THE WIDOW'S LEDGER: FOUR DEBTS

[Intro]

Nine hundred forty-five. The Dnipro running low.

Ihor rode to the Drevlians. Twice, for the same gold.

[Verse 1]

They paid him once in honey, in black fox and in wax.

He turned the horses round for more. He never came back.

[Verse 2]

A wolf among the sheep, they said, takes the flock one by one.

They bent two birch trees to the ground and tied my husband on.

That's how the Greeks tell it. The rider wouldn't say.

My son is three. My hands are dry. I sent the rider away.

[Pre-Chorus]

Bar the gate. Count the spears. Light the long hall.

Prince Mal of Iskorosten, I have learned your name. That's all.

[Time]

[Drop]

Ihor's dead. Ihor's dead.

(Слава! Слава! Давай!)

Four debts on the Drevlians and I keep them in my head.

The widow holds the river, the widow holds the throne,

Sviatoslav is three years old, so Kyiv is my own.

[Drop 2]

(Слава! Слава! Давай!)

[Verse 3]

I didn't tear my dress. I didn't tear my hair.

I called in every boyar and I sat in Ihor's chair.

They think a widow is a door you simply walk straight through.

Twenty men are rowing down to tell me what to do.

I have Ihor's sword, Ihor's son and Ihor's gate.

Prince Mal, you want a wedding? Set the date. I'll wait.

A boat, a bath, a barrel and a sky full of birds.

Four debts. I'll pay them in order. You have my word.

[Outro]

Nine hundred forty-five. The river's running low.

Ihor's dead. I know.

[Fade Out]

[End]

[Intro]

Twenty men in one boat, down the Dnipro in the spring.

Prince Mal sends his compliments. Prince Mal sends a ring.

[Verse 1]

We killed him like a wolf, they say, but our princes are kind.

Marry Mal of Iskorosten. Put Ihor out of mind.

[Verse 2]

I say: your offer pleases me. A dead man won't rise.

Tomorrow I will honour you in front of Kyiv's eyes.

Go back and sleep on board tonight, and when my people call,

Say: we won't ride, we won't walk. Carry us, boat and all.

[Pre-Chorus]

All night in the courtyard, shovels in the clay.

Long enough for one boat. Deep enough to stay.

[Time]

[Drop]

Carry them in! Carry them in!

(Давай, давай! Ура!)

Twenty men on the benches with their chests out and their chins.

Carry them in! Over the edge!

How's the honour, gentlemen? Worse than Ihor's death.

[Drop 2]

(Давай, давай! Ура!)

[Verse 3]

They sat up in their silver and they never saw the ground.

My men let go the gunwales and the whole boat went down.

I leaned over the edge. I asked them how it felt.

Worse than Ihor, said the boat. I said: then that's one debt.

Prince Mal, send me your best men, the ones who run your land.

I'm coming to be married. I want a proper hand.

Twenty men came down the Dnipro. None of them went home.

Nine hundred forty-five. The widow's on the throne.

[Outro]

Carry them in.

One debt. Three to go.

[Fade Out]

[End]

[Intro]

Send me your best men. The ones who rule the land.

Kyiv won't let me leave with less. You understand.

[Verse 1]

They came in on the road this time. No boats. They'd heard.

Clean linen, oiled beards, every one of them a lord.

[Verse 2]

I said: you've travelled far. You smell of horse and road.

The bathhouse by the river's lit. The water's hot. The stones are glowing.

Go in and wash before the wedding, every noble son.

I'll see you when you're clean. I'll see you when you're done.

[Pre-Chorus]

Pine walls, pine roof, a bar across the door.

Fire takes a bathhouse fast. That's what pine is for.

[Time]

[Drop]

Wash first! Wash first!

(Боже мій! Давай!)

Steam up to the rafters, and the rafters catching first.

Wash first! Lock the door!

Prince Mal, that was your best men. Two debts. Two more.

[Drop 2]

(Боже мій! Давай!)

[Verse 3]

At first they sang. A wedding song. Through the steam, through the wall.

Then the bar came down across the door and the fire took it all.

I didn't watch. I counted. Every lord was there.

They came to wash for a wedding. Now they're smoke in the air.

No one rode home to Iskorosten. No one took the road.

Prince Mal is short of counsel now. The widow pays what's owed.

Two debts cleared and not a drop of blood on my dress.

Send a rider up to Iskorosten: I'm coming next.

[Outro]

Wash first.

Two debts. Two to go.

[Fade Out]

[End]

[Intro]

Brew the mead. Brew a lot. I'm coming to the grave.

I'll weep for Ihor where he fell. Then we'll eat. Behave.

[Verse 1]

I came with a small escort. I wept, and that was true.

We raised the mound above him. Then I did what widows do.

[Verse 2]

I set the tables on the hill. My own men pour the mead.

They ask about the twenty men, the lords who came before.

Behind me, with the bodyguard, I say. Then: pour them more.

Drink to Ihor, Drevlians. Drink to the widow's peace.

[Pre-Chorus]

A funeral feast is for the dead. Nobody asked me whose.

When the mead is in their legs I stand. One nod. That's the cue.

[Time]

[Drop]

Pour them another! Pour them another!

(Горько! Горько! Давай ще!)

Five thousand on the hillside, every son and every brother.

Pour them another! Drink to the prince!

The chronicle says five thousand. I haven't counted since.

[Drop 2]

(Горько! Горько! Давай ще!)

[Verse 3]

My men stayed sober. Theirs did not. That's all the trick there was.

Five thousand at a funeral. The monks still count the cost.

I rode back down to Kyiv and I raised a proper host.

Prince Mal, you asked me for a wedding. Here's the toast.

Three debts in a single year, no army, just a plan.

A boat, a bath, a barrel. Now I'm coming for the land.

Iskorosten, shut your gates and count your wood and your beer.

The widow's done with dinners. This debt takes a year.

[Outro]

Pour them another.

Three debts. One to go.

[Fade Out]

[End]

[Intro]

A year outside your walls, Iskorosten. Spring to spring.

Every other town has paid me. Why are you still standing?

[Verse 1]

My son threw the first spear. It fell beside his horse.

He's four. Sveneld said: the prince has begun. And the army followed, of course.

[Verse 2]

You shout down from the ramparts: we'd pay, but you want blood.

I've had my blood three times, I say. I'm finished. I'm good.

I don't want your honey. I don't want your wax.

Three pigeons and three sparrows from each house, and I'll go back.

[Pre-Chorus]

They laughed up on the walls. They sent the birds. Birds are cheap.

One bird for every soldier. Sulphur in a rag. Wait for dark.

[Time]

[Drop]

Fly home! Fly home!

(Ура! Ура! Слава!)

Every pigeon knows its roof, every sparrow knows its own.

Fly home! Light the town!

Three birds a house, Iskorosten, and every house burns down.

[Drop 2]

(Ура! Ура! Слава!)

[Verse 3]

Dovecotes, eaves and haylofts, every thatch alight,

No one fights a fire that starts on every roof the same night.

They ran out through the gates to me. I had men at the gates.

The elders to the sword. Some sold. The rest stayed on and paid.

Two parts of the tribute to Kyiv. One part to Vyshhorod, mine.

The monks say it was birds. Maybe. The town burned down fine.

Four debts, one year, one widow, and a boy who threw a spear.

Prince Mal, we're even. Drevlians, I'll see you every year.

[Outro]

Fly home.

Four debts. Paid.

[Fade Out]

[End]