The Ferryman Words by Mercedes Lackey, music by Leslie FishAm G Em A harsh wind hammered and bent down the trees Am Em Am 'Til they moaned and they wailed in the dark. D Am A wind cold and bitter as lies or as death, D C E E7 As cruel as the jaws of the shark Am G So high ran the river, so heavy and wild, Am D The waves were as strong as the sea-- C Am D F A fool could have told it was no night to be G Em Am Out earning a ferryman's fee. Chorus (after every verse): F Am Ferryman, ferryman, won't you be kind? F Am G My mother and father are waiting for me. Am G C F Ferryman, ferryman, take me across-- Am G Am Though I haven't the price of your fee. She stood there alone on the cold heaving dock; She was pale and she trembled with fear. Her hands were clenched white as the moon on her breast As she waited his answer to hear. "Although it's no night to be crossing," he said, "For their sake, I'll take you aboard. They must be near dying with worry for you, And one fare I'll easily afford." Ferryman, ferryman, won't you be kind? My mother and father are waiting for me. Ferryman, ferryman, take me across-- Though I haven't the price of your fee. The ferry fought hard, it bucked, yawed and rolled With the waves surging over the bow. Grimly the old pilot clung to the tiller And steered the craft over somehow. The wind-lashed young maiden stood near to the rail, Her eyes fixed upon the far side. She seemed not to notice the wind or the waves That threatened to finish her ride. Ferryman, ferryman, won't you be kind? My mother and father are waiting for me. Ferryman, ferryman, take me across-- Though I haven't the price of your fee By fate or by whim of old blind Lady Luck He brought them in safely to shore. The young girl turned round and she took off her shawl, Saying, "I haven't anything more, But I'll bring you your money, tomorrow, I swear-- Tomorrow at first morning light. Until then keep this as a trust of my pledge." And she disappeared into the night. Ferryman, ferryman, won't you be kind? My mother and father are waiting for me. Ferryman, ferryman, take me across-- Though I haven't the price of your fee "I hear that the ghost has been walking again," The passenger said with a yawn. "Oh, yes, sir, it has," said the pilot who took The old ferry's tiller at dawn. "The annual storm that sank this ferry's twin Came down just the same time last year, And now any night that a high wind comes up That spirit is like to appear." Ferryman, ferryman, won't you be kind? My mother and father are waiting for me. Ferryman, ferryman, take me across-- Though I haven't the price of your fee "A ghost on the ferry?" his second fare asked, A young girl who paled with fright. "Oh yes, miss and that's why we can't hire a pilot Who'll dare take the ferry at night. Eleven poor souls there were lost on that night, And it seems that there's one who can't rest. Some duty of conscience still binds him to Earth, Some promise, or sin unconfessed." Ferryman, ferryman, won't you be kind? My mother and father are waiting for me. Ferryman, ferryman, take me across-- Though I haven't the price of your fee "They're buried up there on the river's far shore-- You can see all the graves plain from here. The pilot's the last one--" he cut off his words As the young maiden cried out in fear. They stared where she pointed her pale trembling hand, And there on the shore they could see Her shawl lay folded on the old pilot's grave-- Her pledge for the ferryman's fee. Ferryman, ferryman, won't you be kind? My mother and father are waiting for me. Ferryman, ferryman, take me across, Though I haven't the price of your fee. Though I haven't the price of your fee.