"I'll take the red gowd frae my hair,

And follow you for evermair."

Atween the kitchen and the ha',

65

He loot his cloutie cloak down fa',

And wi' red gowd shone ower them a',
And frae the bridegroom the bride he sta'.
Child, Pop. Bal., No. 17H.

WALY, WALY, UP THE BANK

[JAMIE DOUGLAS].

O WALY, waly, up the bank,

And waly, waly, doun the brae,
And waly, waly, yon burn-side,
Where I and my love wont to gae!

I lean'd my back unto an aik,
I thocht it was a trustie tree;

But first it bow'd and syne it brak-
Sae my true love did lichtlie me.

O waly, waly, gin love be bonnie
A little time while it is new!
But when 't is auld it waxeth cauld,
And fades awa' like morning dew.

8

12

O wherefore should I busk my heid,
Or wherefore should I kame my hair?
For my true love has me forsook,

And says he'll never lo'e me mair.

Now Arthur's Seat sall be my bed,
The sheets sall ne'er be 'filed by me;
Saint Anton's well sall be my drink;

Since my true love has forsaken me.

Marti'mas wind, when wilt thou blaw,
And shake the green leaves aff the tree?
O gentle Death, when wilt thou come?
For of my life I am wearie.

'T is not the frost that freezes fell,

Nor blawing snaw's inclemencie ;

'T is not sic cauld that makes me cry,

16

20

24

But my love's heart grown cauld to me. 28

When we cam in by Glasgow toun,

We were a comely sicht to see;

My love was clad in the black velvet,
And I mysel' in cramasie.

But had I wist, before I kist,

That love had been sae ill to win,

I'd lock'd my heart in a case o' gowd,
And pinn'd it wi' a siller pin.

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36

And O! if my young babe were born,

And set upon the nurse's knee;
And I mysel' were dead and gane,
For a maid again I 'll never be.

Child, Pop. Bal., No. 204a

40

AULD ROBIN GRAY

WHEN the sheep are in the fauld, and the kye 's

come hame,

And a' the warld to rest are gane,

The waes o' my heart fa' in showers frae my e'e, Unkent by my gudeman, wha sleeps sound by

me.

4

Young Jamie lo'ed me weel, and sought me for

his bride;

But saving ae croun-piece he had naething else

beside:

To make the croun a pund, young Jamie gaed to

sea;

And the croun and the pund-they were baith

for me.

He hadna been awa' a week but only twa,

8

When my father brak his arm, and the cow was

stown awa';

My mother she fell sick-and my Jamie at the

sea

And auld Robin Gray came a-courting me.

12

My father couldna work, and my mother couldna

spin;

I toil'd day and night, but their bread I couldna

win;

Auld Rob maintain'd them baith, and wi' tears in

his e'e

Said, "Jennie, for their sakes, will ye no marry me?"

My heart it said nay; I look'd for Jamie back; But the wind it blew high, and the ship it was a wrack;

His ship it was a wrack-Why didna Jamie dee? Or why am I spared to cry, Wae 's me!

20

My father urged me sair: my mother didna speak; But she look'd in my face till my heart was like to break:

They gi'ed him my hand, tho' my heart was in

the sea;

Sae auld Robin Gray he was gudeman to me.

24

I hadna been a wife a week but only four,
When mournfu' as I sat on the stane at my door,
I saw my Jamie's wraith,-for I couldna think

it he,

Till he said, "I 'm come hame, love, to marry

thee."

O sair, sair did we greet, and muckle say of a'; I gi'ed him but ae kiss, and bade him gang awa':

28

I wish that I were dead, but I'm no like to dee; For, though my heart is broken, I 'm but young, wae 's me!

32

I gang like a ghaist, and I carena much to spin;
I daurna think on Jamie, for that wad be a sin;
But I'll do my best a gude wife aye to be,
For auld Robin Gray he is kind to me.

1771.

36

Lady Anne Lindsay.

BLACK-EYED SUSAN

ALL in the Downs the fleet was moored,
The streamers waving in the wind,
When black-eyed Susan came aboard;
"O, where shall I my true-love find?
Tell me, ye jovial sailors, tell me true,
If my sweet William sails among the crew." 6

William, who high upon the yard

Rocked with the billow to and fro,
Soon as her well-known voice he heard,
He sighed, and cast his eyes below:
The cord slides swiftly through his glowing
hands,

And quick as lightning on the deck he

stands.

12