The Battle
Havelok's Story
By Rathflaed DuNoir
The Black Bard of Meridies, MSoB mka: Stephen R. Melvin
Chorus: .mp3
(222K)"Havelock's Story" is performed
by Rathflaed
DuNoir
capo 2
C G
A full three months have passed now since I asked my king to go,
F C G C
For I must journey onward to face my country's foes,
C G
I left my love behind me as I girded up for war,
F C G C
And drew my sword upon this foreign shore.
Now the world is full of honors for those with sword and
shield,
So I hied me to a tourney and with grace I won the field,
I was champion of the barony, yet still I raised mine eyes,
To the coronet of Baron for my prize.
A knight's soul is his lady, his reason for to fight,
And mine's my
inspiration though I wear no belt of white,
But a Baron must have a baroness and
my lady is far away,
So another's favor I must wear that day.
So I asked my lady's favor to fight for another's case,
And this angel out of
heaven said that another could stand her place,
Then I asked my friend, a minstrel, since a sword he does not wield,
If I might fight for his lady's honor on the field.
Chorus:
C
G
Fair lady I hold your honor and I raise my sword on high,
F
C G C
For my foeman stands before me and I know that I might die,
C
G
And though you love another, and my lady is far away,
F
C
Still I raise my sword to fight for you today.
Now the first fight was a tough one, `twas the Nameless,
Lord Bernard,
A friend and foe both goodly and the fight was long and hard,
But in the end, he bested me, as I crashed to the ground,
I knew I had but one chance for the crown.
With only one life left to me, I went to take my stand,
And I bested all who came to me, I bet them to a man,
`Til at the end but one foe stood, `twas Lord Bernard my friend,
The man who's blow had felled me once, the Nameless once again.
Although his arm had bested mine, still I had won before,
So we armored up for one last match with the loser to give o'er,
And as the blows did fall like rain, we'd not give up the prize,
`Twas not the coronet to win, but the pride in a Lady's eyes.
The battle it seemed to last a day or perhaps a hundred
years,
Our breaths came out in ragged gasps, we both bit back our tears,
I saw my lady's eyes and face, her worry how I'd fare,
And her inspiration filled me then, I'd won the bout right there.
Chorus:
Two blows later I'd won the day, Bernard lay at my feet,
I bent down to help him up, the final foe I'd beat,
He told me to go to her, that he would be just fine,
And he'd see me at the feast tonight, to drink to fortune mine!
Yet as I turned away from him, to greet my lady's eyes,
The Barony's new lady fair, the coronet her prize,
I thought it was not fortune there, that turned the tide right then,
It was the look upon my lady's face that carried me to win!
Chorus:
24 December 1998