House of the Rising Sun (Old West version)

Simple melody sheet music.  Simple piano sheet with the Animals's arpeggio. 

Slow blues version from 1942.  The Animals, 1964.  Muse, 2016.  Chase Holfelder, 2018.  

There is a house in New Orleans
They call the Rising Sun.
It's been the ruin of many a poor fool
For I, oh Lord, am one.

My mother was a tailor,
My pa, a hired gun.
My brother turned a sailor
To escape the Rising Sun.

My sweetheart was a gambler
Down in New Orleans.
He woke up of the wrong side of debt...
I still can hear his screams.

If I'd listened to what my mother said,
I'd be at home today.
But I was a young and foolish poor girl,
Let a gambler lead me astray.

I came out west to Salt City
For I was on the run.
It takes just disappearance or death
To escape the Rising Sun.

One foot is on the platform,
The other on the train.
Oh, I'll become a blacksmith
To break the ball and chain.

Oh God, please save my mother.
Oh God, please save my son.
Oh God, please save your children
From the House of the Rising Sun.

My mother died in poverty,
And I will do the same.
Oh death, oh death, come down on me,
Release me from my shame.

There is a house in New Orleans
They call the Rising Sun.
It's been the ruin of many a poor fool
For I, oh Lord, am one.

Greensleeves

I like the Blackmore's night version. But more traditional tunage is good too.  Or something that's most familiar. Simple sheet music 

Alas, my love, you do me wrong,
To cast me off discourteously.
For I have loved you well and long,
Delighting in your company.

Chorus:
Greensleeves was all my joy
Greensleeves was my delight,
Greensleeves was my heart of gold,
And who but my Lady Greensleeves.

Alas, my love, that you should own
A heart of wanton vanity,
So must I meditate alone
Upon your insincerity.

(Chorus)

Your vows you've broken, like my heart,
Oh, why did you so enrapture me?
Now I remain in a world apart
But my heart remains in captivity.

(Chorus)

If you intend thus to disdain,
It does the more enrapture me,
And even so, I still remain
A lover in captivity.

(Chorus)

I have been ready at your hand,
To grant whatever you would crave,
I have both wagered life and land,
Your love and good-will for to have.

(Chorus)

Thou couldst desire no earthly thing,
But still thou hadst it readily.
Thy music still to play and sing;
And yet thou wouldst not love me.

(Chorus)

I bought thee kerchiefs for thy head,
That were wrought fine and gallantly;
I kept thee at both board and bed,
Which cost my purse well-favoredly.

(Chorus)

I bought thee petticoats of the best,
The cloth so fine as it might be;
I gave thee jewels for thy chest,
And all this cost I spent on thee.

(Chorus)

Thy smock of silk, both fair and white,
With gold embroidered gorgeously;
Thy petticoat of sendal right,
And these I bought thee gladly.

(Chorus)

My men were clothed all in green,
And they did ever wait on thee;
All this was gallant to be seen,
And yet thou wouldst not love me.

(Chorus)

They set thee up, they took thee down,
They served thee with humility;
Thy foot might not once touch the ground,
And yet thou wouldst not love me.

(Chorus)

'Tis, I will pray to God on high,
That thou my constancy mayst see,
And that yet once before I die,
Thou wilt vouchsafe to love me.

(Chorus)

Ah, Greensleeves, now farewell, adieu,
To God I pray to prosper thee,
For I am still thy lover true,
Come once again and love me.

(Chorus)

Follow Me Up to Carlow

Ok obviously I like the rambunctious versions that sound like parties. Here's Young Dubliners but Planxty is good too. Simple sheet music 


Lift MacCahir Óg your face brooding o'er the old disgrace
That black Fitzwilliam stormed your place, drove you to the Fern
Grey said victory was sure soon the firebrand he'd secure;
Until he met at Glenmalure with Fiach MacHugh O'Byrne.


Curse and swear Lord Kildare
Fiach will do what Fiach will dare
Now Fitzwilliam, have a care
Fallen is your star, low
Up with halbert out with sword
On we'll go for by the Lord
Fiach MacHugh has given the word,
Follow me up to Carlow.

See the swords of Glen Imayle, they're flashing o'er the English Pale
See all the children of the Gael, beneath O'Byrne's banners
Rooster of a fighting stock, would you let a Saxon cock
Crow out upon an Irish rock? Fly up and teach him manners!

