English and Scottish Ballads, Volume IV

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

"My bonnie may, my weel-faur'd may,                              5
      O will ye fancy me, O;
    And gae and be the lady o' Drum,
      And lat your shearing abee, O?"

    "It's I canna fancy thee, kind sir,
      I winna fancy thee, O,                                        10
    I winna gae and be Lady o' Drum,
      And lat my shearing abee, O.

    "But set your love on anither, kind sir,
      Set it not on me, O,
    For I am not fit to be your bride,                              15
      And your hure I'll never be, O.

    "My father he is a shepherd mean,
      Keeps sheep on yonder hill, O,
    And ye may gae and speir at him,
      For I am at his will, O."                                     20

    Drum is to her father gane,
      Keeping his sheep on yon hill, O;
    And he has gotten his consent
      That the may was at his will, O.

    "But my dochter can neither read nor write,                     25
      She was ne'er brought up at scheel, O;
    But weel can she milk cow and ewe,
      And mak a kebbuck weel, O.

    "She'll win in your barn at bear-seed time,
      Cast out your muck at Yule, O,                                30
    She'll saddle your steed in time o' need,
      And draw aff your boots hersell, O."

    "Have not I no clergymen?
      Pay I no clergy fee, O?
    I'll scheel her as I think fit,                                 35
      And as I think weel to be, O.

    "I'll learn your lassie to read and write,
      And I'll put her to the scheel, O;
    She'll neither need to saddle my steed,
      Nor draw aff my boots hersell, O.                             40

    "But wha will bake my bridal bread,
      Or brew my bridal ale, O;
    And wha will welcome my bonnie bride,
      Is mair than I can tell, O."

    Drum is to the hielands gane,                                   45
      For to mak a' ready,
    And a' the gentry round about,
      Cried, "Yonder's Drum and his lady!

    "Peggy Coutts is a very bonnie bride,
      And Drum is a wealthy laddie,                                 50
    But he micht hae chosen a hier match,
      Than onie shepherd's lassie."

    Then up bespak his brither John,
      Says, "Ye've deen us meikle wrang, O;
    Ye've married een below our degree,                             55
      A lake to a' our kin, O."

    "Hold your tongue, my brither John,
      I have deen you na wrang, O;
    For I've married een to wirk and win,
      And ye've married een to spend, O.                            60

    "The first time that I had a wife,
      She was far abeen my degree, O;
    I durst na come in her presence,
      But wi' my hat upo' my knee, O.

    "The first wife that I did wed,                                 65
      She was far abeen my degree, O;
    She wadna hae walk'd to the yetts o' Drum,
      But the pearls abeen her bree, O.

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

English and Scottish Ballads, Volume IV

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