Under the Juniper

Intro

(under the juniper, under the ground, something is singing...)

Verse

She fed me apples with a smiling face,

Slammed the lid before I found my place,

Told my sister it was my own fault,

Cooked me slow in a pot of salt.

My father ate what he thought was stew,

Never once looked twice, never knew,

My sister gathered what bones she found,

Buried them soft in the juniper ground.

Pre-Chorus

Nine days the tree stood still and grey,

Then the branches moved a different way,

Out of the smoke and the green and gold,

I came back singing, not too old.

Chorus

My mother, she killed me, she killed me dead,

My father ate me, ate my head,

My sister gathered what the fire spared,

Under the juniper tree, nobody cared.

But listen close to what I bring,

A golden chain for the songs I sing,

Red shoes for the ones who mourned my name,

And for the woman who lit the flame — a millstone, all the same.

Verse

I flew to the goldsmith's window sill,

Sang my story, sang it still,

He gave a chain of the brightest gold,

For the truest tale that's ever been told.

I flew to the cobbler working late,

Sang again outside his gate,

He gave me shoes as red as blood,

For a story sung from under the mud.

Chorus

My mother, she killed me, she killed me dead,

My father ate me, ate my head,

My sister gathered what the fire spared,

Under the juniper tree, nobody cared.

But listen close to what I bring,

A golden chain for the songs I sing,

Red shoes for the ones who mourned my name,

And for the woman who lit the flame — a millstone, all the same.

Bridge

She heard the bells and stepped outside,

Thought the gold was hers, thought the gold would hide

What she did on that November day,

But a millstone doesn't ask, a millstone just falls,

Straight and heavy, answering all,

The ground shook once beneath her feet,

And the singing bird flew back to the seat

Where a boy sat down, warm and whole,

No gold, no feathers, just a boy come home.

Final Chorus

My mother, she killed me, but I'm not dead,

My father wept and bowed his head,

My sister held me, finally spared,

Under the juniper tree, someone cared.

I gave the chain, I gave the shoes,

I gave the stone I chose to use,

The debt is paid, the song is done,

Under the juniper, I am the one.

Outro

(under the juniper, under the ground, nothing is singing now...)

A boy stands where the branches bent,

The bird flew off to wherever it went,

Some trees remember what the ground forgets,

Some songs are sung to settle debts.

Spoken

"This music was created by DiscoPrincess — Royalty of the Night"