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Witch's Promise Lyrics
Lend me your ear while I call you a fool.
You were kissed by a witch one night in the wood,
and later insisted your feelings were true.
The witch's promise was coming,
believing he listened while laughing you flew.
Leaves falling red, yellow, brown, all are the same,
and the love you have found lay outside in the rain.
Washed clean by the water but nursing its pain.
The witch's promise was coming, and you're looking
elsewhere for your own selfish gain.
Keep looking, keep looking for somewhere to be,
well, you're wasting your time, they're not stupid like he is.
Meanwhile leaves are still falling, you're too blind to see.
You won't find it easy now, it's only fair.
He was willing to give to you, you didn't care.
You're waiting for more but you've already had your share.
The witch's promise is turning, so don't you wait up
for him, he's going to be late.
You were kissed by a witch one night in the wood,
and later insisted your feelings were true.
The witch's promise was coming,
believing he listened while laughing you flew.
Leaves falling red, yellow, brown, all are the same,
and the love you have found lay outside in the rain.
Washed clean by the water but nursing its pain.
The witch's promise was coming, and you're looking
elsewhere for your own selfish gain.
Keep looking, keep looking for somewhere to be,
well, you're wasting your time, they're not stupid like he is.
Meanwhile leaves are still falling, you're too blind to see.
You won't find it easy now, it's only fair.
He was willing to give to you, you didn't care.
You're waiting for more but you've already had your share.
The witch's promise is turning, so don't you wait up
for him, he's going to be late.
Song Info
Copyright
Lyrics © Bmg Rights Management Us, Llc, Warner/chappell Music, Inc.
Writer
Ian Anderson
Duration
6:26
Submitted by
knate15 On Dec 18, 2001
Add your song meanings, interpretations, facts, memories & more to the community.
Probably wrong, but the way I interpret the song is this. The singer is warning/laughing at his ex-girlfriend who has found a new boyfriend. Attractive and charming, but really devilish and manipulative beneath the facade. I find it easier to believe that the band behind Hunting Girl, The whistler, and Living in the Past is singing to a woman. If it was Pink Floyd or Rush we were talking about, I suppose the opposite could be true.
He loved her once, did every thing to show her but she threw it back in his face, didn't care..... now that she does he can't give her is heart because he cannot forget....she's greedy and and selfish expecting him to give her a second chance, why should he make it easy when she made it so hard.
He did love her once and did everything to show her. She loved him too but was afraid. The witch is powerful and even though she tries to escape, his promise/curse was always coming. Was always going to turn. 'You won't find it easy, it's only fair'. The worst time would be the witching hour. That's when the words of the song come flying out of nowhere.
He did love her once and did everything to show her. She loved him too but was afraid. The witch is powerful and even though she tries to escape, his promise/curse was always coming. Was always going to turn. 'You won't find it easy, it's only fair'. The worst time would be the witching hour. That's when the words of the song come flying out of nowhere.
Changed my mind about the interpretation.
[Edit: Changed my mind. ]
@jamescuq love your interpretation of the witches promise by Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull.
@jamescuq love your interpretation of the witches promise by Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull.
@jamescuq cool , very deep interpretation. I thought it was just a romance between a witch man and a fool woman .
@jamescuq cool , very deep interpretation. I thought it was just a romance between a witch man and a fool woman .
I also feel a bit of Cindellera story here. The girl may be under charm, while young but it is time-limited. When she is near to the end of her charm, she must realize that someone who is true to here is only her ex-boyfriend. And she may lose chance to be with him, if she is late.
"Witch's Promise" struck home with me when I was 17. Already heard the song many, many times when, in my naivete, I finally discovered my girlfriend was a whore; who cleverly kept several boyfriends--most of whom (like me) thought they were the only one.
Every Poignant word in the poem--personally and profoundly struck home! Cause I was the fool who kissed (and more) the witch in a car in the woods. In so being she was the first, of course, I felt my feelings were true; while she must have had a good laugh! Tull creates a terrific triple entendre; this is in the 2nd stanza. For I believe the leaves represent: the different boyfriends, time, and the romantic feeling one experiences while walking with one’s love in the autumn. Thus, as she approaches the Fall of the springtime in her youth; all of her toys (i.e. boyfriends) (toyfriends) she takes for granted—finally wizen up. She looks for fresh victims but high school is at its end; there are no more FRESH MEN. Even though she is still extremely young and able to find love, she just can’t seem to let herself settle for a mature romance.
