Rhiannon

Rhiannon

The Goddess appears beneath Gorsedd Arberth riding a pale horse. This song tells her story.

 

High on a horse a lady rides,

Through the fields and the meadows along the hillside,

A gentle pace and such grace in her stride,

Dressed in rich finery

No one could catch her is what they say,

Until a young Prince came riding that way.

For the sake of the one you love most I pray,

Wait and speak with me.

Oh where are you going my pretty young one,

At the end of the day neath the setting sun?

To meet with my husband is why I have come,

And it’s you I have come to see.

 

Rhiannon, high on a hill a horse is galloping there,

Rhiannon, carved into the land, by an ancient hand, her story for to share.

 

Thus they were married and ruled the land well,

But the Prince’s advisers began to rebel,

When they saw the land with no heir to tell,

They told him to take a new wife.

But he loved Rhiannon so asked for one year,

For their fate to change, their story to steer,

They prayed to the Earth and the Sun shed a tear,

And thus they were blessed with new life.

An heir to the kingdom, a healthy son,

His eyes were as wild as a stallion,

His hair was as gold as the midday Sun,

But once more fate rolled the dice.

 

Tired from childbirth she laid down to rest,

Her maidens they too fell asleep it is said,

An empty crib at the foot of her bed,

For their lives another would die,

Lady, oh lady what have you done?

We are covered in bruises you were too strong,

In a fearsome rage you have eaten your son,

And the maidens stuck to their lie,

Now she stands at the mounting block outside the walls,

Telling her story to whoever calls,

To carry them all on her back as a horse.

Be they King or passer by.