Song, Chant, Poetry, Stories and Satire for the Pagan Community

This entry made: 11/06/1997

Title: The King of the May
Lyrics by: Isaac Bonewits
Tune: Sorry the Day I Was Married (English Traditional)
Date: 1989, 119997
Source: http://www.qed.net/Bonewits/IB_Songs.HTML
Recorded on: "Avalon Is Rising!" - available here
Subject: God

(Key of G)

Chorus:
Happy the day I was married
And holy the day I was wed.
And it's oh if I only had tarried
When I to the altar was led!

I fought hard to win all the contests,
I beat every boy in the town.
The girls they swarmed all around me
And on my head they put the crown.

They took me straightway to the altar
And wed me to our Goddess dear.
My feet neither dragged nor did falter,
My heart filled with joy, not fear.

I had my pick of 'em that evening
And all through the followin' day.
They giggled and took turns upon me
For I was the King of the May.

Happy the day...

Ever since then I have ruled 'em
From that day to this very one.
Big bellies and harvests I gave 'em
And sure and I had my fun.

I've had every girl in the village
A dozen times over and more.
The mothers brought me to their daughters
And smiled as I opened the door.

For seven years I've had my pleasures,
No woman nor man said me nay.
But I'd trade all those "yes"s they gave me
For one blessed "no" today.

Happy the day I was married
And holy the day I was wed.
And it's oh if I only could tarry
As now to my slaughter I'm led!


[This song is a playful referrence to Frazer's Golden Bough 
theories about sacrificed Corn Kings and modern horror
fiction on the same theme. To the best of my knowledge 
there are no Pagan villages sacrificing their best breeding stock
today (if there ever really were -- it's kind of a stupid 
idea from an evolutionary point of view). Now if we could 
only get governments to stop sacrificing young men and 
women to the demons of war...]

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