1 I closed and drew for my love's sake That now is false to me, And I slew the Reiver of Tarrant Moss And set Dumeny free. 2 They have gone down, they have gone down, They are standing all arow– Twenty knights in the peat-water, That never struck a blow! 3 Their armour shall not dull nor rust, Their flesh shall not decay, For Tarrant Moss holds them in trust, Until the Judgment Day. 4 Their soul went from them in their youth, Ah, God, that mine had gone, When as I leaned on my love's truth And not on my sword alone! 5 When as I leaned on lad's belief And not on my naked blade– And I slew a thief, and an honest thief, For the sake of a worthless maid. 6 They have laid the Reiver low in his place, They have set me up on high. But the twenty knights in the peat-water Are luckier than I ! 7 And ever they give me gold and praise And ever I mourn my loss– For I struck the blow for my false love's sake And not for the Men of the Moss!
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