I saw three witches That bowed down like barley, And straddled their brooms 'neath a louring1 sky, And, mounting a storm-cloud, Aloft on its margin, Stood black in the silver as up they did fly. I saw three witches That mocked the poor sparrows They carried in cages of wicker along, Till a hawk from his eyrie2 Swooped down like an arrow, Smote on the cages, and ended their song. I saw three witches That sailed in a shallop3, All turning their heads with a snickering smile, Till a bank of green osiers4 Concealed their grim faces, Though I heard them lamenting for many a mile. I saw three witches Asleep in a valley, Their heads in a row, like stones in a flood, Till the moon, creeping upward, Looked white through the valley, And turned them to bushes in bright scarlet bud.
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View original text (without footnotes)Gary Bachlund's notes: 1 Louring - a menacing or dark appearance, as also lower or "elowering." In these alternative spellings and more unusual vocabulary, de la Mare chooses to put us into the frame of a certain archaic mood, wherein language was more savory and complex in colors.
2 Eyrie - an alternative spelling for "aerie," the nest of a bird of prey, inaccesible in a high place.
3 Shallop - a light boat for rowing in shallow water, from the French, chaloupe, and originally referring to a larger masted vessel, related to the sloop.
4 Osier - any of a variety of willow trees with draping branches, from an Old French root related to an earlier Medieval Latin.
Authorship:
- by Walter De la Mare (1873 - 1956), "I saw three witches", appears in Down-adown-derry: a book of fairy poems, first published 1922 [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Gary Bachlund (b. 1947), "I saw three witches", 2009 [ baritone and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2009-11-23
Line count: 24
Word count: 143