Ballad of the Weird Sisters

Outside the city walls
 Where the darkest thickets grow
 Returning home from foreign lands
 We dreamt of our near homes
 When at once we heard a-hissing
 - was it a devil or a snake?
 Had we heard the sounds of laughter
 That dangerous women make?
 Three hags our way stood staring
 They beckoned us their way
 We followed them along a hidden path
 Towards their dwelling place
 Inside a fire was burning
 And a table had been laid
 They offered us a strange brew
 With a devil of a taste
 My friend and I we had great thirst
 We drank our cups bone dry
 But stranger yet was the drink's effect
 "It's witchery!" I cried
 Eye of newt and mandrake root
 The devil's foot in brine
 A fever-dream took hold of me
 Souls danced before my eyes
 My treachery, my wicked lusts
 The many stolen wives
 The souls of those whom I had wronged
 Shared tales of my past crimes
 Indeed, I was not all alone
 To hear their strangled cries
 My fellow and these sisters
 Through this my guild surmised
 And lo, I saw what must be done
 For the gallows called my name
 I'd cut its tongue under a demon sun
 Yea, in good health I'd remain
 In a flash I drew my dagger
 And my fellow screamed with pain
 Then I turned upon the sisters
 To them I did the same
 At once the room it filled with blood
 And the horror of their cries
 This night a murder banquet
 A feast of ruined lives
 Possessed were they with fortune's gift
 And yet they were surprised
 Three sisters should have better known
 Than to let this devil inside