Rhymes from Redwall

[Martha Braebuck]

In most of the start of Redwall books there is a rhyme starting it. My favourite is the one in the start of the Legend of Luke:

Warrior Born:

The young must grow old,
Whilst the old grow older,
And cowards will shrink,
As the bold grow bolder.
Courage may blossom in quiet hearts,
For who can tell where bravery starts?
Truth is a song oft lying unsung,
Some mother bird, protecting her young,
Those who lay down their lives for friends,
The echo rolls onward, it seldom ends.
Who never turned and ran, but stayed?
This is a warrior born, not made!
Living in peace, aye many a season,
Calm in life, and sound in reason,
'Til evil arrives, a wicked horde,
Driving a warrior to pick up his sword,
The challenge rings then, straight and fair,
Justice is with us, beware. Beware!
~By Brian Jacque

[HeadInAnotherGalaxy]

That, the onez from Pearlz o' Lutra an' Marlfox are zome o' me mozt favouritez.

[Captain Tammo]

Rakkety rakkety rakkety tam,
The drums are beatin' braw,
Rakkety rakkety rakkety tam,
Are ye marching of tae war?

A warrior from the border he came,
A buckler o'er his shoulder,
A claymore swinging by his side,
There's no' a beast who's bolder!

O rakkety tam has sold his sword,
Ah scarce believe he's done it!
He swore an oath upon a fool,
Who took his word upon it!

[Log-a-Log]

I can't remember all of it, but I liked the Taggerung one

[Osu]

I'll put forth a shorter rhyme: the opening to the Bellmaker. For some reason, I just love it.

"...because the dream was his."

[Gonff]

Rakkety rakkety rakkety tam,
The drums are beatin' braw,
Rakkety rakkety rakkety tam,
Are ye marching of tae war?

A warrior from the border he came,
A buckler o'er his shoulder,
A claymore swinging by his side,
There's no' a beast who's bolder!

O rakkety tam has sold his sword,
Ah scarce believe he's done it!
He swore an oath upon a fool,
Who took his word upon it!

This is probably my favorite although I'm not sure if it qualifies as a rhyme.

[Martha Braebuck]

Rakkety rakkety rakkety tam,
The drums are beatin' braw,
Rakkety rakkety rakkety tam,
Are ye marching of tae war?

A warrior from the border he came,
A buckler o'er his shoulder,
A claymore swinging by his side,
There's no' a beast who's bolder!

O rakkety tam has sold his sword,
Ah scarce believe he's done it!
He swore an oath upon a fool,
Who took his word upon it!

This is probably my favorite although I'm not sure if it qualifies as a rhyme.

thats a pretty cool one, and yes, I bet it qualifies for a rhyme.

[Lily]

I've posted this elsewhere, but it's better suited to this thread. It's one of my favourites from Mariel of Redwall.

The wind's icy breath o'er the land of death
Tells a tale of the yet to come.
'Cross the heaving waves which mark ships' graves
Lies an island known to some,
Where seas pound loud and rocks stand proud
And blood flows free as water,
To the far northwest, which knows no rest,
Came a father and his daughter.
The mind was numb, and the heart struck dumb,
When the night seas took the child,
Hurled to her fate, by a son of Hellgate,
The dark one called The Wild.
You who they seek, though you do not speak,
The legend is yet to be born;
One day you will sing over stones that are red,
In the misty summer dawn.

[Gonff]

I've posted this elsewhere, but it's better suited to this thread. It's one of my favourites from Mariel of Redwall.

The wind's icy breath o'er the land of death
Tells a tale of the yet to come.
'Cross the heaving waves which mark ships' graves
Lies an island known to some,
Where seas pound loud and rocks stand proud
And blood flows free as water,
To the far northwest, which knows no rest,
Came a father and his daughter.
The mind was numb, and the heart struck dumb,
When the night seas took the child,
Hurled to her fate, by a son of Hellgate,
The dark one called The Wild.
You who they seek, though you do not speak,
The legend is yet to be born;
One day you will sing over stones that are red,
In the misty summer dawn.

I like that one too.

[Lutra]

I like the Mariel one as well.   You have to remember Mr. Jacques not only had to write that in rhyme but it actually had to make sense as clues to seek out what you needed to actually find.  Doubly tricky!

[Rizzan]

The classic opening rhyme:
Who says that I am dead know naught at all
I am that is
two mice within Redwall
The warrior sleeps twixt hall and Cavern Hole
I am that
is take on my mighty role
Look for my sword in moonlight streaming forth
at dawn when days first hour reflects the north
over the threshold seek and you will see
I am that is
my sword will wield for me
Ive always liked that one.

[Folgrimeo]

My favorite is the opening to Mariel of Redwall:

Old stories told by travelers,
Great songs that bards have sung,
Of Mossflower summers, faded, gone,
When Redwall's stones were young.
Great Hall fires on winter nights,
The legends, who remembers,
Battles, banquets, comrades, quests,
Recalled midst glowing embers.
Draw close now, little woodlander,
Take this to sleep with you,
My tale of dusty far-off times,
When warrior hearts were true.
Then store it in your memory,
And be the sage who says
To young ones in the years to come:
"Ah yes, those were the days."

[Nightfire]

The one from Mariel of Redwall always chilled me to the bone:

"The wind's icy breath o'er the land of death,
Tells a tale of yet to come.
'Cross heaving waves which mark ships' graves,
Lies an island known to some.
Where seas pound loud and rocks stand proud,
And blood flows free as water,
To the far northwest which knows no rest,
Came a father and his daughter.
The mind was numb, and the heart struck dumb,
When the night seas took the child.
Hurled to her fate by a son of Hellgate,
The dark one called The Wild.
You whom they seek, though you do not speak,
The legend is yet to be born;
One day you will sing over stones that are red,
In the misty summer dawn."

[Skalrag of Marshank]

I like that one. It's really cool sounding.

[Tiria Wildlough]

To where they will go
This is a secret nobeast may know.
                                                          Marlfox!
Plundering murdering vulpine thieves
Who blend with stone
Or meld with leaves.
                                                           Marlfox!
See the pale eyes and swirling cloak
Appear like nightmare,
Vanish like smoke.                               Marlfox!


What steals upon the silent air
Gleaming fangs, mottled fur.
A deadly axeblade lying there.            Marlfox!

Nobeast living can hide fromm thee
O thou who treads invisibly
Cross hill and dale, through woods and rocks...
                                                                         Marlfox!
                                                                            Marlfox!
                                                                              Marlfox!                                                        
I typed that from memory, and boy did it take a long time!