I longed to be a gentle rose,
A flower sweet and fine.
It seems I’m better as the thorn,
But I hope you’ll still be mine.
To be a maiden shy I tried,
It made a laughing play.
I cannot pretend beneath this helm
That I am meek today.
Oh follow me, oh follow me
out on the fields of war
and you shall find devotion true
unlike ever seen before.
Fine silk I tear while running round,
satin dresses I wear through,
Though with solid armor on my form
I shall ever fight for you.
I will not feel your fingers warm
beneath my gauntlets bright
but if you’ll be sturdy as my sword
then all my world is right.
Oh follow me, oh follow me
out on the fields of war
and you shall find devotion true
unlike ever seen before.
I cannot dance as gracefully
as all those pretty maids,
but I will stay strong as fine steel
As their beauty slowly fades.
I cannot give to you that life
of calm domestic bliss
But follow me, and take my heart
you’ll ne’er regret this.
Oh follow me, oh follow me
out on the fields of war
and you shall find devotion true
unlike ever seen before.
*** *** ***
This song is one that I think perhaps comes from my service as bardic champion. As I reflect in the cold of autumn, and ready to visit Tir Mara to see the rattan and A&S championships, where I’ll bring my husband and son with me for the first time in a while, I started to think about what kinds of things I thought I would be, and what I turned out to be.
I’m not a domestic girl, but a tomboy, perpetually. I loved palling around on the field and arming up and thudding across Pennsic, as I’ve loved thudding across the kingdom this year. I have especially loved the moments when my war brothers and sisters have made me feel, quite ironically, like the strongest of all delicate flowers – they reminded me that I am more beautiful in my strength than in any coy weakness. So this song is for them.
And my sweet, quiet husband is dragged into my madness with such patience, that this song became one about asking one you love to come with you for the ride, promising that really, it will be worth it. So this song is for him.