@paul112771 Ok,, all very interesting interpretations.. the first one was a bit too related to academic texts and suchlike. I think I know the meaning of this song. I am not going to break down every meaning.. but read the song through and try see it the way I describe here: 'kissed by a witch' .. the witch has the fools child (his love) and uses neglects it (lay outside in the rain). 'He' or the god referred to is none other than the Green man who was once willing to give (help) to the man perhaps earlier with a good lady...
@paul112771 Ok,, all very interesting interpretations.. the first one was a bit too related to academic texts and suchlike. I think I know the meaning of this song. I am not going to break down every meaning.. but read the song through and try see it the way I describe here: 'kissed by a witch' .. the witch has the fools child (his love) and uses neglects it (lay outside in the rain). 'He' or the god referred to is none other than the Green man who was once willing to give (help) to the man perhaps earlier with a good lady but which he 'didn't care' to pursue. Instead his lust leads him down this path..
I think this song is about a man who gave his love to a woman who was not worthy. She couldn't be faithful or good.
The song talks about leaves falling; I think this represents the passage of time. When she was young all the men wanted her, but she wouldn't devote herself to just one man. As she begins to age and get less attention from men, she's past her prime. She turns to him looking for the love he once had for her, but she's given her youth to an array of men devoting herself to none of them.
She's waiting for more but she's already had her share.
Maybe more of the pagan / earth godess / witch theme in many Tull songs. BUT - forget the meaning and listen! This song is one of the most beautiful Tull tunes. Representative of the guitar / flute signature of Tull.
This song is about betrayal in love. The protagonist is warning his unfaithful, selfish-in-matters-of-love girlfriend that her infidelity will catch up with her, and he'll look elsewhere, just as she did: when she comes to her senses it will be too late. "You're waiting for more but you've already had your share. The witch's promise was turning, so don't you wait up for him, he's going to be late..."
First of all, the song is written in the first person, and it seems to me the person doing the speaking is the witch himself. He (the witch) is speaking to his victim - the fool - which could be a female whose virtue and innocense he stole with beguiling charm. Only, the whole time the fool was so confident that she was was fooling the witch, she was too blind to see that the witch was on to her scheme. \n\nFor damn sure, a twisted story this is. In the first place, what is a witch\'s promise? A lie! Every promise he or she would ever make would be a lie. If you think about it, these two characters could be Hillary and the Donald.
@wearly89 Ok,, all very interesting interpretations.. the first one was a bit too related to academic texts and suchlike. I think I know the meaning of this song. I am not going to break down every meaning.. but read the song through and try see it the way I describe here: 'kissed by a witch' .. the witch has the fools child (his love) and uses neglects it (lay outside in the rain). 'He' or the god referred to is none other than the Green man who was once willing to give (help) to the man perhaps earlier with a good lady but...
@wearly89 Ok,, all very interesting interpretations.. the first one was a bit too related to academic texts and suchlike. I think I know the meaning of this song. I am not going to break down every meaning.. but read the song through and try see it the way I describe here: 'kissed by a witch' .. the witch has the fools child (his love) and uses neglects it (lay outside in the rain). 'He' or the god referred to is none other than the Green man who was once willing to give (help) to the man perhaps earlier with a good lady but which he 'didn't care' to pursue. Instead his lust leads him down this path..
@wearly89 Ok,, all very interesting interpretations.. the first one was a bit too related to academic texts and suchlike. I think I know the meaning of this song. I am not going to break down every meaning.. but read the song through and try see it the way I describe here: 'kissed by a witch' .. the witch has the fools child (his love) and uses neglects it (lay outside in the rain). 'He' or the god referred to is none other than the Green man who was once willing to give (help) to the man perhaps earlier with a good lady but...
@wearly89 Ok,, all very interesting interpretations.. the first one was a bit too related to academic texts and suchlike. I think I know the meaning of this song. I am not going to break down every meaning.. but read the song through and try see it the way I describe here: 'kissed by a witch' .. the witch has the fools child (his love) and uses neglects it (lay outside in the rain). 'He' or the god referred to is none other than the Green man who was once willing to give (help) to the man perhaps earlier with a good lady but which he 'didn't care' to pursue. Instead his lust leads him down this path..
Ok,, all very interesting interpretations.. the first one was a bit too related to academic texts and suchlike. I think I know the meaning of this song. I am not going to break down every meaning.. but read the song through and try see it the way I describe here: 'kissed by a witch' .. the witch has the fools child (his love) and uses neglects it (lay outside in the rain). 'He' or the god referred to is none other than the Green man who was once willing to give (help) to the man perhaps earlier with a good lady but which he 'didn't care' to pursue. Instead his lust leads him down this path..