The Host of the Air

    Dm            Am     Dm 
O‘Driscoll drove with a song 
              Am        Dm 
The wild duck and the drake 
                       C      Dm 
From the tall and the tufted reeds 
          G   Am   Dm 
Of the drear Hart Lake. 
 
     Dm             C          Dm 
And he saw how the reeds grew dark 
              C         Dm 
At the coming of night-tide, 
                    C        Dm 
And dreamed of the long dim hair 
     G      Am   Dm 
Of Bridget his bride. 
 
        Gm                      C 
   He heard while he sang and dreamed 
      Gm            C 
   A piper piping away, 
        F                G 
   And never was piping so sad, 
        Am                  Dm  C Dm C 
   And never was piping so gay. 
 
And he saw young men and young girls 
Who danced on a level place, 
And Bridget his bride among them, 
With a sad and a gay face. 
 
   The dancers crowded about him 
   And many a sweet thing said, 
   And a young man brought him red wine 
   And a young girl white bread. 
 
But Bridget drew him by the sleeve 
Away from the merry bands, 
To old men playing at cards 
With a twinkling of ancient hands. 
 
   The bread and the wine had a doom, 
   For these were the host of the air; 
   He sat and played in a dream 
   Of her long dim hair. 
 
He played with the merry old men 
And thought not of evil chance, 
Until one bore Bridget his bride 
Away from the merry dance. 
 
   He bore her away in his arms, 
   The handsomest young man there, 
   And his neck and his breast and his arms 
   Were drowned in her long dim hair. 
 
O‘Driscoll scattered the cards 
And out of his dream awoke: 
Old men and young men and young girls 
Were gone like a drifting smoke; 
 
        Gm                      C 
   But he heard high up in the air 
      Gm            C 
   A piper piping away, 
        F     C   G 
   And never was piping so sad, 
        Am               Dm 
   And never was piping so gay.