In my song, the man refuses to listen to the fairy's repeated plea, and cuts down her willow tree hoping to persuade her to come with him, but the act kills her instead."
Instruments Used: tenor recorder, guitar, djimbe, doumbek, finger cymbals, tambourine, frame drum
The Willow Maid
Erutan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
with his quiver and hunting bow
He heard a young girl singing
and followed the sound below
There he found the maiden
who lives in the willow
He called to her as she listened
'Come with me my maiden
come from thy willow bed'
She looked at him serenely
and only shook her head.
'See me now, a ray of light in the moondance
See me now, I cannot leave this place
Hear me now, a strain of song in the forest
Don't ask me, to follow where you lead'
A young man walked through the forest
with a flower and coat of green
His love had hair like fire
her eyes an emerald sheen
She wrapped herself in beauty
so young and so serene
He stood there under the willow
and he gave her the yellow bloom
'Girl my heart you've captured
oh I would be your groom'
She said she'd wed him never
not near, nor far, nor soon
'See me now, a ray of light in the moondance
See me now, I cannot leave this place
Hear me now, a strain of song in the forest
Don't ask me, to follow where you lead'
A young man walked through the forest
with an axe sharp as a knife
I'll take the green-eyed fairy
and she shall be my wife
With her I'll raise my children
with her I'll live my life
The maiden wept when she heard him
when he said he'd set her free
He took his axe and used it
to bring down her ancient tree
'Now your willow's fallen
now you belong to me'
'See me now, a ray of light in the moondance
See me now, I cannot leave this place
Hear me now, a strain of song in the forest
Don't ask me, to follow where you lead'
She followed him out the forest, and collapsed upon the earth
Her feet had walked but a distance, from the green land of her birth She faded into a flower, that would bloom for one bright eve
He could not take from the forest, what was never meant to leave
Erutan's song "The Willow Maid" is a hauntingly beautiful tale of a young man who hears a young girl singing in the forest and becomes entranced by her. The girl is the maiden who lives in the willow, and the young man tries to convince her to leave the forest with him. However, she refuses to leave, saying that she is but a ray of light in the moondance and that he cannot ask her to follow where he leads. Subsequently, the young man comes back several times, but the maiden still refuses to leave, even when he proposes to her. In a last effort to take her away, the young man comes with an axe and cuts down the willow where she resides. She follows him out of the forest but fades into a flower that only blooms for one bright eve.
The lyrics of "The Willow Maid" can be interpreted as a cautionary tale against the desire to possess something that was never meant to belong to us. The maiden is a symbol of nature that cannot be controlled or forced to fit into human plans. The young man's attempt to possess the maiden, and eventually the willow where she lives, results in the destruction of nature and the loss of something beautiful that cannot be replaced.
Line by Line Meaning
A young man walked through the forest
The story begins with a young man entering the forest.
with his quiver and hunting bow
He is carrying his hunting equipment.
He heard a young girl singing
He heard the distant voice of a young girl singing.
and followed the sound below
He traced the source of the singing.
There he found the maiden
He discovered the young girl singing in the woods.
who lives in the willow
The girl lives in the embrace of a willow tree.
He called to her as she listened
He approached the girl and called out to her.
from a ring of toadstools red
The girl was surrounded by red toadstools.
'Come with me my maiden
The young man asked the girl to leave with him.
come from thy willow bed'
He wanted her to abandon her willow-tree home.
She looked at him serenely
The girl gazed at him calmly.
and only shook her head.
She refused his request to leave.
'See me now, a ray of light in the moondance
The girl speaks of her beauty as she stands in the moon's light.
See me now, I cannot leave this place
The girl insists she cannot abandon her home.
Hear me now, a strain of song in the forest
She reminds the man of her enchanting singing voice.
Don't ask me, to follow where you lead'
She firmly declines the man's offer to take her away.
A young man walked through the forest
The same man from earlier returns.
with a flower and coat of green
He wears green and carries a yellow flower.
His love had hair like fire
He is in love with a girl who has red hair.
her eyes an emerald sheen
The girl's eyes sparkle emerald green.
She wrapped herself in beauty
The girl adorns herself in beauty.
so young and so serene
She looks youthful and peaceful.
He stood there under the willow
He is back under the same willow tree.
and he gave her the yellow bloom
He offers her the yellow flower he brought with him.
'Girl my heart you've captured
He declares his love for her.
oh I would be your groom'
He would like to marry the girl.
She said she'd wed him never
The girl refuses his marriage proposal.
not near, nor far, nor soon
She says she will never marry him.
'See me now, a ray of light in the moondance
The girl again admires her own beauty.
See me now, I cannot leave this place
She repeats her previous refusal to leave her home.
Hear me now, a strain of song in the forest
She reminds him of her singing voice in the woods.
