Lyrics

“Jacob’s Tale”


My name is Jacob Riley and I live here all alone
Saw my days come and go
In this cottage made of stone
My wife and I raised our brood
Farming this good land
A right nice life for a man like me
But not quite what I had planned
Well …

As a young man I fought in the wars
To keep my Lord’s lands free
I dreamed of seas to be crossed
And many a lands to see
Three years I wandered after we won
Fields and valleys I crossed
Then came back to where I was born
To a maiden I was soon lost

The Earl he was a kindly man
And remembered me from the wars
A small farm house was given to me
Down by the green sea shores
My Lady and I filled the house
And worked the fertile land
My mend knew peace and
My heart knew love
As we raised our merry band

The years flew by and the kids grew up
Off to start their own life
Some to war and some to town
The girls to be a wife
We saw the little ones come again
To run in the fields so green
My wife and I did watch them grow
A fine wonder to be seen








Then one Spring my wife grew weak
Grey and thin she faded away
The whole family gathered by her side
As she came to her final day
I live here now by myself
But she is close at hand
I feel her touch upon my heart
Her spirit is in the land


The kids do come to see me now
As my years keep winding by
I sit by her rock in the morning sun
Too old to wonder why
I sit by the fire late it seems
Too grey to need much sleep
And as my mind ponders this life
My thoughts run wide and deep

The land, the sun, the moon and the stars
The gift of love from my wife
My name is Jacob Riley
And I’ve had a happy life