Lady Douglas and Blackwood
JAMIE DOUGLAS—C
[_]
Kinloch MSS, V, 207, I, 103; from John Rae, Lesmahago.
1
O wally, wally up yon bank!
And wally down yon brae!
And wally, wally up yon burn-side,
Where me and my lord wont to gae!
2
I leand me on yon saugh sae sweet,
I leand me on yon saugh sae sour,
And my gude lord has forsaken me,
And he swears he'll never loe me more.
3
There came a young man to this town,
And Jamie Lockhart was his name;
Fause Blackwood lilted in my lord's ear
That I was in the bed wi him.
4
‘Come up, come up, Jamie Douglas,
Come up, come up and dine wi me,
And I'll set thee in a chair of gold,
And use you kindly on my knee.’
5
‘When cockle-shells turn silver bells,
And mussels hing on every tree,
When frost and snow turn fire-brands,
Then I'll come up and dine wi thee.’
6
When my father and mother they got word
That my good lord had forsaken me,
They sent fourscore of soldiers brave
To bring me hame to my ain countrie.
7
That day that I was forc'd to go,
My pretty palace for to leave,
I went to the chamber were my lord lay,
But alas! he wad na speak to me.
8
‘O fare ye weel, Jamie Douglas!
And fare ye weel, my children three!
I hope your father will prove mair kind
To you than he has been to me.
9
‘You take every one to be like yoursel,
You take every one that comes unto thee;
But I could swear by the heavens high
That I never knew anither man but thee.
10
‘O foul fa ye, fause Blackwood,
And an ill death now may ye die!
For ye was the first occasioner
Of parting my gude lord and me.’
11
Whan we gaed in by Edinburgh town,
My father and mither they met me,
Wi trumpets sounding on every side;
But alas! they could na cherish me.
12
‘Hold your tongue, daughter,’ my father said,
‘And with your weeping let me be;
And we'll get out a bill of divorce,
And I'll get a far better lord to thee.’
13
‘O hold your tongue, father,’ she says,
‘And with your talking let me be;
I wad na gie a kiss o my ain lord's lips
For a' the men in the west country.’
14
Oh an I had my baby born,
And set upon the nurse's knee,
And I myself were dead and gone!
For a maid again I will never be.