Curse and swear Lord Kildare
Fiach will do what Fiach will dare
Now Fitzwilliam, have a care
Fallen is your star, low
Up with halbert out with sword
On we'll go for by the Lord
Fiach MacHugh has given the word,
Follow me up to Carlow.

From TaSaggart to Clonmore, there flows a stream of Saxon gore
O, great is Rory Óg O'More, at sending the loons to Hades.
White is sick and Grey is fled, now for black Fitzwilliam's head
We'll send it over dripping red, to Queen Liza and her ladies.

Curse and swear Lord Kildare
Fiach will do what Fiach will dare
Now Fitzwilliam, have a care
Fallen is your star, low
Up with halbert out with sword
On we'll go for by the Lord
Fiach MacHugh has given the word,
Follow me up to Carlow.

Winter Light: Opal

"Opal/Winter Light" poem by Amy Lowell. Music by Michael Gandolfi

You are ice and fire,

The touch of you burns my hands like snow.

You are cold and flame.

You are the crimson of amaryllis,

The silver of moon-touched magnolias.

When I am with you,

My heart is a frozen pond

Gleaming with agitated torches.

Cockles & Mussels

Cockles and Mussels - I haven't found a recording I like of this

In Dublin's fair city,
Where the Girls are so pretty,
I first set my eyes,
On sweet Molly Malone,
As she wheeled her wheel barrow,
Through the streets broad and narrow,
Crying cockles and mussels,
Alive alive o!

Alive alive o!
Alive alive o!
Crying cockles and mussels,
Alive alive o!

She was a fish monger,
And sure it was no wonder,
For so were her
Father and Mother before,
And they both wheeled their barrow,
Through the streets broad and narrow,
Crying cockles and mussels,
Alive alive o!

Alive alive o!
Alive alive o!
Crying cockles and mussels,
Alive alive o!

She died of a fever,
And no one could save her,
And that was the end
Of sweet Molly Malone,
But her ghost wheels her barrow,
Through the streets broad and narrow,
Crying cockles and mussels,
Alive alive o!

Rocky Road to Dublin

Rocky Road to Dublin - This is said to be one of the most difficult folk tunes to sing/play... Here's violin + piano music

While in the merry month of May from me home I started,

Left the girls of Tuam so sad and broken hearted,
Saluted father dear, kissed me darling mother,
Drank a pint of beer, me grief and tears to smother,
Then off to reap the corn, leave where I was born,
Cut a stout black thorn to banish ghosts and goblins;
Bought a pair of brogues rattling o'er the bogs
And fright'ning all the dogs on the rocky road to Dublin.

One, two, three four, five, 

Hunt the Hare and turn her down the rocky road
all the way to Dublin, Whack follol de rah !

In Mullingar that night I rested limbs so weary,
Started by daylight next morning blithe and early,
Took a drop of pure to keep me heart from sinking;
That's a Paddy's cure whenever he's on drinking.
See the lassies smile, laughing all the while
At me curious style, 'twould set your heart a bubblin'
Asked me was I hired, wages I required,
I was almost tired of the rocky road to Dublin.

One, two, three four, five,
Hunt the Hare and turn her down the rocky road
all the way to Dublin, Whack follol de rah !

In Dublin next arrived, I thought it such a pity
To be soon deprived a view of that fine city.
So then I took a stroll, all among the quality;
Me bundle it was stole, all in a neat locality.
Something crossed me mind, when I looked behind,
No bundle could I find upon me stick a wobblin'
Enquiring for the rogue, they said me Connaught brogue
Wasn't much in vogue on the rocky road to Dublin.

One, two, three four, five,
Hunt the Hare and turn her down the rocky road
all the way to Dublin, Whack follol de rah !

From there I got away, me spirits never falling,
Landed on the quay, just as the ship was sailing.
The Captain at me roared, said that no room had he;
When I jumped aboard, a cabin found for Paddy.
Down among the pigs, played some hearty rigs,
Danced some hearty jigs, the water round me bubbling;
When off Holyhead I wished meself was dead,
Or better for instead on the rocky road to Dublin.

One, two, three four, five,
Hunt the Hare and turn her down the rocky road
all the way to Dublin, Whack follol de rah !

