Barbara Allan

In Scotland I was born and bred,
In London I was dwelling;
I fell in love wi' a nice young girl
And her name was Barbara Allan, Allan,

I courted her for seven long years,
Till I could court no longer;
I grew sick and very very ill,
I sent for my own true lover lover

Slowly she put on her clothes,
And slowly she came walking
And when she came to my bedside
She said, "Young man, you are dying, dying,"

"Dying my love that cannot be,
One kiss from you ould cure me;"
"One kiss from me that never shall be,
While your hard heart lies aching, aching,

He turned his back towards the wall,
And his face to Barbara Allan,
Adieu to you, and adieu to all,
And adieu to Barbara Allan, Allan,

Look ye up to my bedside,
There you will see hanging,
A quinea watch and a silver chain
And give that to Barbara Allan,

Look ye down to my bedside,
There ye will see standing,
A china basin full of tears,
And give that to Barbara Allan, Allan,

She had not gone a mile or two
When she heard the church bells tolling,
And every toll it seemed to say -
"Hard-hearted Barbara Allan, Allan."

"Oh mother, you'll make my bed for me
You will make it soft and narrow;
My love has died for me to-day,
And I for him tomorrow, "

Her mother then she made her bed
Wi' muckle grief and sorrow;
She laid her down to rise no more,
And she died for her own true lover"

Get Up and Bar the Door

It fell about the Martinmas time,

And a gay time it was then.

When our goodwife got puddings to make,

She's boild them in the pan.
The wind sae cauld blew south and north,

And blew into the floor;

Quoth our goodman to our goodwife,

"Gae out and bar the door."
"My hand is in my hussyfskap,

Goodman, as ye may see;

An it should nae be barrd this hundred year,

It's no be barrd for me."
They made a paction tween them twa.

They made it firm and sure,

That the first word whaeer shoud speak,

Shoud rise and bar the door.
Then by there came two gentlemen,

At twelve o'clock at night,

And they could neither see house nor hall,

Nor coal nor candlelight.
"Now whether is this a rich man's house,

Or whether it is a poor?"

But neer a word wad ane o' them speak,

For barring of the door.
And first they ate the white puddings,

And then they ate the black:

Tho muckle thought the goodwife to hersel,

Yet neer a word she spake.
Then said the one unto the other,

"Here, man, take ye my knife:

Do ye tak aff the auld man's beard,

And I'll kiss the goodwife."
"But there's nae water in the house,

And what shall we do than?"

"What ails ye at the pudding broo,

That boils into the pan?"
O up then started our goodman,

An angry man was he:

"Will ye kiss my wife before my een,

And scad me wi pudding bree?"
Then up and started our goodwife,

Gied three skips on the floor:

"Goodman, you've spoken the foremost word:

Get up and bar the door."

Photo 25- Tree Ballad 27 3/4

Tree Ballad 27 ¾
Cherie Ganote

Once upon a time
There was a tree
Though not always this way
He came to be

A long time ago
When he was young
He had a large family
That he refused to love

They were all so selfish
And so very loud
He thought them ridiculous beings
For he was very proud

The boy grew into a man
And as he grew he came to see
That almost everyone he knew
Were ridiculous beings

A woman approached him
One sunny day
Grabbed him by the hand
And showed him the way

From that day on
They were to be together
Until she cast a horrible spell
That she said would last forever

The spell gave him a trunk
Some limbs, and lots of leaves
He regrets what he has done

Forever he shall grieve

Photo 24- The Table of Love

The Table Of Love
On the pearly white table
Sat an empty and cold tea pot
The story that goes with it is as old as Cain and Able
The story of a family that all got shot

For every rose on the table has a thorn
But for this family their roses were torn
In the night they walked
Just down the street while they talked

Then from out of the dark
Came an evil twisted villain
He came down the street smooth- only to attack like a shark
He killed the family of four while they were chillin’

On that cool, chilly fall night
For the family there was no light
All that was left behind
Was a house, cars, and a table

The table to which the family used
Not once was it ever abused
For the family cherished it
They took care of it and even loved it

The most loved things still stay on the table
For other people to remain stable
and see what little things can do
for they can help you get through

