The English and Scottish Popular Ballads Edited by Francis James Child. |
I. |
II. |
III. |
IV. |
V. |
VI. |
VII. |
VIII. |
IX. |
The English and Scottish Popular Ballads | ||
Lord Thomas of Winsbury
WILLIE O WINSBURY—C
1
The king has been long seven years away,Long seven years away frae hame;
Our king has been long seven years away,
A hunting oer in Spain.
2
‘What aileth thee, my ae daughter,Thou lookst so pale and wan?
Hast thou had any sore sickness,
Or hast thou loved man?’
3
‘I have not had any sore sickness,To make me look sae wan;
But it is for your own majestie,
You staid sae lang in Spain.’
401
4
‘Cast aff, cast aff thy silken gown,And lay it on yon stane,
And I'll tell to thee if with child you be,
Or if ye be with nane.’
5
She's casten aff her costly gown,That's made o the silk sae fine;
Her stays were sae strait she could na loot,
And her fair colour was wan.
6
‘Oh is it to any mighty man?Or any lord of fame?
Or is it to the rank robbers
That I sent out o Spain?’
7
‘It is no to the rank robbersThat you sent out o Spain;
But it is to Thomas of Winsbury,
For I dought na lie my lane.’
8
‘If it be to Lord Thomas,’ he says,‘It's hanged shall he be:’
‘If you hang Thomas of Winsbury,
You'll get na mair gude o me.’
9
The king's called up his merry men all,By one, by two, and three;
Lord Thomas should hae been the foremost man,
But the hindmost man was he.
10
‘No wonder, no wonder,’ the king he said,‘My daughter loved thee;
For wert thou a woman, as thou art a man,
My bedfellow thou shouldst be.
11
‘O will you marry my daughter dear,By the faith of thy right hand?
And thou shalt reign, when I am dead,
The king over my whole land.’
12
‘I will marry your daughter dear,With my heart, yea and my hand;
But it never shall be that Lord Winsbury
Shall rule oer fair Scotland.’
13
He's mounted her on a milk-white steed,Himself on a dapple-grey,
And made her a lady of as much land
She could ride in a whole summer day.
The English and Scottish Popular Ballads | ||