Fairy Tale Friday: The Crane Wife

I'd never heard this story before, so when my friend Duckie suggested it, I was stumped. It sounded good, though, and Duckie knows what's down, so. 

Google to the rescue. 

But apparently there are many versions of it? After a little bit of wading through various lengths and details I found a relatively good abstract here and is brought to life by the Decemberists in a three-part set of songs. These are the lyrics, but for sure go read the story somewhere too:

The Crane Wife 1, 2 and 3 – The Decemberists

1: It was a cold night / And the snow lay low

I pulled my coat tight / Against it falling down

And the sun was all / And the sun was all down

I am a poor man /I haven't wealth nor fame

I have my two hands / And a house to my name

And the winter's so / And the winter's so long

And all the stars were crashing 'round / As I laid eyes on what I'd found

It was a white crane / It was a helpless thing

Upon a red stain / With and arrow in its wing

And it called and cried / And it called and cried so

And all the stars were crashing 'round / As I laid eyes on what I'd found

My crane wife, my crane wife / My crane wife, my crane wife

Now I helped her / And now I dressed her wounds

And how I held her / Beneath the rising moon

And she stood to fly / And she stood to fly away

2: My crane wife / Arrived at my door in the moonlight

All starbright and tongue-tied / I took her in

We were married / And bells rang sweet for our wedding

And our bedding was ready / We fell in

Sound the keening bell / And see it's painted red

Soft as fontanelle / The feathers in the thread

And all I ever meant / To do was to keep you

My crane wife, my crane wife / My crane wife

We were poorly / Our fortunes fading hourly

And how she loved me / She could bring it back

But I was greedy / I was vain and I forced her to weaving

On a cold loom in a closed room / Down hall

Sound the keening bell / And see it's painted red

Soft as fontanelle / The feathers in the thread

And all I ever meant / To do was to keep you

My crane wife, my crane wife / My crane wife

There's a bend in the wind / And it rakes at my heart

There is blood in the thread / And it rakes at my heart

3: And under the boughs unbound / All clothed in a snowy shroud

She had no heart so hardened / All under the boughs unbound

Each feather it fell from skin / 'Til threadbare, she grew thin

How were my eyes so blinded? / Each feather it fell from skin

A grey sky, a bitter sting / A raincloud, a crane on wing

All out beyond horizon, oh / A grey sky, a bitter sting

And I will hang my head, hang my head low

And I will hang my head, hang my head low

 

Hours logged today: 0/editing   Pages logged today: 0/editing    Total pages logged today: 116

Moment of Magic today:

It's Friday. Need I say more? Have a happy weekend and thanks for coming around to read my blog.