The lines ” I pulled you and I called you here”,( I caught you /brought you) in H4 make me think that W maybe had seen M wandering around the forest before and perhaps set himself up to be in her way when she was out. He already had “the wanting”. He apparently did not actually have a broken leg… There isn't much else to support that. oooo, but I just thought of this… maybe ” the prettiest whistles cant' wrestle the thistles undone” phrase refers to HIS force of nature( when here her plans were vexed). I had already thought of that line as a reference to “you(human) can't change nature.” That would follow. The next line- “Undone”. oops
At first I thought that this line was backwards! Obviously, he wrestled her thistle undone with his pretty whistles, but if its Nature(Q) not Her(M), it kind of makes sense.

(the prettiest whistles cant' wrestle the thistles undone) ” In fact, this line may be the key commentary on the overall story and what is meant by the hazards of love.” Though we came to different conclusions, I have to agree with Kyle from above!
Anyone know who or what is screamed at the end?

There is something that seems backwards on most posts- W is NOT of the river, he is a Forest's Son. Also, a Glen is a “narrow valley” or a “small secluded valley”, so not a river. Reedy though, so wet-clearly has a river running in it.

I've warmed up to the idea of W being Isaiah. I think all of the references to the cradle of clay and how She Labored him from Ore seems to say that she brought him back to life.
She mentions his miseries though. ( Remember when I found you,The miseries that hounded you) and how she Stole him? From Death?
Isaiah's part of H3 is sung by the children not W… and all the children DO return(“but Father your children all are here”), not just Isaiah. AND Isaiah is the oldest, not a baby at death. So, never mind. Not Isaiah, but probably dead. I kind of think the Rake and his children are just a good tool for the abduction and release.

What makes M a River's Daughter? we don't know. I think she is in a nunnery(an orphan, found in the river like Moses?) and the cistern line is asking her when is she due and who is the horrible man who would defile a nun? Or maybe shes not a novice- its just an orphanage run by nuns…
The line about lithesome maidens makes it clear they are not prostitutes(as suggested).
I think the 14 occupations paid may be either the girls fooling around with each other or themselves… M will not be satisfied with that! Her hands clasped her thigh-that's sexual frustration, baby. It's not work- it's an idle hour, nor periods- they also don't just happen in an idle hour- what do ya do with an idle hour? and Here is M, the one whose actually had sex- thinking to the girls, ” you'll find out soon enough-”
But Margaret heaves a sigh
Her hands clasped to her thigh
Singing: oh, the hazards of love
Oh the hazards of love
You’ll learn soon enough
The prettiest whistles won’t wrestle the thistle undone…

He says her waist is widening so its been some months but I find it hard to believe the Rake would want a really big pregnant girl, so I think it must be that nice time where we have a little extra meat but aren't really big yet.

I think the rest of the story takes place in two nights. The night she runs off to find W and the next night she is abducted and saved.
They definitely die pregnant. Again, the Rake would not take the baby, so they have no baby on the boat. There would have been some mention of the birth and definitely of the baby being left somewhere or dieing.

thanks for this! really fun.
If you are all not totally over this subject, we found a beautiful dance performance done by the U of Colorado. Highly recommend it! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DsnGKhIR3M

It’s possible but I don’t think so. William’s mother is not the Queen. He was adopted by the Queen and given the ability to change shape to keep him from the world of Man by day.

While they technically could be brothers, I don’t see anything to suggest that in the lyrics.

(also agree with someone further up that this is a typical Decemberist depressing version of Tam Lin. The motifs are exactly the same.)

it just means she hasnt had her period yet i.e. troubled the waters of the toilet. which means the question being asked is if youve missed your period it means youre pregnant. collin however refers to it a lot more stylistically and euphemistically

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My second comment had more to do with the printing of the lyrics – whoever did this does not understand printing very well. When you reverse out white, you need to consider dot gain from the black ink which fills in the letters. It might have looked fine on someone’s screen – but they did not adjust for the gain. There are also some space artifacts (mostly the names) and a few spelling errors.