The Land of the Young (Tír na nÓg)

For lyrics and translation to the song, click here.

Strange the tale of an elven king’s son
Who lured a maid into the land of the young.
There she took tea, fated never to return
To the land of the living where hopes reigned.

Once she escaped her besom buddies of elven-land
But euphoria died when her long black locks turned white
As haunting memories of the land of the young
Made her yearn for the revelry of elven friends.

On the steps of a cathedral she stood skyward gazing
Behind her from the woods the elven king’s son stood imploring
But she had found a love beside which earthly magic paled
A love eternal from her Maker that over all prevailed.

“I cannot go with you, sweet heir of elven halls
Though surely will I miss you and all your kith and kin.
I have chosen wisely with wisdom from above
To live and die a daughter of the God who does me love.”

The elven lords and ladies left behind remained wondering
Their days of wine, their nights of dance, youth forever blooming
Thrown aside by a poor maid as if they all were nothing
Impressed them not, sincere or not, and soon she was forgotten.

Crimson's Creative Challenge #154 prompt: Image credit Crispina Kemp
RagTag Daily Prompt Thursday: "Euphoria"
Sammi's 13 Days of Samhain vol ii: Day 2 – "Besom Buddies"
Eugi's Weekly Prompt: "Haunting"

18 thoughts on “The Land of the Young (Tír na nÓg)”

  4. That was lovely, Dora. And what a skillful combination. That’s hard to pull off, but you did it.
    I always wondered why the elves et al. myths showed them as fun-loving, irresponsible, mischievous and care-free and sometimes evil? Maybe they really are a part of ourselves we think we must suppress?

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    1. Glad you enjoyed it. Thank you, Gabi. I wonder, certainly Joseph Campbell et. al. would say so. And there’s perhaps a connection to angels, fallen and unfallen. Certainly they reflect a bit of us for good or ill.

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          1. You are a ghost
            driving a meat coated skeleton
            made from stardust
            riding a rock
            floating through space.
            Fear nothing.
            You are stardust.
            And you are the ashes of the Big Bang.
            And you are, at every imaginable level, a creation of the Universe, vast and beautiful and suffused with unbridled power.
            We are made of stardust.
            Stardust is made of the Big Bang.
            The Big Bang is made of… ?
            And what is outside and what came before and what will be after?
            Who says that there is no awe and wonder in the world any more?
            (Sorry for the long answer 😉 )

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            Reply

            1. Lofty thoughts and inspiring of wonder. You’ve cheered this shallow self up, my friend, to walk a little less desultorily. There is wonder within and without, and woe to us who don’t see it. 🥰

              Liked by 1 person

            2. There is nothing shallow I see here, and there may have been a bit too much pathos in these quotes. 😉 But I really like the first part, the part with ‘fear nothing’ – it’s become a bit of a mantra, putting things into perspective and so on…

              Liked by 1 person

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