"A Tragic Yuletide Ballad"

In the style of Tim Burton, Dr. Seuss, and "Twas the Night Before Christmas," I've composed a sort of tragic ballad. It is quite silly.

Inspired by "So Close," "Rebirthing," and "Comatose" (Jon McLaughlin, Skillet) and the picture "Just Hold Me Tight" by Dolphy on deviantart.com



A tale of old
I do seem to recall
of two young lovers
who met at a ball

'twas holiday time,
all snowy and cold,
the handsome young man
took a chance and was bold

He asked the lass
for the final dance
everyone watched
as if in a trance

Love at first sight
so seldomly seen
there was no denying
such a beautiful scene

But as you might
have morbidly guessed
this tale contains
a tragic death

They shared a kiss
in silver light
promised their love
the very same night

The lad then left
in a brand new carriage
thinking thoughts
of romance and marriage

Sadly, it was
the new look of the thing
the highwayman saw
and demanded a ring

"Or gold or some jewels,"
he said with a laugh,
"I'm easy to please,
just give me some cash."

The young man grew frightened,
he had nothing to spare
in fact, cash in hand
was really quite rare.

He begged the highwayman
very genteely
to let him go free
because of his lady

The highwayman listened
with growing annoyance
to the young man's description
of his budding romance

He soon cut it short
he was really quite rude
for the cold had put him
in a terrible mood

when he saw that he'd lost
the chance for some loot
he decided to give
the young lad the boot

his anger increased
by leaps and bounds
he drew out a gun
and shot the lad down

the boy wasn't found
until the next day
all frozen and blue
next to the highway

the lass he had loved
at first screamed and cried
but when all her tears
at last had been dried

She wanted revenge
and she wanted it bad
so devised she a plan
to get rid of the cad

She dressed in her finest
and ordered her sleigh
filled her pockets with jewels
and then drove away

She kept a sharp lookout
for that highwayman
because in her rage
she’d hatched a clever plan

She found him quite soon
and stopped when he told her
he demanded to see
what she had to hand over

She gave him a grin
then pulled out a knife
slit his cold throat
and ended his life

She stood there in triumph
but to her dismay
the sad feelings she’d felt
would not go away

So she packed up her jewels
and drove the sleigh back
went into her room
and came out wearing all black

she mourned for her love
and the man that she’d killed
she wasted away
though the cook was quite skilled

For a conscience that’s guilty
will never let up
the bitter taste of regret
remains in Life’s cup

After she died
they found a note
detailing the murder
in her own hand, she wrote:

“The moral of this
is perfectly clear,
there’s a reason
that you should not ever kill,

You do a disservice
To all humankind
When you judge a fellow
And make up your mind

That he doesn’t deserve
the life that he’s given
Someone else did
and He lives in heaven.”

And so ends our tale
of tragic Yuletide
of a handsome young man
and his would-be bride

The highwayman robber
And his love of cold cash
Which, sadly, becomes
In the end, simply trash

The lives that were taken
oh, it’s terribly sad
what happens when people
decide to be bad

I said I would finish
And here’s what I’ve penned:
I bid you farewell
And write in “the End.”