The Works of The Ettrick Shepherd Centenary Edition. With a Memoir of the Author, by the Rev. Thomas Thomson ... Poems and Life. With Many Illustrative Engravings [by James Hogg] |
 |
|
| I. |
| II. |
| III. |
|
|
| 1. |
| 2. |
| 3. |
| 4. |
| 5. |
|
| 1. |
| 2. |
| 3. |
| 4. |
|
|
| 1. |
| 2. |
| 3. |
| 4. |
| 5. |
| 6. |
|
| 1. |
| 2. |
| 3. |
| 4. |
|
|
| 1. |
|
|
|
| I. |
| II. |
| III. |
| IV. |
|
|
Song of the Fairies.
|
|
|
|
 | The Works of The Ettrick Shepherd |  |
Song of the Fairies.
Sing, sing!
How shall we sing
Round the babe of the spirits' king?
How shall we sing our last adieu,
Baby of life, when we sing to you?
Now the little night-burdie may cheip i' the wa',
The plover may whew, and the cock may craw;
For the bairny's sleep is sweet and sure,
And the maiden's rest is blest and pure,
Through all the links of the Lammer Muir.
Sin our bonnie baby was sent frae heaven,
She comes o'ernight wi' the dew of even;
And when the day-sky bursts frae the main,
She swaws wi' the dew to heaven again:
But the light shall dawn, and the howlet flee,
The dead shall quake, when the day shall be,
That she shall smile in the gladsome noon,
And sleep, and sleep, in the light of the moon.
Then shall our hallelues wake anew
With harp, and viol, and ayril true.
But, well-a-day!
How shall we say
Our earthly adieu ere we pass away?
Ring! Ring!
Dance and sing,
And on the green broom your garlands hing;
Hallow the hopes of this ray of grace,
For sweet is the smile of our baby's face;
And every ghaist of geysand hue
Has melted away in the air she drew.
The kelpy may dern, in drear and dool,
Deep in the howe of his eiry pool;
Gil-Moules frae hint the hallan may flee
Through by the threshold and through by the key,
And the mermaid moote in the saffron sea:
But we are left in the greenwood glen,
Because we love the children of men,
Sweetly to sing, and never to rue,
Till now that we hymn our last adieu;
Baby of life, we sing it to you!
How shall we sing
Round the babe of the spirits' king?
How shall we sing our last adieu,
Baby of life, when we sing to you?
Now the little night-burdie may cheip i' the wa',
The plover may whew, and the cock may craw;
For the bairny's sleep is sweet and sure,
And the maiden's rest is blest and pure,
Through all the links of the Lammer Muir.
Sin our bonnie baby was sent frae heaven,
She comes o'ernight wi' the dew of even;
And when the day-sky bursts frae the main,
She swaws wi' the dew to heaven again:
But the light shall dawn, and the howlet flee,
The dead shall quake, when the day shall be,
That she shall smile in the gladsome noon,
And sleep, and sleep, in the light of the moon.
Then shall our hallelues wake anew
With harp, and viol, and ayril true.
375
How shall we say
Our earthly adieu ere we pass away?
Ring! Ring!
Dance and sing,
And on the green broom your garlands hing;
Hallow the hopes of this ray of grace,
For sweet is the smile of our baby's face;
And every ghaist of geysand hue
Has melted away in the air she drew.
The kelpy may dern, in drear and dool,
Deep in the howe of his eiry pool;
Gil-Moules frae hint the hallan may flee
Through by the threshold and through by the key,
And the mermaid moote in the saffron sea:
But we are left in the greenwood glen,
Because we love the children of men,
Sweetly to sing, and never to rue,
Till now that we hymn our last adieu;
Baby of life, we sing it to you!
Sing, sing!
How shall we sing
Round the babe of the spirits' king?
Hither the breezes of Elfland bring,
Then, fairies, away—away on the wing!
We now maun flit to a land of bliss—
To a land of holy silentness;
To a land where the night-wind never blew,
But thy fair spring shall ever be new.
When the moon shall wake, nae mair to wane,
And the cloud and the rainbow baith are gane,
In bowers aboon the break o' the day,
We'll sing to our baby for ever and aye.
How shall we sing
Round the babe of the spirits' king?
Hither the breezes of Elfland bring,
Then, fairies, away—away on the wing!
We now maun flit to a land of bliss—
To a land of holy silentness;
To a land where the night-wind never blew,
But thy fair spring shall ever be new.
When the moon shall wake, nae mair to wane,
And the cloud and the rainbow baith are gane,
In bowers aboon the break o' the day,
We'll sing to our baby for ever and aye.
Then the carle beheld them swoof alang,
And heard the words of their farewell sang;
They seem'd to ling asklent the wind,
And left a pathway of light behind;
But he heard them singing as they flew—
“Baby of life, adieu! adieu!
Baby of grace, we sing to you!”
And heard the words of their farewell sang;
They seem'd to ling asklent the wind,
And left a pathway of light behind;
But he heard them singing as they flew—
“Baby of life, adieu! adieu!
Baby of grace, we sing to you!”
| The Works of The Ettrick Shepherd | |