Say that the men of the old black tower,
Though they but feed as the goatherd feeds,
Their money spent, their wine gone sour,
Lack nothing that a soldier needs,
That all are oath-bound men:
Those banners come not in.
There in the tomb stand the dead upright,
But winds come up from the shore:
They shake when the winds roar,
Old bones upon the mountain shake.
Those banners come to bribe or threaten,
Or whisper that a man’s a fool
Who, when his own right king’s forgotten,
Cares what king sets up his rule.
If he died long ago
Why do you dread us so?
There in the tomb drops the faint moonlight,
But wind comes up from the shore:
They shake when the winds roar,
Old bones upon the mountain shake.
The tower’s old cook that must climb and clamber
Catching small birds in the dew of the morn
When we hale men lie stretched in slumber
Swears that he hears the king’s great horn.
But he’s a lying hound:
Stand we on guard oath-bound!
There in the tomb the dark grows blacker,
But wind comes up from the shore:
They shake when the winds roar,
Old bones upon the mountain shake.
A sepulchral, desolate scent. Long-dead soldiers, oath-bound; the perfume of their armor, the chill wind that surges through their tower, white bone and blackened steel: white sandalwood, ambergris, wet ozone, galbanum and leather with ebony, teak, burnt grasses, English ivy and a hint of red wine.
VetchVespers –
In the bottle, I get a sweet, boozy leather scent that is very nice. There’s a bit of a cologne feel and a tad bit of nutty warmth. Perhaps the massoia bark? This leans masculine to my nose, but I think could easily be worn by a woman.
On my skin I still get leather and the sweet cologne feel, but I also get some funkiness creeping in. I think I’m going to blame the wool as I’m not familiar with that note and don’t really have issue with anything else listed. It smells kind of… swampy… So I smell kind of like a sexy swashbuckler with nice leather boots covered in muck after he’s run around in the sewers, which I guess is pretty darn fitting!
An interesting scent, but doesn’t shine with my chemistry.
hlinspjalda –
In the vial: Sweetness with opium, bay rum, and something almost floral.
Wet: Oh golly, I could bury my face in this coat and huff it forever! MMMmmmm, bay rum!
Drydown: Oh yes, delicious bay rum but sweet (I guess the opium?), and I definitely get the impression of being wrapped in that coat. Nomnomnommmm.
This was wonderful throughout, from the spicy start to the soft musky vanilla-like finish. On my skin it’s truly fabulous, something like a sexy version of Port-au-Prince without the almond.