The hag is astride
This night for to ride,
The devil and she together;
Through thick and through thin,
Now out, and then in,
Though ne'er so foul be the weather.
A thorn or a burr
She takes for a spur,
With a lash of a bramble she rides now,
Through brakes and through briars,
O'er ditches and mires,
She follows the spirit that guides now.
No beast for his food
Dares now range the wood,
But hushed in his lair he lies lurking:
While mischiefs by these,
On land and on seas,
At noon of night are a-working.
The storm will arise
And trouble the skies
This night, and more for the wonder,
The ghost from the tomb
Affrighted shall come,
Called out by the clap of the thunder.
(1648)