1 - Sister's Three

A tale about the origin of both good and evil in the heart of mankind.

This song tells the story of a mother with three daughters; one with a good heart, one with an evil heart, and one with no heart at all. Fearing the daughter with no heart the mother takes her to the woods and leaves her there to die. As the story plays out the evil daughter kills the good daughter before falling to her own untimely death. The abandoned daughter then cuts out half of the good heart and half of the evil heart before returning to live out her life.

Let the girls run into the woods and climb the tallest tree
For the ivy and the climbing vine shall bring you to your knees
My roots they hold this hill together entwined in soil and sod
Wound between the gorse and heather and bound to stone and rock

Young Mary she had children three of white and black and green
One was good and one was bad and one had woes unseen
Her youngest she was sweet and good, as pretty as a pearl
The second had a blackened heart, nasty little girl
The third she had no heart at all just emptiness within
She swore one day she’d find a way to steal one from her kin

Let the girls run into the woods and climb the tallest tree
For the ivy and the climbing vine shall bring you to your knees
My roots they hold this hill together entwined in soil and sod
Wound between the gorse and heather and bound to stone and rock

Young Mary she was pure and wise, loved her children three
She knew she had to take a life to stop her daughter green
She took her to the farmer’s land and on the blackest night
She gave to her a final kiss, held her daughter tight
She tied her to the old oak tree and left her there to die
But the old oak tree it opened up and swallowed her alive

Let the girls run into the woods and climb the tallest tree
For the ivy and the climbing vine shall bring you to your knees
My roots they hold this hill together entwined in soil and sod
Wound between the gorse and heather and bound to stone and rock

‘twas for a while all well, and calm had settled on their lives
But the eldest of the two would on her mother’s doting thrive
She wished her sister dead and in an instant was compelled
To take her sisters life have her mother to herself
So the two of them together left and to the woods did go
But when they did arrive the eldest hung her with a rope

Let the girls run into the woods and climb the tallest tree
For the ivy and the climbing vine shall bring you to your knees
My roots they hold this hill together entwined in soil and sod
Wound between the gorse and heather and bound to stone and rock

[INSTRUMENTAL]

She hung her sister from the tallest tree of solid oak
But before she could come down again the branch beneath them broke
And as both sisters fell quite dead and lifeless by the tree
It opened up and drew them in, let the young girl free
She cut out half the blackened heart and half the heart of white
She went back to her mother’s home and there lived out her life

Let the girls run into the woods and climb the tallest tree
For the ivy and the climbing vine shall bring you to your knees
My roots they hold this hill together entwined in soil and sod
Wound between the gorse and heather and bound to stone and rock

Let the girls run into the woods and climb the tallest tree
For the ivy and the climbing vine shall bring you to your knees
My roots they hold this hill together entwined in soil and sod
Wound between the gorse and heather and bound to stone and rock