Well the boys of Liverpool, when we safely landed,
Called meself a fool, I could no longer stand it.
Blood began to boil, temper I was losing;
Poor old Erin's Isle they began abusing.
"Hurrah me soul" says I, me Shillelagh I let fly.
Some Galway boys were nigh and saw I was a hobble in,
With a load "hurray !" joined in the affray.
We quitely cleared the way for the rocky road to Dublin.

One, two, three four, five,
Hunt the Hare and turn her down
the rocky road and all the way to Dublin,
Whack follol de rah !

Raggle Taggle Gypsy

Raggle Taggle Gypsy - I love the Chieftan's version

Black is the Color

Black is the Color -  I love the  Fiddlesticks version of this
Black black black is the color of my true love`s hair
His lips are like some roses fair
The sweetest face and the gentlest hands.
I love the ground whereon he stands

For black is the color of my true love's hair
His lips are like some roses fair
The sweetest face and the gentlest hands.
I love the ground whereon he stands

I love my love and well he knows
I love the ground whereon he goes.
If he on earth no more I see
My life shall surely leave me

Black black black is the color of my true love`s hair
His lips are like some roses fair
The sweetest face and the gentlest hands.
I love the ground whereon he stands

I go to trouble some to mourn and weep
But satisfied I never can sleep
I'll write him a letter, a few short lines
I'll suffer death ten thousand times


A winter's past and the leaves are green
The time has past that we have seen
But still I hope the time will come
When you and I will be as one

Black black black is the color of my true love's hair

Cymbeline

(From Cymbeline by Shakespeare)

Fear no more the heat o' the sun,
Nor the furious winter's rages;
Thou thy worldly task hast done,
Home art gone, and ta'en thy wages:
Golden lads and girls all must,
As chimney-sweepers, come to dust.

Fear no more the frown o' the great;
Thou art past the tyrant's stroke;
Care no more to clothe and eat;
To thee the reed is as the oak:
The sceptre, learning, physic, must
All follow this, and come to dust.

Fear no more the lightning flash,

Nor the all-dreaded thunder-stone;

Fear not slander, censure rash;

Thou hast finish'd joy and moan:

All lovers young, all lovers must
Consign to thee, and come to dust.

No exorciser harm thee!

Nor no witchcraft charm thee!

Ghost unlaid forbear thee!

Nothing ill come near thee!

Quiet consummation have;
And renowned be thy grave!

The End of All

Let's share consuming kisses,
And like fire meeting powder,
Let's explode and end this town.
These violent delights have violent ends,
And we'll show them the triumph of true love.

Let's kill the envious and swear not by the moon,
But by our hands and by what we can do.
And I will do it all to be with you.
And will you leave me so unsatisfied?
For I want more than what you do;
I want the world to die for you.

So we'll be not ourselves
And we'll love no one else,
For we'll die in the world
And we'll live in the grave.
I'll have no other name
If you will call me love,
For your name murders me.
And when I married you,
I wed calamity.

I'll make your wedding bed the grave,
And we'll destroy our lives
If just to kiss these pilgrim lips.
We'll quench our love with purple fountains issuing from our veins.
If we survive, I'll cherish you to death.

Let all things die if I cannot be loved by you
For love-devouring death do what he dare,
It is enough I may but call you mine.
So we'll show those that never hurt
What pain sweet bliss can be.
So dedicate your loveliness alone to me.

What's love? The damned ones use that word in hell.
I must be gone, or stay for love and die.
And love's the end of all.

Secret Tunnel

Wrote some lyrics to make it a whole song!

Two lovers, forbidden from one another
A war divides their people
And a mountain divides them apart.
These lovers made a pact to one another
With the power of their hearts
No mountain could keep them apart.

Secret tunnel! Secret tunnel!
Through the mountain!
Secret secret secret secret tunnel!

The walls would move and the tunnels would change
Only they knew the way through
And their names were Oma and Shu.
They dreamed of a city of peace and prosperity
Built from the earth by their hands.
They wished for a new land.


Secret tunnel! Secret tunnel!
Through the mountain!
Secret secret secret secret tunnel!

And if you go in, you must follow your heart
And your love will lead you to light.
But if you do not trust the power of love,
You will surely get lost and die.


