The Bonnie House o Airly; or, The Bonny House of Airly; or, The Bonny
House of Airly; or, The Bonny House o Airly
THE BONNIE HOUSE O AIRLIE—A
[_]
a. Sharpe's Ballad Book, p. 59, No 20, 1823. b. Finlay's
Ballads, II, 25, 1808, from two recited copies and “one
printed about twenty years ago on a single sheet.” c. Skene
MS., pp. 28, 54, from recitation in the north of Scotland,
1802-3. d. Campbell MSS, II, 113, probably from a stallcopy.
e, f. Aberdeen stall copies, “printed for the booksellers.”
g. Hogg's Jacobite Relics, II, 152, No 76, “Cromek
and a street ballad collated, 1821.” h. Kinloch MSS, VI, 5,
one stanza, taken down from an old woman's recitation by
J. Robertson.
1
It fell on a day, and a bonny simmer day,
When green grew aits and barley,
That there fell out a great dispute
Between Argyll and Airlie.
2
Argyll has raised an hunder men,
An hunder harnessd rarely,
And he's awa by the back of Dunkell,
To plunder the castle of Airlie.
3
Lady Ogilvie looks oer her bower-window.
And oh, but she looks weary!
And there she spy'd the great Argyll,
Come to plunder the bonny house of Airlie.
4
‘Come down, come down, my Lady Ogilvie,
Come down, and kiss me fairly:’
‘O I winna kiss the fause Argyll,
If he should na leave a standing stane in Airlie.’
5
He hath taken her by the left shoulder,
Says, Dame where lies thy dowry?
‘O it's east and west yon wan water side,
And it's down by the banks of the Airlie.’
6
They hae sought it up, they hae sought it down,
They hae sought it maist severely,
Till they fand it in the fair plumb-tree
That shines on the bowling-green of Airlie.
7
He hath taken her by the middle sae small,
And O but she grat sairly!
And laid her down by the bonny burn-side,
Till they plundered the castle of Airlie.
8
‘Gif my gude lord war here this night.
As he is with King Charlie,
Neither you, nor ony ither Scottish lord,
Durst avow to the plundering of Airlie.
9
‘Gif my gude lord war now at hame,
As he is with his king,
There durst nae a Campbell in a' Argyll
Set fit on Airlie green.
10
‘Ten bonny sons I have born unto him,
The eleventh neer saw his daddy;
But though I had an hundred mair,
I'd gie them a' to King Charlie.’
