English and Scottish Ballads, Volume II

Ballads, English -- England -- Texts; Ballads, Scots -- Scotland -- Texts

"This ballad has had the misfortune, in common with many others, of
being much mutilated by reciters. I have endeavoured, by the
assistance of some fragments, to make it as complete as possible;
and have even taken the liberty of altering the arrangement of some
of the stanzas of a lately-procured copy, that they might the better
cohere with those already printed." FINLAY'S _Scottish Ballads_, ii.
61.

    "Will you marry the southland lord,
      A queen o' fair England to be?
    Or will you mourn for sweet Willie,
      The morn upon yon lea?"

    "I will marry the southland lord,                                  5
      Father, sen it is your will;
    But I'd rather it were my burial day,
      For my grave I'm going till.

    "O go, O go now my bower wife,
      O go now hastilie,                                              10
    O go now to sweet Willie's bower,
      And bid him cum speak to me.--

    "Now, Willie, gif ye love me weel,
      As sae it seems to me,
    Gar build, gar build a bonny ship,                                15
      Gar build it speedilie!

    "And we will sail the sea sae green
      Unto some far countrie;
    Or we'll sail to some bonny isle,
      Stands lanely midst the sea."                                   20

    But lang or e'er the ship was built,
      Or deck'd or rigged out,
    Cam sic a pain in Annet's back,
      That down she cou'dna lout.

    "Now, Willie, gin ye love me weel,                                25
      As sae it seems to me,
    O haste, haste, bring me to my bower,
      And my bower maidens three."

    He's ta'en her in his arms twa,
      And kiss'd her cheek and chin,                                  30
    He's brocht her to her ain sweet bower,
      But nae bower maid was in.

    "Now leave my bower, Willie," she said,
      "Now leave me to my lane;
    Was never man in a lady's bower                                   35
      When she was travailing."

    He's stepped three steps down the stair,
      Upon the marble stane,
    Sae loud's he heard his young son greet,
      But and his lady mane.                                          40

    "Now come, now come, Willie," she said,
      "Tak your young son frae me,
    And hie him to your mother's bower,
      With speed and privacie."

    And he is to his mother's bower,                                  45
      As fast as he could rin;
    "Open, open, my mother dear,
      Open, and let me in;

    "For the rain rains on my yellow hair,
      The dew stands on my chin,                                      50
    And I have something in my lap,
      And I wad fain be in."

    "O go, O go now, sweet Willie,
      And make your lady blithe,
    For wherever you had ae nourice,                                  55
      Your young son shall hae five."--

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

English and Scottish Ballads, Volume II

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