Don't ask me, to follow where you lead'
She repeats that she does not want to go with him.
A young man walked through the forest
The man returns to the woods once again.
with an axe sharp as a knife
He carries a sharp axe with him now.
I'll take the green-eyed fairy
He wants to take the girl with green eyes.
and she shall be my wife
He plans to marry her.
With her I'll raise my children
He imagines a future with a family.
with her I'll live my life
He wants to share his life with her.
The maiden wept when she heard him
The girl begins to cry when he speaks these words.
when he said he'd set her free
He promises to let her go.
He took his axe and used it
He decides to cut down the willow tree.
to bring down her ancient tree
He cuts down the girl's home.
'Now your willow's fallen
He tells the girl that her home has been destroyed.
now you belong to me'
He claims that the girl now belongs to him.
She followed him out the forest, and collapsed upon the earth
She follows him out of the forest and falls to the ground.
Her feet had walked but a distance, from the green land of her birth
She only managed to travel a short distance from where she was born.
She faded into a flower, that would bloom for one bright eve
She turns into a flower that will only bloom for one night.
He could not take from the forest, what was never meant to leave
He realizes that he cannot take something from the forest that was never meant to be taken away.
Contributed by Aiden L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@shirasedesu6914
Lyrics:
A young man walked through the forest
With his quiver and hunting bow
He heard a young girl singing
And followed the sound below
There he found the maiden
Who lives in the willow
He called to her as she listened
From a ring of toadstools, red
Come with me my maiden
Come from thy willow bed
She looked at him serenely
And only shook her head
See me now, a ray of light in the moon dance
See me now, I cannot leave this place
Hear me now, a strain of song in the forest
Don't ask me, to follow where you lead
A young man walked through the forest
With a flower and coat of green
His love had hair like fire
Her eyes an emerald sheen
She wrapped herself in beauty
So young and so serene
He stood there under the willow
And he gave her the yellow bloom
Girl my heart you've captured
Oh, I would be your groom
She said she'd wed him never
Not near, nor far, nor soon
See me now, a ray of light in the moon dance
See me now, I cannot leave this place
Hear me now, a strain of song in the forest
Don't ask me, to follow where you lead
A young man walked through the forest
With an axe sharp as a knife
I'll take the green-eyed fairy
And she shall be my wife
With her, I'll raise my children
With her, I'll live my life
The maiden wept when she heard him
When he said he'd set her free
He took his axe and used it
To bring down her ancient tree
Now your willow's fallen
Now you belong to me
See me now (see me now, see me now) a ray of light in the moon dance
See me now (see me now, see me now) I cannot leave this place
Hear me now (hear me now, hear me now) a ray of light in the moon dance
Don't ask me (don't ask me) to follow where you lead
She followed him out of the forest
And collapsed upon the earth
Her feet had walked but a distance
From the green land of her birth
She faded into a flower
That would bloom for one bright eve
He could not take from the forest
What was never meant to leave
@4r.Kai1
[Verse 1]
A young man walked through the forest
With his quiver and hunting bow
He heard a young girl singing
And followed the sound below
There he found the maiden
Who lives in the willow
He called to her as she listened
From a ring of toadstools red
"Come with me, my maiden
Come from thy willow bed"
She looked at him serenely
And only shook her head
[Chorus]
See me now, a ray of light in the moondance
See me now, I cannot leave this place
Hear me now, a strain of song in the forest
Don't ask me, to follow where you lead
[Verse 2]
A young man walked through the forest
With a flower and coat of green
His love had hair like fire
Her eyes an emerald sheen
She wrapped herself in beauty
So young and so serene
He stood there under the willow
And he gave her the yellow bloom
"Girl, my heart you've captured
Oh, I would be your groom"
She said she'd wed him never
Not near, nor far, nor soon
[Chorus]
See me now, a ray of light in the moondance
See me now, I cannot leave this place
Hear me now, a strain of song in the forest
Don't ask me, to follow where you lead
Follow where you lead
[Verse 3]
A young man walked through the forest
With an axe sharp as a knife
"I'll take the green-eyed fairy
And she shall be my wife
With her I'll raise my children
With her I'll live my life"
The maiden wept when she heard him
When he said he'd set her free
He took his axe and used it
To bring down her ancient tree
"Now your willow's fallen
Now you belong to me"
[Chorus]
See me now, a ray of light in the moondance
See me now, I cannot leave this place
Hear me now, a strain of song in the forest
Don't ask me, to follow where you lead'
[Verse 4]
She followed him out the forest
And collapsed upon the earth
Her feet had walked but a distance
From the green land of her birth
She faded into a flower
That would bloom for one bright eve
He could not take from the forest
What was never meant to leave
@pzalterias5154
Made me think about that poem by Ronsard. Here's an extract:
Stay, woodsman, stay thy hand awhile, and hark—
It is not trees that thou art laying low!
