A new song (to an old tune)
I sowed the seed of grief
My mother gave to me
For I well knew that in time my seed
Would grow into a tree
I sowed my seed in spring
I watched while it grew strong
I tended it through summer’s heat
And winter’s nights so long
The tree of grief grew tall
And its branches spread wide above
As I stood within its black and bitter shade
I fed my tree with love
In spring the tree grew leaf
In summer flowers so small
And as the skies of autumn grew cold
I watched the dry leaves fall
My tree had grown one fruit
On a branch so slender and fine
I reached up and I plucked it off
And then that fruit was mine
So bitter was its skin
Bitter juices did it bleed
I freely ate its bitter, bitter flesh
But I did not eat the seed
I sowed the seeds of grief
I sowed them all around
And now its branches are high overhead
The roots deep in the ground
The thorns of grief are sharp
Sweet are the flowers that grow
And I still taste its bitter, bitter fruit
And down the salt tears flow
Fifty-Two Folk Songs 