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