Black Witches on the Wind
(Ancient Manx folksong. Author unknown)
The storm rolled in from Ireland
With a vengeance . . . as dark as sin
King Orry waits in Castletown . . . for the trial to begin
His face was grim and his steely eyes were silent and ashen
The skies were grave that November day she drove black witches on the wind
She was a powerful sorceress, and she brought three hundred men
Bewitched they brought their pikes and axe for to kill a mighty King
They drove him from his castle and they drove him cross the land
They left the dead unburied and their hands stained with blood
At Bishopscourt they stood to fight unto the final hour
King Orry spoke with masons, and he built forth a mighty tower
The sorceress lashed the tower with storms and she lashed the tower with crows
But the tower withstood the anger, and the tower withstood the woes
The sorceress threw fire and she sent forth pestilence
The tower was swarmed with insects unleashed with violence
King Orry prayed for almighty power, and he prayed for discipline
The sorceress wrought malevolence with black witches on the wind
Black witches, black witches, black witches on the wind
Black witches, black witches, black witches on the wind
The sorceress wove an evil spell and dispatched it on the wind
The Kings men began to weaken to the daemons sent forth within
Their mind was filled with terror, and their mind was filled with fear
King Orry could not save them as the men succumbed to weariness
Now King Orry had four daughters, and he sent them to the tower
For the tower had four corners and they looked out o’er the land
He sat them in each window for their beauty was seen by all around
As the sorceress sent her men to fight and raze the tower to the ground
Black witches, black witches, black witches on the wind
Black witches, black witches, black witches on the wind
The sorceress spoke into the wind and called her men to fight
The tower would come down . . . the tower would not stand
But the beauty of the King’s daughters shone out across the land
Bewitched by their raving beauty the men would not raise a hand
The sorceress could not be defeated . . . twas then she cast a mortal spell
And she sealed them all in the tower for as long as time will tell
What became of King Orry the world could never know
Inside the tower five mounds of dust remained of all that was to show
Black witches, black witches, black witches on the wind
Black witches, black witches, black witches on the wind
