The English and Scottish popular ballads, volume 1 (of 5)

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

19
    As sune as she the fiend did name,
    He flew awa in a blazing flame.


D

        Motherwell's MS., p. 142.

    1
    'O what is higher than the trees?
      Gar lay the bent to the bonny broom
    And what is deeper than the seas?
      And you may beguile a fair maid soon

    2
    'O what is whiter than the milk?
    Or what is softer than the silk?

    3
    'O what is sharper than the thorn?
    O what is louder than the horn?

    4
    'O what is longer than the way?
    And what is colder than the clay?

    5
    'O what is greener than the grass?
    And what is worse than woman was?'

    6
    'O heaven's higher than the trees,
    And hell is deeper than the seas.

    7
    'And snow is whiter than the milk,
    And love is softer than the silk.

    8
    'O hunger's sharper than the thorn,
    And thunder's louder than the horn.

    9
    'O wind is longer than the way,
    And death is colder than the clay.

    10
    'O poison's greener than the grass,
    And the Devil's worse than eer woman was.'

       *       *       *       *       *

#A. a.#

    _Title._ A Noble Riddle wisely Expounded: or, The Maids answer
      to the Knights Three Questions.

    She with her excellent wit and civil carriage,
    Won a young Knight to joyn with him in marriage;
    This gallant couple now is man and wife,
    And she with him doth lead a pleasant Life.

    Tune of Lay the bent to the bonny broom.

        +---------------+    +--------------+
        |               |    |              |
        |  WOODCUT OF   |    |  WOODCUT OF  |
        |  THE KNIGHT.  |    |   THE MAID.  |
        |               |    |              |
        +---------------+    +--------------+

    #c.# Knights questions. Wed a knight ... with her in
      marriage.

    #a.# Printed for F. Coles, T. Vere, I. Wright, and I. Clarke.

    #b.# Printed for W. Thackeray, E.M. and A.M.

    #c.# Licens'd according to Order. London. Printed by Tho.
      Norris, at the L[o]oking glass on London-bridge. And sold by
      J. Walter, in High Holborn.

    _In Rawlinson and Wood the first seven lines are in Roman and
      Italic type; the remainder being in black letter and Roman.
      The Pepys copy has one line of the ballad in black letter
      and one line in Roman type. The Douce edition is in Roman
      and Italic._

#A.#

    1^1, #c#, i' th' North: #d#, in the.

    3^1. #c#, This knight.

    5^1. #a#, #b#, #c#, #d#, The youngest sister.

    7^1. #b#, #d#, The youngest that same. #c#, that very same.

    7^2. #a#, with this young knight.

    9^2. #d#, sir knight, you marry me.

    _After 10, there is a wood-cut of the knight and the maid in
      #a#; in #b# two cuts of the knight._

    11^2. #c#, I'll marry. #d#, I will.

    12^1. #c# _omits_ in love.

    12^2. #b#, #c#, #d#, three questions.

    14^1. #d#, a horn.

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

The English and Scottish popular ballads, volume 1 (of 5)

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