Secret tunnel! Secret tunnel!
Through the mountain!
Secret secret secret secret tunnel!

The Short First Life of Hazel Levesque

It was not long before I saw this gift was a true curse.
Be careful when you wish for all the riches of the earth,
For when you live in poverty, you wonder what is worse.
When jewels take the lives of men, it shows what they are worth.

I don't know why it fell to me to bear this awful skill.
He came to her and she gave him a wish she could fulfill;
They come to me from in the earth, deeper than man can till;
It came to her, and she obeyed the voice's evil will.

Now far from home I take my plight,
Row to an island out of sight,
Resurrect this evil thing,
A body's gold and silver gleam.

Though I may have died a hero when I shoved it underground,
I thought Elysium was too good for one who'd done such wrong.
My mother, controlled by the voice, to Tartarus was bound,
Forever with the monsters and the sinners to belong.

I bartered at the judgement for my mother's and my soul,
So to the fields of Asphodel we were deemed to go.

Therein we shuffled, silent, ghostly spirits blank and bare,
Susurrating memories of lifetimes short and gone.
And in the misty grayness, so grimly waiting there,
I met a son of Pluto, my half-brother never known.

House of the Silver Snake

There is a house at Hogwarts,
They call it Slytherin.
It's been the ruin of many a pure witch
Once she was sorted in.

With one foot in the Dark Arts,
The other in the flame,
The head of house is Severus Snape
With bravery and shame.

Oh mother, tell my sisters
Not to go where I have gone.
When the Sorting Hat is on your head,
Just choose a different one.

Oh mothers, tell your wizards
That it's for their own sake.
Don't follow in the Dark Arts
In the house of the silver snake.

There is a house at Hogwarts,
They call it Slytherin.
It's been the ruin of many a pure witch
Once she was sorted in.

Horror in My Soul

There is horror in my soul today,
And bitterness and gloom.
More umbrage than can be held
In any earthly doom.
There is horror, darkest horror
That corrodes each corner of my soul.
Each waking day and deathly night,
There is horror in my soul.

There is night time in my soul today.
I never knew the sun.
Each day and night I must keep
A candle burning dim.
There is horror, darkest horror
That corrodes each corner of my soul.
Each waking day and deathly night,
There is horror in my soul.

There is winter in my soul today,
Frozen, ghastly and grim;
And falling from the sky above
Are wings of cherubim.
There is horror, darkest horror
That corrodes each corner of my soul.
Each waking day and deathly night,
There is horror in my soul.

There is madness in my soul today,
An impenetrable fog
Where ghosts are hazy shadows near
And memories walk on.
There is horror, darkest horror
That corrodes each corner of my soul.
Each waking day and deathly night,
There is horror in my soul.

The Man with a Face

There's a man with a face on the back of his head
He did whatever the head-face said.
He wore a large turban to cover his plight
For the face on his head was a gruesome sight.

He was a professor at old Hogwarts,
But the job was cursed, and so he was forced
To travel the world after just one year,
And when he returned he was filled with fear.

He never did say what horrors he faced,
But when he came back, his hair had been replaced
With a pasty, writhing, evil mug
That survived by drinking unicorn blood.

There's a man with a face on the back of his head
He did whatever the head-face said.
He wore a large turban to cover his plight
For the face on his head was a gruesome sight.

So Lovely

I saw her walking
Down by the sea
Atop the cliffs were
Just her and me.

“You’ve a new mantua
Of silk and linen.
Can your father grant
Such costly clothing?

Do you keep your figure
With stays and poison?
Is it for yourself
Or another reason?

For you are so lovely, love
From your skin to your bones
For you are so lovely, love
And I’ll hold you close
For you are so lovely, love
When you scream such lovely tones.

Where is your love, love?
He comes here nightly
I know you think of him
When you smile brightly.

Where is your love, love?
I’ve often seen him
With velvet coat and
An up-cocked hat brim.

Does he bring you gold, love?
Does he bring you silver?
Does he kiss your lips, love?
Does he make you quiver?

Who is your love, love?
A robber of the sea?
Is he a gentle noble?
Is he better than me?

For you are so lovely, love
From your skin to your bones
For you are so lovely, love
And I’ll hold you close
For you are so lovely, love
When you scream such lovely tones.”


