The English and Scottish Popular Ballads Edited by Francis James Child. |
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 | The English and Scottish Popular Ballads |  |
The Queen's Mary
MARY HAMILTON—K
1
Queen Mary had four serving-maids,As braw as braw could be,
But ane o them has fa'n wi bairn,
And for it she maun die.
2
But whan the babie it was born,A troubled woman was she;
She rowed it up in a handkerchief,
And flang it in the sea.
3
Out then spoke a bonnie wee burd,And it spak sharp and keen:
‘O what did ye do wi your wee babie,
Ye had in your arms yestreen?’
4
‘O I tyed it up in a napkin,And flang it in the sea;
I bade it sink, I bade it soom,
'Twad get nae mair o me.’
5
Out and spak King Henrie,And an angry man was he:
‘A' for the drowning o that wee babe
High hanged ye shall be.’
6
‘I'll no put on a goun o black,Nor yet a goun o green,
But I'll put on a goun o gowd,
To glance in young men's een.
395
7
‘O gin ye meet my father or mother,Ye may tell them frae me,
'Twas for the sake o a wee wee bairn
That I came here to die.
8
‘Yestreen four Maries made Queen Mary's bed,This nicht there'll be but three,
A Mary Beaton, a Mary Seaton,
A Mary Carmichael, and me.
9
‘O what will my three brithers say,When they come hame frae see,
When they see three locks o my yellow hair
Hinging under a gallows-tree!’
| The English and Scottish Popular Ballads | |