The English and Scottish popular ballads, volume 2 (of 5)

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

5
    O up and speak a little boy,
      That would win hose and shoon:
    'Aft have I gane your errants, lady,
      But by my suth I'll rin.'

    6
    When he came to broken briggs
      He bent his bow and swam,
    And when he came to grass growing
      He cast off his shoon and ran.

    7
    When he came to merry Primrose,
      His lord he was at meat:
    'O my lord, kend ye what I ken,
      Right little wad ye eat.'

    8
    'Is there onny of my castles broken doun,
      Or onny of my towers won?
    Or is Fair Helen brought to bed
      Of a doughter or a son?'

    9
    'There's nane of [your] castles broken doun,
      Nor nane of your towers won,
    Nor is Fair Helen brought to bed
      Of a doghter or a son.'

    10
    'Gar sadle me the black, black steed,
      Gar sadle me the brown;
    Gar sadle me the swiftest horse
      Eer carried man to town.'

    11
    First he bursted the bonny black,
      And then he bursted the brown,
    And then he bursted the swiftest steed
      Eer carried man to town.

    12
    He hadna ridden a mile, a mile,
      A mile but barelins ten,
    When he met four and twenty gallant knights,
      Carrying a dead coffin.

    13
    'Set down, set down Fair Helen's corps,
      Let me look on the dead;'
    And out he took a little pen-knife,
      And he screeded the winding-sheet.

    14
    O first he kist her rosy cheek,
      And then he kist her chin,
    And then he kist her coral lips,
      But there's nae life in within.

    15
    'Gar deal, gar deal the bread,' he says,
      'The bread bat an the wine,
    And at the morn at twelve o'clock
      Ye's gain as much at mine.'

    16
    The tane was buried in Mary's kirk,
      The tother in Mary's choir,
    And out of the tane there sprang a birch,
      And out of the tother a briar.

    17
    The tops of them grew far sundry,
      But the roots of them grew neer,
    And ye may easy ken by that
      They were twa lovers dear.

       *       *       *       *       *

#A.#

        _The copy sent Percy in 1770 was slightly revised by
        Parsons; the original was communicated in 1775._

        3^3. along in.

        4^4. coud speed.

        6^3. make.

        6^4. their mourn.

        10^4. _Parsons corrects ~bunch~ to ~branch~._

#G.#

        7^4. bell.

#H. a.#

        10^1. church-steeple too, _perhaps a misprint for_ top.

   #b.#

        _This is an attempt to burlesque the broadside by
        vulgarizing two or three words, as ~lovier~, ~buzzum~,
        and inserting one stanza._

        2^4, 4^2. Foreign countries.

        3^3. In a year, or two or three, or four.

        4^1. twelve months and a day.

        6^3. dead, the people all said.

        7^2. to be turned.

        7^4. Whilst.

        _After_ 7:

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

Opening the text

General

The English and Scottish popular ballads, volume 2 (of 5)

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

5
    O up and speak a little boy,
      That would win hose and shoon:
    'Aft have I gane your errants, lady,
      But by my suth I'll rin.'

    6
    When he came to broken briggs
      He bent his bow and swam,
    And when he came to grass growing
      He cast off his shoon and ran.

    7
    When he came to merry Primrose,
      His lord he was at meat:
    'O my lord, kend ye what I ken,
      Right little wad ye eat.'

    8
    'Is there onny of my castles broken doun,
      Or onny of my towers won?
    Or is Fair Helen brought to bed
      Of a doughter or a son?'

    9
    'There's nane of [your] castles broken doun,
      Nor nane of your towers won,
    Nor is Fair Helen brought to bed
      Of a doghter or a son.'

    10
    'Gar sadle me the black, black steed,
      Gar sadle me the brown;
    Gar sadle me the swiftest horse
      Eer carried man to town.'

    11
    First he bursted the bonny black,
      And then he bursted the brown,
    And then he bursted the swiftest steed
      Eer carried man to town.

    12
    He hadna ridden a mile, a mile,
      A mile but barelins ten,
    When he met four and twenty gallant knights,
      Carrying a dead coffin.

    13
    'Set down, set down Fair Helen's corps,
      Let me look on the dead;'
    And out he took a little pen-knife,
      And he screeded the winding-sheet.

    14
    O first he kist her rosy cheek,
      And then he kist her chin,
    And then he kist her coral lips,
      But there's nae life in within.

    15
    'Gar deal, gar deal the bread,' he says,
      'The bread bat an the wine,
    And at the morn at twelve o'clock
      Ye's gain as much at mine.'

    16
    The tane was buried in Mary's kirk,
      The tother in Mary's choir,
    And out of the tane there sprang a birch,
      And out of the tother a briar.

    17
    The tops of them grew far sundry,
      But the roots of them grew neer,
    And ye may easy ken by that
      They were twa lovers dear.

       *       *       *       *       *

#A.#

        _The copy sent Percy in 1770 was slightly revised by
        Parsons; the original was communicated in 1775._

        3^3. along in.

        4^4. coud speed.

        6^3. make.

        6^4. their mourn.

        10^4. _Parsons corrects ~bunch~ to ~branch~._

#G.#

        7^4. bell.

#H. a.#

        10^1. church-steeple too, _perhaps a misprint for_ top.

   #b.#

        _This is an attempt to burlesque the broadside by
        vulgarizing two or three words, as ~lovier~, ~buzzum~,
        and inserting one stanza._

        2^4, 4^2. Foreign countries.

        3^3. In a year, or two or three, or four.

        4^1. twelve months and a day.

        6^3. dead, the people all said.

        7^2. to be turned.

        7^4. Whilst.

        _After_ 7:

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

The English and Scottish popular ballads, volume 2 (of 5)

The English and Scottish popular ballads, volume 2 (of 5)

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