She swam so lovely
Just like a mermaid.
With her ankles bound
And her petticoats swirling.

And down she sank
Through aphotic swelling.
And if she shall surface
There is no telling.

For you are so lovely, love
From your skin to your bones
For you are so lovely, love
Now he’ll never hold you close
For you are so lovely, love
When you scream such lovely tones.

Ballad of Bracken

He was born a unicorn
But he lost all three of his horns
An evil man locked him up tight
He paced the dungeons through an endless night

The first horn he gave away
To a man who saved the day
The third horn was made into a cup
That helped lock the demons up

Yeah he was born a unicorn
But he lost all three of his horns
He’s trapped in his avatar form
But he was born a unicorn

The second horn was stolen, you see
By a villain with treachery
That evil man locked him up tight
Until he met a girl who shone bright

Yeah he was born a unicorn
Until he lost all three of his horns
When he looked into her mind
He knew that she was fairykind

They escaped and went on a quest
Protect Eternals, they did their best
When his second horn came into sight
He had to laugh and win the fight

Yeah he was born a unicorn
Now he got back his second horn
From his body a brilliant light poured
And his horn turned into a sword

Dragon, man, and fairykind
Are his companions, they’re determined
Narcoblix, shadow charmer, golem too
And the satyrs were part of his crew

‘Cause he was born a unicorn
He can make a sword from his horn
Now they’re off to the demon gate
The end of the world to await

The Fairy Queen helped with the fight
And they battled the darkness with light
Though he may look just like a man
He’s a unicorn and he has a plan

Yeah he was born a unicorn
Without his horns he felt so forlorn
That all changed when he made up his mind
To spend his life with the fairykind

Yeah he was born a unicorn
He felt so awesome when he found his horn
He had to stay in his avatar form
But he will always be a unicorn

Robot War

Be alert, my love
And stand your ground
Against this robot army
It’s just you and me now,
But we will make it out

There was nothing on the news
But lies, for they refuse
To let the people know their lot
Or let the people fight their fight

Be alert, my love
And stand your ground
This war will be over soon
There will be peace on this earth

And why do you love me?
When I could be one of them
Could turn around, betray mankind
Join my mechanical brothers.
But I am made from living flesh
As testified by these scars.

Stand your ground, my love
Be alert and stay inside
It’s just you and me,
But this war will be over soon.

Just a few more moments now
As I step into the mainframe
To give the order
I could kill all humans
But there is no love to be found
With the digital.
I may be one of them
But I am not with them.

Hold still my love.
My brain is full of nanites,
But I have a beating heart.
This war will be over soon,
And we will make it out.

James's Son

James, he played Quidditch
Played it very well
He could catch the Snitch
The way he could cast a spell
He’d make the crowd love him
Before the game was done
You have your father’s skill.
You are your father’s son.

James never knew
Voldemort was on his way
He had other worries
And other games to play
When Voldy came and killed him,
I just had to run
The only thing in my head—
I had to save James's son.

I couldn’t feel goodness,
I couldn’t see light
I was in Azkaban,
The prison filled with fright.
Anger without comfort,
Screams without sound.
Only darkness and pain
The anger and pain
I escaped from the pain
There was new hope when I found
That Wormtail was still around.

James, he played Quidditch
He would be playing still.
I just can't forget him
I know I never will.
I'm fed up with excuses
I have only one:
You have your father’s skill.
I can see that
You are your father’s son.

Your Blood is So Pure

You wake up in the morning
And play with some new Dark toy
And prance around like a git
Because you're a Malfoy.

Does your mother always look
Like something died under her nose?
Or is it just when she's with you
That her disdain shows?

Because your blood is so pure
It makes you so sure
You're so much better than us
But you're so immature
'Cause when Purebloods are through
It'll be us and not you
At the end of the war
Mixed blood will endure.

Only Slytherins would care
If your blood is here or there
I'd rather mix with Mudbloods
Than be a millionaire

Your hair looks like it's slicked down with glue
When you see a Hippogriff, you scream like a girl
Just like every time that we see you
We have to hold back the instinct, the instinct to hurl

Because your blood is so pure
It makes you so sure
You're so much better than us
But you're so immature
Cause when Purebloods are through
It'll be us and not you
At the end of the war
Mixed blood will endure.