To this day the table remains
to remind us of a family not forgotten
yet to remind us of
how little things can show true love

Photo 23- The Ballad of the Faithless Girlfriend

Walking through the shadows
He saw her standing there, her hands stained with red
“What you’ve done is bury him.”
He loved you, and now lies dead”

He desperately begs to hold onto her
But something stops him, Why did you have to take it all from him?
Betrayed one more time
His future now lies grim

He's not going to return the favor
He's better than that kind of thing,
Too many times he has seen this, but now it is him
That is turning away and walking

Walking through the shadows
He saw her standing there, her hands stained with red
“What you’ve done is bury him”
He loved you, and now lies dead”

He doesn't want to believe it
As he closes his eyes he sees her lying there
His lover with his friend
He kneels down and says a prayer

She crawls towards him
Tears falling down her face
He pushes her away
But he wont take it he's moving on to another place

Walking through the shadows
He saw her standing there, her hands stained with red
“What you've done is bury him”
He loved you, and now lies dead”

Mike Wagner

Photo 22

Photo 21

Photo 20

Photo 19- Into the Doom

Into the Doom

Through that door he had traveled many of times,
and through that door was something of his that shined.
Joe, was madly in love,
with the fairest girl from above.

Through that door he went,
but he smelled a funny sent.
He slowly looked around with his nose in the air,
Joe yelled, “Hello, is anybody there?”

His voice echoed in the room,
as Joe's heart filled with gloom.
Once he noticed that his true love was missing,
he heard a sudden hissing.

He rushed himself to the kitchen,
just hopin and prayin to find his true love just sittin.
There she was just where he thought,
but by herself she was not.

A strange man was standing there,
she looked at me with a scared stare.
A knife he had to her neck,
Joe looked and him and thought what the heck.

The man cleared his throat,
and let out an evil croak.
“Hello Joe we meet again,
following your footsteps I have been.

My love you took from me, that love that was so real,
and now its time for you to feel what I had to feel.”
The stranger raises the knife in the air,
while Joe stands there with a blank stare.

Joe yells “Stop, please for goodness sake,”
but unfortunately it was to late.
His precious girl had been taken from him,
his terrible past came back to haunt him.

Joe's cruelty had made a turn for the worse,
to see his true love going away in a hearse.
He swore to that till the day that he died,
he would never love again, and that was no lie.

Photo19- Ballad of the Sea

He looked out at the sea
What power she held when angered
Like being stung by a bee
Many have been lost to her wrath

What started as a warm sunny day
Turned into a nightmare
Nothing could keep her anger at bay
No one was safe from her

Children played in the sand
People were sunbathing on the beach
Everything was grand
No one expected what would come

Fishermen were out on their boats
Making great catches
Kids in the water on their floats
Splashing, shouting, having a great time

The man on the dock
Noticed the wind picking up
And water crashing against the rock
“I think a storm is brewing” he said

She came with little warning
No one was prepared
It ended in mourning
For those who were caught by her

She left the survivors in fear
About what she would do next time
So be careful dear
Not to make her mad

Photo 18

Photo 17- The Ballad of Fair Lovers

She looked upon the many lights
Until her eyes would hurt
At the fair those cloudy nights
Remembering the old times

As he walked slowly away
“Don’t go,” she told him
But he still went to the bay
He sailed away before her

For months she watched the skies
Always waiting for his return
She waited to see his eyes
Wishing for his safe trip home

He never did come back
She mourned for many more months
She might have followed his track
If it wasn’t for the lights of the fair

The fair drew her in
With its lights, sounds, and smells
Saved her from what could have been
Because of it she’s still alive

She likes to watch the crowds
Parents, children, young and old
She like the noise, it’s so loud
She likes it all, except for one thing

Young lovers remind her of what she had
They would have been married that summer
She loves him and misses him so bad
She wishes the sea had not claimed him

Photo 15- The Blacksmith

The smithy, tap, tap, tapping
His arm so lean and strong.
Work to fix his strapping,
Using his hammer and his tongs.

Slaving all day long,
Working for anything he can earn,
The heat from the hammer,
The coal and the burn.

A little girl is waiting,
In another place,
In the sick room ever,
But a smile on her face.

