Ballads, English -- England -- Texts; Ballads, Scots -- Scotland -- Texts
O lang will his lady
Look o'er the castle Down,
Ere she see the Earl of Murray
Come sounding thro' the town.
THE BONNIE EARL O' MURRAY.
From Finlay's _Scottish Ballads_, ii. 21.
"Open the gates,
And let him come in;
He is my brother Huntly,
He'll do him nae harm."
The gates they were opent, 5
They let him come in;
But fause traitor Huntly,
He did him great harm.
He's ben and ben,
And ben to his bed; 10
And with a sharp rapier
He stabbed him dead.
The lady came down the stair,
Wringing her hands;
"He has slain the Earl o' Murray, 15
The flower o' Scotland."
But Huntly lap on his horse,
Rade to the king:
"Ye're welcome hame, Huntly,
And whare hae ye been? 20
"Whare hae ye been?
And how hae ye sped?"
"I've killed the Earl o' Murray,
Dead in his bed."
"Foul fa' you, Huntly! 25
And why did ye so?
You might have ta'en the Earl o' Murray
And saved his life too."
"Her bread it's to bake,
Her yill is to brew; 30
My sister's a widow,
And sair do I rue.
"Her corn grows ripe,
Her meadows grow green,
But in bonny Dinnibristle 35
I darena be seen."
THE WINNING OF CALES.
This is one of many exulting effusions which were called forth by the
taking of Cadiz (vulgarly called Cales). The town was captured on the
21st of June, 1596, the Earl of Effingham being high-admiral of the
fleet, and Essex general of the land forces. Sir W. Raleigh, Lord
Thomas Howard, and other distinguished soldiers had commands in the
expedition. The praise here bestowed on Essex's humanity was richly
deserved, and the booty taken by the conquerors is not exaggerated.
The whole loss of the Spaniards, in their city and their fleet, was
estimated at twenty millions of ducats.
We give this ballad from Deloney's _Garland of Good Will_, as
reprinted by the Percy Society, vol. xxx. p. 113. The copy in the
_Reliques_ (ii. 241), which was corrected by the editor, differs but
slightly from the present.
Long had the proud Spaniards
Advancèd to conquer us,
Threatening our country
With fire and sword;
Often preparing 5
Their navy most sumptuous,
With all the provision
That Spain could afford.
Dub a-dub, dub,
Thus strike the drums, 10
Tan-ta-ra, ta-ra-ra,
The Englishman comes.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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