Iron and the Supernatural, part 2: The Blacksmith

Jun 29

Jun 29 Iron and the Supernatural, part 2: The Blacksmith

Episode 11

We continue our talk about iron and the supernatural. This episode we focus on the blacksmith and the blacksmith’s role in folklore, magic, and as a liminal figure. We talk with author, powwow practitioner, and blacksmith, Cody Dickerson. We hear another story of a changeling and a boy taught to work iron by the faeries. Finally, we hear some traditional songs about the blacksmith.

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Episode 11 notes and links:

The Two Magicians

The lady stands at her bower door
Straight as a willow wand
And by her came the coal blacksmith
With a hammer in his hand
Crying bide, lady bide,
There’s nowhere you can hide.
This rusty smith will be your love
For all your maiden pride.
Well may you dress my lady fair
All in your robes of red.
Before the morn at this same time
I’ll gain your maidenhead.
Away, away you coal blacksmith
Would you do me wrong
To think to gain my maidenhead
That I have kept so long.
I’d rather I were dead and gone
And buried in my grave
Than a rusty stock of coal blacksmith
My maidenhead should have.
The lady she held up her hand
And swore upon her soul
That she’d not be that blacksmith’s love
For a whole chest full of gold.
The blacksmith he held up up his hand
And swore upon the Mass:
I’ll have you in my bed lady
In a half an hour or less.
The lady she became a dove
And flew up in the air
And he became a cock pigeon
And they flew pair and pair.
She was woe, he held her so
And still he bade her bide.
This lusty smith her lover was
For all her maiden pride.
The lady she turned into a hare
And ran across the plain
And he turned into a greyhound dog
And chased her down again.
And she became a little mare
As dark as the night was black
And he became a gilt saddle
And rode upon her back.
She became a silken plaid
And stretched upon the bed
And he became a green covering
And gained her maidenhead.
And she became a corpse,
A corpse all in the ground,
And he became the cold grey clay
And smothered her all around.

Sarada: http://www.etsy.com/shop/ArtBySarada

Cody Dickerson: https://threehandspress.com/shop/the-language-of-the-corpse/ Cody also recorded a sample of himself blacksmithing that we use just before his interview.

Michael Anderson: https://drekka.bandcamp.com

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Strange Familiars is a production of Dark Holler Arts, LLC. Music, art, podcasts, books, and more. http://www.darkhollerarts.com

Intro and background music by Stone Breath – which is our band. You can find more at http://stonebreath.bandcamp.com