Steeleye Span
Demon of the Well
Peggy lived at Waddow Hall, a servant maid was she
And suffered great misfortune such I'd never wished on thee
First killed and drowned in the well, her ghost was never laid
And now in every seven years an offering must be made
Sweet Isabel the landlord's ward upon this New Year's morn
She went a missing without trace, or so the tale is borne
The fate they said young William met below the hippin-stonеs
The matron's nephew vanishеd there just seven years ago
Come follow me, the matron's said, why dost thou loiter so
And shame that he be cowed by an image made of stone
Such foolish apprehension, she did say to quell their fears
For that which hath been dead and rotten for these hundred years
But within the rats and lumber of the cellar down below
She swung back the hammer and she made the final blow
Peggy's head fell to the floor, she stood there petrified
It was then she saw young William, standing there before her eyes
Avaunt ye now thou senseless thing, be gone from where ye dwell
For in the deep and darkness lives the Demon of the Well
But William, he had returned, no river claimed his life
And Isabel had followed him, to then become his wife
The unbelieving matron died, from fear, that much is plain
And was deemed to be a victim, to the wrath of Peggy's manes
Avaunt ye now thou senseless thing, be gone from where ye dwell
For in the deep and darkness lives the Demon of the Well
Avaunt ye now thou senseless thing, be gone from where ye dwell
For in the deep and darkness lives the Demon of the Well