The Fuller’s Lye
Oh he was like
The fuller’s lye
He took the stains
From all I was
Refining fire
I’d melt before him
My golden hair
Is silver now
In the style of centuries of lyrical cautionary tales, this one is about being young and mistaking false love for divinity. Inspired by a snippet of scripture, English broadsides, and centuries of tragic love songs.
The Fuller’s Lye
Oh he was like
The fuller’s lye
He took the stains
From all I was
Refining fire
I’d melt before him
My golden hair
Is silver now
I was so young
and knew no better
Loved his sweet words
O’re bread and wine
The turtledoves
Sang out their warning
And yet I swore
He would be mine
The summer sun
Bleached white the wheat fields
Wildflowers wilted
Upon my breast
I saw in him
A cool oasis
He promised me
I’d safely rest
He placed two rings
Upon my finger
One was of gold
One was of grass
How could I know
They were so binding
Yet they would break
Like fallen glass.
Oh he was like
The fuller’s lye
He took the stains
From all I was
Refining fire
I’d melt before him
My golden hair
Is silver now
If you’re a courting
Out in the willows
Listen with care
For which birds sing
The cooing dove
She calls a warning,
Love’s sacrifice
May mean nothing.
Oh he was like
The fuller’s lye
He took the stains
From all I was.
Refining fire
I’d melt before him
My golden hair
Is silver now