Lyrics
[Verse 1]
Within the fire
And out upon the sea
Crazy man Michael was walking
He met with a raven
With eyes black as coals
And shortly, they were a-talking
Your future, your future
I would tell to you
Your future, you often have asked me
Your true love will die by your own right hand
And Crazy Man Michael will cursed be
[Verse 2]
Michael, he ranted
And Michael, he raved
And beat up the four winds with his fists, oh
He laughed and he cried
He shouted and he swore
For his mad mind had trapped him with a kiss, oh
You speak with an evil
You speak with a hate
You speak for the devil that haunts me
For is she not the fairest in all the broad land
Your sorcerer's words are to taunt me
[Verse 3]
He took out his dagger
Of fire and of steel
And struck down the raven
Through the heart, oh
The bird fluttered long
And the sky, it did spin
And the cold earth did wonder and startle
Oh, where is the raven
That I struck down dead?
And here did lie on the ground, oh
I see that my true love
With a wound so red
Where her lover's heart
It did pound, oh
[Verse 4]
Crazy Man Michael, he wanders and calls
And talks to the night and the day, oh
And his eyes, they are sane
And his speech, it is plain
And he longs to be far away, oh
Michael, he whistles
The simplest of tunes
And asks the wild wolves their pardon
For his true love is flown into every flower grown
And he must be keeper of the garden
Written by: Dave Swarbrick, Richard Thompson