57
BROWN ROBYN'S CONFESSION
BROWN ROBYN'S CONFESSION
[_]
Buchan's Ballads of the North of Scotland, I, 110. Motherwell's MS., p. 580.
1
It fell upon a Wodensday
Brown Robyn's men went to sea,
But they saw neither moon nor sun,
Nor starlight wi their ee.
2
‘We'll cast kevels us amang,
See wha the unhappy man may be;’
The kevel fell on Brown Robyn,
The master-man was he.
3
‘It is nae wonder,’ said Brown Robyn,
‘Altho I dinna thrive,
For wi my mither I had twa bairns,
And wi my sister five.
4
‘But tie me to a plank o wude,
And throw me in the sea;
And if I sink, ye may bid me sink,
But if I swim, just lat me bee.’
5
They've tyed him to a plank o wude,
And thrown him in the sea;
He didna sink, tho they bade him sink;
He swimd, and they bade lat him bee.
6
He hadna been into the sea
An hour but barely three,
Till by it came Our Blessed Lady,
Her dear young son her wi.
7
‘Will ye gang to your men again,
Or will ye gang wi me?
Will ye gang to the high heavens,
Wi my dear son and me?’
8
‘I winna gang to my men again,
For they would be feared at mee;
But I woud gang to the high heavens,
Wi thy dear son and thee.’
9
‘It's for nae honour ye did to me, Brown Robyn,
It's for nae guid ye did to mee;
But a' is for your fair confession
You've made upon the sea.’
