So the old Lord summoned his son, Alveric, and said to him, “Go from here eastwards and pass the fields we know, till you see the lands that clearly pertain to Faery; and cross their boundary, which is made of twilight, and come to that palace that is only told of in song.”
“It is far from here,” said the young man Alveric.
“Yes,” answered he, “it is far.”
“What do you bid me do,” said the son, “when I come to that palace?”
And his father said, “To wed the King of Elfland's daughter. Her name is Lirazel, she is a princess of the magic line.”
Music from the wind and trees, And breezes through the moss and grass, At last the dance should soon begin in Elfland. Buttercups that hide in shade Have kissed the blade of grass they passed The toadstool feels afool, he has his hat on.
Bouncing, prancing, foolish dancing, Trolls decide to run and hide Then back to back, they're back again bewildered Without delay, it's light to play To turn about and twist and shout Hand in hand, the trolls resist an Elf-call.
The trolls are all dancing to their melody, so ugly, Falling all over themselves, Thinking themselves to be devilish elves. The soldiers of Elfland are standing at ease, easy to please Watching the trolls fall asleep, I ask them all to get back on their feet.
Music comes from everywhere, The earth below, the glow from worms That turn in time to chiming fairy acorns. Dandelions, pretty heather, Stand together proud to share The air that sings the music that it brings us.
Travellers from far unknown Have blown the shells of twilight blue, I think they knew full well we would be dancing. A troll decides to wake as fairy Winds pretend that they are things And make the trolls a dancing tune to prance to.
And soon all the trolls are awake, devilish, all gibberish Asking the soldiers to dance with them, prance with them, Beat on their drums to the dance of the day Thousands of creatures are clapping and laughing The elves and the goblins join with us, sing with us Brighter the wind as the fiddlers play.
Lirazel, Mary Hopkin Drums, percussion, Nigel Pegrum Acoustic guitars, Bob Johnson Autoharp, synthesiser, Peter Knight Bass, Herbie Flowers Percussion, Ray Cooper