Jersey Devil
(Rik Palieri)

CHO: Out in the dark of the Jersey pines
Among the swamps and trees,
He flies through the night in the pale moonlight,
The Devil of Mother Leeds.

Scorned as a witch by the folks of the town
While she was giving birth,
Mother Leeds proved herself that dark stormy night
By a babe not of this earth.

The old women came around to look at the child
The way they'd always do,
When the babe grew two wings, horns and a tail
And up the chimney he flew.

To sour the milk and spoil the corn
Are his earthly delights.
He flies through the mist of the cold autumn wind
Stealing children in the night,

From Barnegat light to Cape May town
Across the sky he flew,
While sheltered in the heart of the Jersey pines
His legend grew and grew.

From Sounds of the Jersey Pines, editor: Mike Nappa
SOF
OCT98