| Listen |
| Words & Music |
| by B. Blanke |
| Recorder & Tin whistle |
| by Gudrun Blanke |
| Background vocals |
| by Anouka Thönnes & |
| Gudrun Blanke |
| Lead vocals & all other instruments |
| by Lothlorien |
| Artwork |
| by Gudrun Blanke |
The legend of Marianne and James
- Chapter 1: The black witch -
Once there was a queen crowned by the folk
Once there was a queen loved by her folk
‘Cause from the ill the queen had once saved the land
And about her heroic deed in their songs the people sang
But then the queen died after a long, long life
The queen died after a fulfilled life
Her whole life she had ruled her kingdom wisely and well
Honoured and respected by the men
And at the end of her life she had turned over to her eldest daughter the throne
On her deathbed she had handed to her firstborn daughter the crown
And the young queen swore to minister to the land and to the folk
The seasons changed, year after year went by
The stars took their orderly paths, the decades passed by
And the queen kept her word and ruled the kingdom wisely and well
Like her mother before, honoured and respected by the men
And like her mother before, she fostered the tree of harmony
And the tree sheltered the land that was fruitful and green
And like her mother before the queen married a man of the common folk
And at the end of her life she handed to her firstborn daughter the crown
It went on this way the next four centuries – each firstborn daughter ascended the throne
Each queen ruled well and wisely and there was contentment within the folk
It could have been this way till eternity
But one day a black witch settled down in the bogs in the east
A malicious witch settled down near the sulphur springs in the east
And her black magic and her evil witchery
Made her immune against the magic of the tree of harmony
Back in the days the reigning queen had a daughter and a son
A daughter named Marianne, her son was called John
Marianne was beautiful and brave and worthy of being a queen
Her brother John was faint-hearted and weak
So it was very easy for the black witch to bring John to heel
And John just acted like a puppet on a string
And so the harm took its course
The witch ordered John to take Marianne away
And John abducted his sister and took her far away
He displaced her into the mountains, hid her in a cave
Imprisoned and tied her up in chains
And withal her bravery, Marianne shed a tear
‘Cause she was guarded by a dragon, malignant, cruel and eerie
And the dragon and the witch were in league with each other
By an evil, black magic they were intrinsically tied together
And when the time had come and the Queen had died, John usurped the crown
And the black witch pulled the strings while John was her marionette on the throne
And a deep darkness covered the land again
- Chapter 2: The tear of the old oak -
At the same time
Of these events
The following saga bechanced
Beyond mountains so high
And across rough seas
In a foreign land, far afield
There lived a prince
His name was James
And he was honest and brave
But there was something that can’t be fought with a sword
His whole life seemed to tear apart
And there was this sorrow inside of his heart
His parents had arranged a wedding for him
With a princess from the kingdom limitrophe
With a woman he didn’t love
Every evening
When the sun set down
He went to his favourite haunt
He sat down
By the old oak tree
And longed for a love that he should never feel
And he shed a tear
About his hopelessness
And he sang a song - sad and mirthless
And the old oak listened to the song
And compassion overwhelmed the old tree
Through her crannied bark she shed a tear
And inside the amber tear
James saw a beautiful woman in chains
And in her eyes he saw her endless pain
James fell in love instantly
And when he looked up to the starry sky
A star appeared, amber and bright
And deep in his heart James knew somehow
That the amber star would show him the way
To the woman he saw - imprisoned in that cave
In the same night
James sallied forth
To search for his love
-
Chapter 3: The fight with the dragon -
And he travelled through foreign lands while the amber star showed him the way
He rode in blazing heat, in coldness and through hard rain
And he defied violent storms, and he defied snow and hail
And he traversed endless deserts, crossed mountains; craggy and high
And he traversed dangerous bogs, crossed rivers; torrential and wild
And he traversed dreary plains and forests full of mystic wights
And he rode without cease, and he rode night and day
And he fought larceners, fought everyone who barred his way
And he outdared hunger and thirst and he outdared fatigue and pain
And finally he arrived at the cave where the dragon dwelled
It reeked of sulphur and death, a sickening and putrid smell
And there was the woman he’d seen, there was Marianne
And there was the dragon, malignant, huge, cruel and eerie
And the dragon spit fire and pounced on James instantly
And he attacked James with his terrifying wings, his claws and his teeth
And James unsheathed his sword and stood up to the ogre and his claws
And James attacked the dragon, evading the fire, the wings, the tail and the paws
But the dragon seemed to be invincible – three nights and days they fought
Then on the fourth day James succeeded in smashing the chains of Marianne
And Marianne shouted and crossed the cave and the dragon turned his head
And James jumped under the dragon and deep into the dragon’s heart his sword he jabbed
With a last roar, the dragon crocked up and died instantly
And the black blood of the dragon covered the ground and spread a direful reek
And with the death of the dragon the black witch lost all her witchery
- Chapter 4: The return of the Queen -
And Marianne came home with James at her side
And they paced through the gate of the castle as groom and bride
And the folk kneed down and praised their upcoming King and Queen
Seven nights and days the whole kingdom marked the wedding ceremony
Marianne’s brother John had fled to a land far away
And the black witch bereft of her witchery was never seen again
Marianne and James ruled the kingdom fairly, wisely and well
And they were honoured, loved and respected by the men
And they ministered to the land and they fostered the tree of harmony
And throughout their life they ministered to the folk devotedly
And their lifetime had lasted for nearly 300 hundred years
The people said that ripe old age came from the dragon’s breath
But maybe it was because of their endless love they felt for each other
And one day the time had come and Marianne James died together
And quietly they died, holding hands, side by side and in peace
And the land fell into a deep, deep grief
- Chapter 5: Epilogue -
Two stars appeared in the sky
Making their way since then side by side
Shining bright night by night
Translation: 