Desmond

by Stranger Ways

Listen to it: Iron & Rust
Watch it: PorchFest 2015

There once was a boy, a boy they called Desmond
Charming and brave with a happy young life
He lived in a village not too far from here
The son of an old preacher man and his wife

He wanted for nothing, he knew he was loved
But there comes a time when a boy wants to climb
That tree a bit higher, to pick through that briar
To stray from his home and to see the world for himself

He took an old compass his father had earned
When he was at sea when he, too, longed to be
A gallant adventurer, exploring the world
When the lad left home, his parents despaired

His father cried out, "the woods are not safe
Now do as you're told and don't stray from the road
Don't give your poor mother a fright; there are demons at night
They're seductive as sin!", but he did not heed

Now I think you all know what happens next
Poor Desmond was taken, enthralled to the fae
And there he remained as a slave far beyond
The mercy that should have been his dying day

The thing about fae is they aren't quite cruel
They just don't know pleasure and pain like we do
And we are just playthings, like bugs in a jar
As poor Desmond cries out, but his voice doesn't carry far

Show me the way out of here
The plea grows hollow, as hope is killed by fear
I see the others taken like me
See them forget that they once were free... not me

Cling, cling, cling to my memories
My poor dad must worry over me
He looked like - oh no, not this again
Must hold on - the stubble on his chin
Eyes were brown - this is my litany
Hair was white - you won't take him from me

My will alone gives me a chance
But drives me mad; it's the only way to dance
When you are bound by hands and your feet
And then it's clear as reason retreats

This magic - I start to understand
Poisonous, but woven to the land
My compass - how did I never see
How it glows with all this energy
Channel it - my will to do them harm
Show me the way

The needle starts to turn
The needle starts to turn
The needle starts to turn
I'll make their kingdom burn