Ballads of Mystery and Miracle and Fyttes of Mirth Part 18

'O he's na drown'd in Clyde Water, He is slain and put therein; The lady that lives in yon castil Slew him and put him in.

21.

'Leave aff your ducking on the day, And duck upon the night; Whear ever that sakeless knight lys slain, The candels will shine bright.'

22.

Thay left off their ducking o' the day, And ducked upon the night, And where that sakeless knight lay slain, The candles shone full bright.

23.

The deepest pot intill it a'

Thay got Young Hunting in; A green turff upon his brest, To hold that good lord down.

24.

O thay hae sent aff men to the wood To hew down baith thorn an' fern, That they might get a great bonefire To burn that lady in.

'Put na the wyte on me,' she says, 'It was her May Catheren.'

25.

Whan thay had tane her May Catheren, In the bonefire set her in, It wad na take upon her cheeks, Nor take upon her chin, Nor yet upon her yallow hair, To healle the deadly sin.

26.

Out they hae tain her May Catheren And they hay put that lady in; O it took upon her cheek, her cheek, An' it took upon her chin, An' it took on her fair body, She burnt like hoky-gren.

[Annotations: 3.1: 'birl'd,' poured; 'him,' _i.e._ for him.

4.4: See First Series, _Brown Robin_, 7.4; _Fause Footrage_, 16.4; and Introduction, p. li.

6.2: 'gare,' part of the dress. See First Series, Introduction, p. 1.

8.3: 'flattering,' wagging.

9.4: 'wand,' wood, wicker.

13.1: 'pot,' pot-hole: a hole scooped by the action of the stream in the rock-bed of a river.

13.3: 'truff' = turf.

17.3: 'duckers,' divers.

21.3: 'sakeless,' innocent.

24.5: 'wyte,' blame.

24.6: 'May,' maid.

26.6: 'hoky-gren'; 'gren' is a bough or twig; 'hoakie,' according to Jamieson, is a fire that has been covered up with cinders.

'Hoky-gren,' therefore, is perhaps a kind of charcoal. Scott subst.i.tutes 'hollin green,' green holly.]

THE THREE RAVENS

and

THE TWA CORBIES

+The Texts+ of these two variations on the same theme are taken from T. Ravenscroft's _Melismata_, 1611, and Scott's _Minstrelsy_, 1803, respectively. There are several other versions of the Scots ballad, while Motherwell prints _The Three Ravens_, changing only the burden.

Chappell (_Popular Music of the Olden Time_) says of the English version that he has been 'favored with a variety of copies of it, written down from memory; and all differing in some respects, both as to words and tune, but with sufficient resemblance to prove a similar origin.'

Consciously or not, the ballad, as set by him to its traditional tune, is to be sung without the threefold repet.i.tion shown by Ravenscroft, thus compressing two verses of the ballad into each repet.i.tion of the tune, and halving the length of the song.

THE THREE RAVENS

1.

There were three rauens sat on a tree, _Downe a downe, hay down, hay downe_ There were three rauens sat on a tree, _With a downe_ There were three rauens sat on a tree, They were as blacke as they might be.

_With a downe derrie, derrie, derrie, downe, downe._

2.

The one of them said to his mate, 'Where shall we our breakefast take?'

3.

'Downe in yonder greene field, There lies a knight slain vnder his shield.

4.

'His hounds they lie downe at his feete, So well they can their master keepe,

5.

'His haukes they flie so eagerly, There's no fowle dare him come nie.'

6.

Downe there comes a fallow doe, As great with yong as she might goe.

7.

She lift vp his bloudy hed, And kist his wounds that were so red.

8.

She got him vp vpon her backe, And carried him to earthen lake.

9.

She buried him before the prime, She was dead her selfe ere euen-song time.

10.

G.o.d send euery gentleman Such haukes, such hounds, and such a leman.

[Annotations: 9.1: 'prime,' the first hour of the day.]

THE TWA CORBIES

1.

As I was walking all alane, I heard twa corbies making a mane, The tane unto the t'other say, 'Where sall we gang and dine to-day?'

2.

'In behint yon auld fail d.y.k.e, I wot there lies a new slain knight; And nae body kens that he lies there, But his hawk, his hound, and lady fair.