The Christmas tree took root and grew several storeys high
It pushed the walls of Betty's house a little out of line
Councillor Hall made a courtesy call with a view to cut it down
The smile that graced Betty's face was replaced with a cold stare and a frown
"That tree is like a child to me, you must not do her wrong
She grew up with my family and this is where she belongs."
But four and twenty men were sent to do the will of Hall
With their axes honed and all intent to see that timber fall
But Betty had braved her needled boughs and branches right to the top
Like an angel calling down from above she said "I swear I'll make you stop.
This tree you see is a part of me, I will not let her down;
She grew up with my children and I will not desert her now.
You can all debate, deliberate, quibble and confer
But you will not lay a finger on my conifer!"
Well the winter came and the cracks appeared in Betty Bindley's house
And the Councillor sneered, kind of cavalier, "There's no point in trying to get her out"
Well it sounded just like thunder when the walls came crashing down
Councillor Hall washed his hands of it all
And Betty was never found
Now that conifer is a shrine to her, standing to this day
They light her up in December and they dance around her in May
While some may call her the Bindley Tree, others wonder why
But they say that the breeze as it blows through her leaves sounds like Betty's cries