Warrior Maid
Lyrics and melody © 1995 Catherine Faber
Arrangement © 2000 by Bob Esty and Catherine Faber
They called me hard hearted, the kin that
I left
To carve out my fortune in war
They said I was cruel, of conscience bereft
As cold as the blade that I bore
For I am a warrior; death
walks at my shoulder,
And the taking of life is my trade
And steel is not harder, and ice is not colder
Than the heart of a warrior maid.
He came to the battlefield to number the
slain
In liv'ry of yellow and blue
And his blue eyes were darkened, by sorrow or pain
As he listed the blazons he knew.
As I stood to my posting in the dusk of
the day
And he passed with his lists and his pen,
And I found myself watching him walking away
Reminding myself once again
I brought from the battlefield the blade
that I bore
Returning with life as my prize
And he saw the dark blood across the armor I wore-
And I watched the fear shine in his eyes.
But he caught at my arm as I turned from
his side
With no thought for the blood on my glove:
"T'is a bitter hard thing," he said, "that you might have
died
Before ever I spoke of my love."
No shield maid am I, but a warrior
still,
And my husband walks proud at my side,
And no soldier has harmed him, and none ever will,
Though many a foeman has tried!
For I am a warrior; love
walks at my shoulder,
And the shielding of life is my trade
And skill is not higher than forged in the fire
Of the heart of a warrior maid
And faith gets no truer, and love comes no bolder
Than the heart of a warrior maid!
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