Dost thou not see the dripping life-blood flow
From Nymphs that lived beneath the rigid bark?
Unholy murderer of our Goddesses,
If for some petty theft a varlet hangs,
What deaths hast thou deserved, what bitter pangs,
What brandings, burnings, tortures, dire distress!
@CatFish21sm
To anyone watching, this is based on celtic mythology, if you listen to the lyrics and do a little studying you'll see that this is a satire about selfish love and has nothing to do with rejection, the boy had a choice the girl or his fortune, he chose both but didn't have a choice. It's made clear in the lyrics.
See me now (This is how you see me) A ray of light in the moondance (Beautiful but soon to be gone)
See me now, I can not leave this place (literally)
Hear me now (not what shes saying but what shes singing.) a strain of song in the forest (Through my song I'm tied to the forest.)
Don't ask me to follow where you lead (Not a rejection, shes saying don't ask me to leave.)
(At this point the guy could have turned arround and said "I'll stay with you" for a better ending.
Now for further clarification I'll go over the celtic references. First a young hunter, young hunters were very desirable to the celts they could easily provide for their families. So turning one down was unusual, especially considering women rights back then. Next the ring of toad stool, toad stool are mushrooms, a ring of mushrooms is called a fairy ring, he could only see her when he stepped into the ring so he knew she was a fairy (he says this near the end of the song)
next she lived in a willow tree, this tells us the type of fairy she was, a nymph. Nymphs are exceptionally beautiful but they make a "contract" with a tree, in exchange for helping to nurture and care for the tree the tree shares it's life with the nymph. This allows the nymph to live for hundreds of years, but she is bound to the tree permanently and if she ever leaves it or if it ever dies then she dies.
Next the boys green cloths and yellow flower, some people might take this for hunting clothes, but they aren't, green and yellow in that culture were signs of wealth and power, he was probably a nobles son or something like that. He was trying to impress her with his wealth.
Now the worst part, he knew she was a fairy from the fairy ring (He even says it) he knew she was a nymph bound to the willow (She lives IN the willow. Not on, or near. And he knew to cut down the willow tree to unbind her (when he said he'd set her free), not just grab her and run off.) But even though he knows it will probably kill her he chooses to cut down the tree because he doesn't want to loose his wealth. He could have easily stayed with her and built a house in the forest if he gave up everything for her. But he chose not to. And finally the middle of the song.
She said shed wed him never, not near nor far nor soon. (its easy to take this as flat out rejection, because it is. Not because she wouldn't marry him from the start though. She isn't being more straight forward with him. She's saying you will never buy me. He's showing off his wealth and power and offering to give her riches (offering the yellow flower) she's rejecting his offer, not necessarily him. It's not what you will give me, it's what you will give to be with me.)
@dahlia7487
@@warbwashington5626
1: he wasn’t saving her, he was being selfish and awful. the forest was her home, she said multiple times that she couldn’t leave, and even if she could it would have been HER choice, not his to force on her, no matter how dangerous it is to live in a forest.
2: wanting to possess a beautiful object is not wrong, but the girl was a PERSON with emotions and she told him ‘NO’ several times, but he didn’t listen. the point is that he hurt her to try and get what he wanted rather then listening and taking no for an answer.
he didn’t try to save her, not because he was ‘way too kind’ but because he didn’t care about her. he wanted to own her, and if she could have left the forest he would have cast her aside the second he got bored.
the point of the song is that he didn’t give a flying f**k through a rolling donut what she wanted or needed, he just took because he dehumanized her and saw her as an object, something to take and own.
although the song might have a fantasy element to it, very similar situations happen all the time in real life. it’s a huge problem and by okaying it in fantasy, you are contributing to making it okay in real life.
@crestfallenmortal6533
A young man walked through the forest with an axe sharp as a knife
Woah that escalated quickly
@willwu9585
It all started with a bow.
@aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa790
Not really. It was the third time he disrespected her.
@suckypuckle9292
Did it though? An axe sharp as a knife is a pretty dull axe.
@crestfallenmortal6533
@@suckypuckle9292 Aye there are some pretty sharp knives
@mackaylacook148
@@suckypuckle9292 depending on the knife you think of, I've seen knives where you drop a tomato on it and it slices through easier than a soft block of butter
@vinwaffle7077
Him: "Come with me!"
Her: "I can't, I'll die."
Him: takes her anyways
Her: dies
Him: Suprised Pikachu face
@idagergely6235
This deserves more likes
@nobodynothing8234
Essentially lmao
@acethefox
To be fair, she never said she'd die, just that she couldn't leave. Not that that makes his actions any better.