Waiting all day,
She is waiting for him,
Her mind starts to stray,
She is getting very slim.

At work that day,
The King had come the day before,
Slaving away,
Having a sword needing restoring.

Tap, tap, tapping
The sword returned anew,
The gold he heard clapping,
Though he only expected a few.

Out came a hand
In went the gold
The smithy could barely stand
The payment he could not hold.

The little girl's face
Now so full and eyes so bright,
The king in his grace had changed both their lives
With the smithy's hard work that night.

Photo 16- Journey Home

The sound of the waves crashed
the world was fading fast
all she seen was the fading sea
she was leaving with him hoping it would last

she left her world behind
her family and her best friend for life
she was too in love with him to stay
but it hurt and cut like a knife

time went on without stall
he soon left her in tears
becoming scared and alone
an in a new world she gained new fears

soon her dreams carried memories
old ones of home, and the tide
of friends not forgotten
memories she has failed to hide

as time continues to pass
she had found a way there
tired and weary she journeys once more
combing away her now gray hair

old now she had a cane
the sand still feels the same
as she sits on the wall
she looked to see who came

“hi” she swallowed the lump
the woman just sat on the wall
“welcome back home” was all she said
with that her tears began to fall.

Photo 15

Photo 14- The Hobo Ballad

The Hobo Ballad

He lives with no home or money
The streets are his only friend
He lives with no possessions, no nothing
He wonders will it end.

He's always looking for someone
He forever feels alone
Not a soul present, just the sun
With only himself he continues to roam.

The hustle and bustle of the street
Danger on every corner
Never knowing what he’ll greet
Always being known as a loner

Lie, steal, rob, and cheat
It’s the only way
Getting punched, harassed, and even beat
“Get a job!” they say

As the sun set one evening
The man had had enough
His thoughts caught on leaving
His life was just too rough

His life was not worth living
His future had already been cast
He decided to leave this world
Leaving with the sound of a blast

Now the hobo, he is gone
Gone without a trace
He was over being alone
Now he's in a better place

Kole Apsley

Photo 13- Bravery in a Camp of Hopelessness

Blond hair blue eyes
Let us not die
Pushes us into the camp
As if they are the champ

Let us make a plan
To escape the hate
With our little clan
Lets not test fate

Family and friends burned
This is it we've got to turn
Too weak to run or fight
Lets try at night

Time to wake
Now it is time
Let us test fate
make not a chime

So goes the little band
Attempt to make it to new land
But alas a shirt snagged
On the barb wire fence flagged

Ones blood
The cause of the flood
But yet they still run
They try for the sun

The sirens wail
Time to set sail
To slow the men are here to quell
So there they fell

Photo12- The Mystery of Lock and Razor

The Mystery of Lock and Razor



I shall tell you a story
passed down from Deepfall Bay.
A story of courage
which ends a mysterious way.

The sea holds many creatures
Monsters they say.
They feed into the night
and slumber during day.

Twas a monster named Razor
The fiercest of them all.
He moved like a shark
and stood eleven feet tall.

He devoured the sailors
He devoured the fish.
Where is our hero?
The people would wish.

Then forward stepped Lock
A warrior of sea.
He challenged the demon fish
Too prideful was he.

It started with Lock
Who was strong and who was brave.
He tracked the demon Razor
Who'd led him to a cave.

He seized his opportunity
and leaped upon his prey.
Their battle lasted hours
Their battle took all day.

When quiet fell,
The people waited
The hero will rise
Victorious they anticipated.

But time went by, and
Day turned night
their hero Lock
was nowhere in sight.

With the missing hero Lock
And Razor in his grave
None will ever know
What happened within the cave.

Photo 11

“My first ride”

Family trip to the fairgrounds
On a beautiful day
“let's go! Let's go!”
the children do say

the day has come
the day to soar
so many designs
ours is of a boar

father has been working on the perfect design
the boar was his high school mascot
“so many colors...!”
Yells little brother Scott

So many people gathered together
the annual day to fly hot air balloons
parents trying to get things ready
the children all acting like baboons

Hot air balloons begin to rise
There's such a variety of colors and designs
Then Father told his daughter he had a surprise
“You're going up too!”

