
& I’ll be married in May Am
When the thorn is white & from first light G
My young lambs nicker & play,” Bm
Said Klaus, the farmer from Fulpnes, Em
Watching the mountain side Am
& the high house where by her glittering hair G
He could see Liza Lotte, his bride. Am B7 Em

His mother said,
“Liza Lotte is not the woman for you,

When she comes down here, the horses rear G F C
& the farm dogs whimper & growl.” G F G
Said Klaus, “ I will marry my Liza, Am
So hold your tongue, screech- owl”. B7

White & gold was Liza Em
When she stood by the side of Klaus Am
& the old priest made them man & wife G
In the High God’s painted house. Am Bm
Only a mother noticed Em
The slim girl’s eyes like a knife Am
Touch a little brown dog who turned & fled G
As if it fled for its life. Am B7
Fled to the farm in the valley B7
Where Klaus made a feast for his wife. B7 Em

White light on the bedroom window Em G
& a farmer jerks out of sleep Em B7
Hearing far below in the faint meadow Em Am
The brawl of his murdered sheep. G Am Em

His wife does not lie beside him Em
& he thinks , “While I slumbered she went, Am
To save from the wolf-she is half myself- G
The sheep that I love, our sheep”. Am Bm
He did not notice the puppy Em
Slashed from groin to jaw
Still, lying in it’s own red blood
As he stumbled out of the door.






But notice he did the nightgown Em G
Of his wife by the river bed. Am Em
& how two small feet with four claws meet, Em G
& the hair pricked up on his head; Am B7
For the ravaged sheep lay savaged G F
Under the light of the moon C G
& a she-wolf skulked in the brushwood G F
With a glittering golden ring. Am B7

O he has no silver bullet Em
& what are bullets of lead Am
To the were-wolf there whose red eyes stare G
As a bullet shot into her head Am B7
His mother hears a gun shot Em
In her house alone on the moor Am
& she waits for the bride of a son who died G
& a scraping on the door Am B7

& she waits for the bride of a son who died Am G
& a scraping on the door B7 Em


FIN