The Gowans sae gay; or, Aye as the Gowans grow gay
LADY ISABEL AND THE ELF-KNIGHT—A
[_]
a. Buchan's Ballads of the North of Scotland, i, 22. b.
Motherwell's MS., p. 563.
1
Fair lady Isabel sits in her bower sewing,
Aye as the gowans grow gay
There she heard an elf-knight blawing his horn.
The first morning in May
2
‘If I had yon horn that I hear blawing,
And yon elf-knight to sleep in my bosom.’
3
This maiden had scarcely these words spoken,
Till in at her window the elf-knight has luppen.
4
‘It's a very strange matter, fair maiden,’ said he,
‘I canna blaw my horn but ye call on me.
5
‘But will ye go to yon greenwood side?
If ye canna gang, I will cause you to ride.’
6
He leapt on a horse, and she on another,
And they rode on to the greenwood together.
7
‘Light down, light down, lady Isabel,’ said he,
‘We are come to the place where ye are to die.’
8
‘Hae mercy, hae mercy, kind sir, on me,
Till ance my dear father and mother I see.’
9
‘Seven king's-daughters here hae I slain,
And ye shall be the eight o them.’
10
‘O sit down a while, lay your head on my knee,
That we may hae some rest before that I die.’
11
She stroakd him sae fast, the nearer he did creep,
Wi a sma charm she lulld him fast asleep.
12
Wi his ain sword-belt sae fast as she ban him,
Wi his ain dag-durk sae sair as she dang him.
13
‘If seven king's-daughters here ye hae slain,
Lye ye here, a husband to them a'.’