So excited he was
He had been waiting for this forever
He jumped in the balloon as he it started to raise
Just the son and Father in the basket together

The view was amazing!
All the people down below
then a bird towards them...
And their balloon was shot down by a crow...

Photo 10- Ballad of the Steam Train

The steam train:
It takes various people
Who know the appearance of an old town,
And moves anytime and anywhere.


For twenty years I've run
A famous train;
But now my spell of speed is done,
No more I'll strain.


My sight along the tread less tracks,
The gleam rails:
My hand upon the throttle slacks,
My vision fails.


No more I'll urge my steed of steel
Through hostile nights;
No more the mastery I'll feel
Of monster might.


I'll miss the hiss of giant steam,
The clank, the roar;
The agony of brakes that scream
I'll hear no more.


Oh I have held within my hand
A million lives;
And now my child takes command
And proudly drives;


While from my cottage wistfully
I watch his train,
And wave and wave and seem to see
Myself again.

Photo 9- Sister in Danger

Her sister and she were walking
Down the road to nowhere
Then she started talking
About what she wanted to wear

She looked at her and said,
“Girl you think you got it
But all that’s in your head
I think you need to shut it.”

It turns out that she hurt her
She looked at me and ran
She turned into a bear
And caught her by the hand

Her sister was raging
She jerked away from her
It seemed like she was aging
She really couldn’t see

She tried to joke
But all she did was frown
She did a little poke
And she just turned right back around

Her sister and she were friends
It was a really sad story
She wanted to make amends
She didn’t want her mom to worry

Her mom came around the bend
They acted like all was fine
Mom caught them in the end
She said she knew it was a lie

There was a sudden shock
The girls began to scream
There was a boy down the block
He had a furious gleam


The boy came down the street
And grabbed her by the arm
She didn’t even peep
He said if she didn’t move there was no harm

Her mom cried out in pain
He said she better not try it
She thought he was doing it in vain
So she threw a hit

It made him go in shock
She did not know what to do
She ran back down the block
He said, “I will get you.”

Jessie Cox

Photo 8- The Man in the Castle

The Man in the Castle


There once was a man that lived in a castle,
he'd lived in the castle all his life,
and made all the people pay him to live in the shadow of it,
so that he could have all the delicacies of any noble,
the people eventually got tired of paying the outrageous taxes,
and never having enough food to feed their families,
then the people rebelled and put him out of his castle,
to live and work with the people for six months,
then he would be put back in the castle to live changed or not,
and they made him work in the fields all day long,
and he came to respect the people and love them,
he went back to the castle but when he did,
every couple of days he would go out into the fields with the people,
and help them with the work and he didn't tax them as much.

Photo 7- His Sunken Love

“His Sunken Love”

He has found his true love
Together they hold hands
His craving for her like Dove- chocolate- that is
He found the one.

They joined hands in marriage
And shared their vows
Soon comes the baby carriage
They cut the cake and took their bows.

After the wedding everyone cheered
“hooray hooray, to the couple a toast!”
Over her beauty he leered.
“All mine, he can boast.”

Now comes the wedding reception
He dances his shoes off for all to see
Hopefully nobody has misconception
He rubs his sore feet with glee.

He dances with her mother
The foxtrot and salsa they do show
And over comes her brother to dance with the groom
But he feels that is strange- and says to him, “No!”

Now comes the honeymoon
They take a romantic ship by night
Down goes a whale by harpoon
The weather is beautiful and the whale a entertaining sight.

Now its time to start their new life
How happy they both are afloat
There is bound to be no strife
He is in love in the pretty boat.

Suddenly the ship scrapes an iceberg
They moan with fear of their life
Into the water the ship begins to submerge
The man just smiles and sinks with his love, his wife

Photo 6- The Ballad of ...

