Two Men Came to Your Hall Door

The Sound of a Tear not Cried by Karine Polwart, available on Three Ravens by Malinky

Two men came to your hall door And you did not let them in And you did not care What had brought them there They were bones covered ower wi' skin

When you looked again they were five and ten All sighing a sorrowful sound Did you hear the knell Of the warning bell Or the howl of a hunting hound

Then a hundred more came to your door A-mutterin' and makin' their mane (moan) Still you scorned at the skaith (dismissed their complaint) You were aye sick-laith (really reluctant) To keep them fae the wind and rain

As the night's grew long did you hear the throng Roar like a ralliach tide (stormy) Through the rising flood Did you hear your own blood Or the sound of a tear not cried

They will wait no more at your hall door For their waiting days are done And there's no lock nor key That will hold back the sea There's no chains on the rising sun