We are not evil, we are not unkind,
We are good and godly, watchers for the blind,
We can smell the devil, hiding in the small towns,
Toying with the idle, pushing dirt around.
We can hear the harpies, sleeping with the demons,
We can hear them howling across the Dedham Vale, (1)
We fight them with fire, duck them under water, (2)
Swing them from the scaffold, and hear them wail.
Someone’s got to guard you, watch you when you’re resting,
We will keep a vigil; protect you from the dark,
A dog with a cow’s head, a kitling and a polecat, (3)
I saw them dance around town foaming at the jaw.
We are good and godly, watchers for the blind,
We can smell the devil, hiding in the small towns,
Toying with the idle, pushing dirt around.
We can hear the harpies, sleeping with the demons,
We can hear them howling across the Dedham Vale, (1)
We fight them with fire, duck them under water, (2)
Swing them from the scaffold, and hear them wail.
Someone’s got to guard you, watch you when you’re resting,
We will keep a vigil; protect you from the dark,
A dog with a cow’s head, a kitling and a polecat, (3)
I saw them dance around town foaming at the jaw.
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(1) Dedham Vale è il nome di un’area naturale boschiva nell’Essex-Suffolk
(2) Riferimento al “ducking”, il metodo per distinguere le streghe “per immersione”
(3) Hopkins aveva creato un suo bestiario delle creature che introducono il demonio ed accompagnano i suoi seguaci: “Vinegar Tom” era l’animale con il corpo di cane e la testa di bovino, “Holt” era il gatto bianco, “Pyewacket” quello nero e “Newes” la faina (o un mustelide simile). Ma ce n’erano molti altri (si veda sopra l’immagine della copertina di “The discovery of the witches”).