Joe Speer

Woke up an hour late
Already the days not right
To see how horrible this day will be I cant wait
I just hate to see the sun's light

Getting up getting ready for the day
Don't think I'm going to make it from 9 to 5 no way
Ready to do to the jail some call a job
Going there is torture makes me want to sob

Oh would I love to just quit
That would just make my week
But if I did I would just be a nit wit
So I will just sit here feeling like a pip squeek

I will just sit here with no end in sight
Feel like ending it all right now I might
Feeling so down I can not get any lower
There is no way this dreaded time could go slower

Don't think I can take it anymore time to end it all
On the way home is when I will do it
When I pass the bridge I will park and fall
Here I am at the end do not think I will do it

Now that its time to do it just can’t take the plunge
Even though my life is a dinge
I can not bring myself to finish what I set out to do
All this makes me do is think a new

Makes me think its not all bad
I have got more than other people
Be thankful for all that I have and now I am not sad.
Its all just water under the bridge it’s not that bad.

Photo 5

Photo 4- Ballad of the Old Fisherman

The old man fisher got in his boat
He sailed off the lonely shore
He had his pole and all his tools
This time he wanted more.

He had heard of a treasure
Deep within the lake
He looked for it until days end
He hoped and hoped to find it for only his sake

All he had was the fading sun
And the little light on the back of his boat
He looked and looked
But all he did was barely stay afloat

All of the sudden there was a little glimmer
His eyes lit up with hope
He grabbed his fishing pole and said
This time “I will not return a dope”

He let the hook drop in the water
Thinking I'm rich! I'm rich!
It never crossed his mind
That there might be a glitch

The line took hold and
Something latched on
He held that pole for dear life
Not realizing his treasure was gone

He wouldn't let go
He pulled at pulled to no avail
The greedy old fisher refused to let go
He didn't want to believe he was going to fail

With one final pull the fisher was gone
Into the dark murky deeps
He wanted more this time around
Now he rests with his treasure, asleep

Photo 3

Photo 2- The Old Man in Love

The Old Man In Love


He was an old man dieing
Dieing all alone
With no one to come and see him
Or talk to on the phone

All he had were memories
Of a love that once ran true
The memory of a lovely girl
Her name was Emmie Lou

He was young when he had met her
Her long and pretty hair
Those pretty lips gorgeous face
And eyes that made him stare

Her daddy thought he was a poor boy
That could never do her right
So he sent his Emmie Lou away
In the middle of the night

Where have you gone my Emmie Lou
From his chest his heart was tore
He packed up the pieces of his heart
And headed off to war

Countless nights he would stay awake
So he would not dream of her face
With her beautiful eyes staring at him
And her with all her grace

He made it through that great war
With not one single scar
But was not a whole man
Not in any way… not by far

All I want is my Emmie Lou
No other is good as she
No other love is better love
As the love with her and me

And so he sits all alone
Waiting for the day
When he can hold his Emmie Lou
And they can fade away

To die broken hearted
Wouldn’t that be a shame
Cupid’s arrow is poison
He is deadly with his aim

One day while setting at a park
Looking into the crowd
The old man heard a voice
It wasn’t really that loud

But it was the voice of an angel
This he knew was true
For that voice that he heard
Was that of his Emmie Lou

She still looked just as beautiful
As the day that they first met
Sunlight shining in her snowy hair
On a park bench is where she set

He walked over to his angel
And said do you remember me
She looked up with tear filled eyes
And said with so much glee

I waited on you all these years
I knew you would come back to me
I always believed in my heart
What was meant to be would be


And so they sat so in love
Even in their old age
And that’s the end of their story
Love had written the final page

Shanea Cornett

Photo 1- You Can't Fly

To Once Upon a time
the little girl wanted to fly
But she was told this was impossible
so she began to cry...
“Why can't I fly, oh why can't I fly?”

The out of nothingness a fairy arrived
she asked the little to girl not be still
“for I can make you fly
For your life and love, I will”
“I will, I will”

“We shall fly days and nights
see all the land and name the stars” the fairy told the young girl,
“Will have no parents no school or books,
Live our days in a whirl”
A whirl, live our days in a whirl”


So the little girl thought
I would like to live in the clouds
Swim in the seas
Live with the monkeys
Swim in the sea, live with the monkeys

But the fairy was really a witch
Stealing the innocent of the little ones
So she could rule forever
under the sun
Under the sun, ruling forever

So off they went
But the little girl was tricked
She wasn't swimming in the sea
Or playing with monkeys
She was in a cage full of nothingness
Nothingness in a cage

The little girl was never seen again
She should have listen
You really can't fly
She died
Can't fly, She died