The Widow

2 days ago by @berni1954

The Widow

berni1954

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Liner Notes

This is a late entry for the Murder Ballad Skirmish.
I used to be well known on the English Folk Scene (back in the 1980s) for writing contemporary songs in a traditional idiom. I hope this one proves I have still got it 😉

PS The melody came to me as soon as I picked up my friend's Hulusi, so I consider it a gift from that instrument.

Instruments:
Kala FMTE-C Tenor Ukulele
Chinese Hulusi (without using the drones)

#halusi #folk #murder_ballad #tenor_ukulele #fuc

Lyrics

(Gm) He had heard that she (F) had a hidden (Gm) fortune
The (Bb) widow who (F) lived up on the (Gm) hill
He was determined (F) that he'd (Gm) find it
And he (Bb) courted her (Dm) with a (Gm) will

She seemed flattered by his attention
All coquettish when he came to call
His smile hid his deeper feelings
This old bird was ready for a fall

He was sure that he'd won her over
Every day his confidence grew
Till he dared to raise their future
And a hint of marriage, or two

She replied she'd consider his proposal
And mentioned the little she'd put by
Said "If you bring to our union, some money.
We could live in comfort and style"

He had a few thousand in savings
That he offered her to seal the deal
Knowing that he meant to inherit
Once his pact with this devil was sealed

Their wedding day dawned in summer
A quiet affair among friends
That he had to share her bed was loathsome
But it was only the means to his ends

She kept her fortune well hidden
Until one fateful day
He spied her take a brick from the chimney
Behind which her strong box lay

He waited some months for his moment
To allay suspicions in the town
He would use his usual poison
That for the cops was hard to track down

Unknown to him she had watched him
And seen where he'd hidden his stash
When he rose to administer the doses
Down on his head her cane crashed

His body she chopped into pieces
That she fed to the pigs on the farm
She told the police at the station
"He's robbed me and fled!" in alarm

Nobody doubted her story
They'd known he was one of those men
So she kept the thousands he'd invested
And that thief was never seen again.

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