The Robber Bridegroom

Once there was a miller
Who had a daughter fair
With silver bells, ringing her voice
And moonbeams in her hair

He promised her to one he thought
Was kind and well to do
But the man was in disguise
The father never knew

The suitor told his bride to be
To meet him if she could
To follow long, a trail of ashes
Deep into the wood

And there she saw within a house
A caged up mockingbird
Who filled her mind with fear and doubts
And this is what she heard:

"Turn back, turn back, thou bonnie bride,
Nor in this house of death abide
Cause if you hold your life so dear
There is nothing for you here"

The old cook in the cellar
To protect her hid her fast
In the kitchen corner
In a wooden iron cask

The robber bridegroom came at last
A lady they had caught
And butchered her upon the table
And of her jewels they fought

A finger with a single ring
Fell where the maid did hide
She reached out with a trembling hand
And pulled it deep inside

The old cook drugged their wine
And the two women ran away
And kept the story secret till
The maiden's wedding day

The robber bridegroom and his band
All showed up for the feast
For a surprise that they did not
Expect it in the least

Before the vows were taken
All the village gathered bold
To listen to a story
That the miller's daughter told

She said that in a dream
A group of outlaws ate the dead
That they had captured in the forest
The crowd was full of dread

And then the bride she pointed
To the groom and said "It's you!
And all your men are evil!
Every word I've said is true!"

Four and twenty men were hanged
Upon the hanging tree
And all who's left to tell the story
Are only thee and me