F#m
Many years back when the old oaks were young
Bm                 F#m          D
Not long after the Northmen had come
  A       C#7           F#m  
A low and evil deed was done
       A       B7      F#
In the dark of the New Forest
       A       E       F#m
In the dark of the New Forest

F#m
From the shores of Normandy King William came
   Bm                F#m       D
To Albion fair, King Harold to slay
     A                          C#7        F#m
With greed in his heart and his scurrilous claim
   A        B7           F#
He took the land for his own
   A        E            F#m
He took the land for his own

    F#m
Now John was a blacksmith, an honest old man
   Bm                         F#m             D
He raised up his children and worked with his hands
       A                     C#7      F#m
At his family's forge in the patch of land
       A       B7      F#
In the dark of the New Forest
       A       E       F#m
In the dark of the New Forest

F#m
King William rode out after his victory
   Bm                     F#m       D
To ravage the land in his hunger to thieve
    A                      C#7    F#m
For hunting grounds in the Wessex trees
   A        B7           F#
He took the land for his own
   A        E            F#m
He took the land for his own

           F#m7
But if you steal the land of an Englishman
     B7
Then you will know this curse
     D                     E
Your first born son's warm blood will run
 F#m     E       F#m
Upon the English earth

Now King William's son was called Rufus the Red
He took up the crown when his father was dead
And he rode the hunting grounds in his stead
In the dark of the New Forest
In the dark of the New Forest

But John's curse it called out and Lord Terryl fired low
The arrow struck William with a sickening blow
And he fell from his horse to the ground below
And the land took him for its own
The land took him for its own

So if you steal the land of an Englishman
Then you will know this curse
Your first born son's warm blood will run
Upon the English earth

Many years back when the old oaks were young
Not long after the Northmen had come
A low and evil deed was done
In the dark of the New Forest
In the dark of the New Forest