| |
I
O DID ye ever hear o’ brave Earl Brand? | |
| Ay lally, o lilly lally | |
| He courted the King’s daughter o’ fair England | |
| All i’ the night sae early. | |
| |
II
She was scarcely fifteen years that tide | 5 |
| Till sae boldly she came to his bedside. | |
| |
III
‘O Earl Bran’, fain wad I see | |
| A pack of hounds let loose on the lea.’— | |
| |
IV
‘O lady, I have no steeds but one, | |
| But thou shalt ride, and I will run.’— | 10 |
| |
V
‘O Earl Bran’, my father has two, | |
| And thou shalt have the best of tho’.— | |
| |
VI
They have ridden o’er moss and moor, | |
| And they have met neither rich nor poor, | |
| |
VII
Until they met with old Carl Hood: | 15 |
| —He’s aye for ill and never for good. | |
| |
VIII
‘Earl Bran’, if ye love me, | |
| Seize this old carl, and gar him die.’— | |
| |
IX
‘O lady fair, it wad be sair | |
| To slay an old man that has grey hair. | 20 |
| |
X
‘O lady fair, I’ll no do sae; | |
| I’ll gie him a pound and let him gae.’ | |
| |
XI
‘O where hae ye ridden this lee-lang day? | |
| Or where hae ye stolen this lady away?’— | |
| |
XII
‘I have not ridden this lee-lang day, | 25 |
| Nor yet have I stolen this lady away. | |
| |
XIII
‘She is my only, my sick sistèr, | |
| Which I have brought from Winchester.’— | |
| |
XIV
‘If she be sick and like to dead, | |
| Why wears she the ribbon sae red? | 30 |
| |
XV
‘If she be sick and like to die, | |
| Then why wears she the gold on high?’ | |
| |
XVI
When came the carl to this lady’s yett, | |
| Rudely, rudely he rapp’d thereat. | |
| |
XVII
‘O where’s the lady o’ this ha’?’— | 35 |
| ‘She’s out with her maids to play at the ba’.’— | |
| |
XVIII
‘Ha, ha, ha! ye are a’ mista’en; | |
| Gae count your maidens o’er again. | |
| |
XIX
‘I met her far beyond the lea, | |
| With the young Earl Brand, his leman to be.’ | 40 |
| |
XX
Her father arm’d of his men fifteen, | |
| And they’re ridden after them all-by-dene. | |
| |
XXI
O’er her left shoulder the lady look’d then: | |
| ‘O Earl Bran’, we both are ta’en!’— | |
| |
XXII
‘If they come on me ane by ane, | 45 |
| Ye may stand by and see them slain. | |
| |
XXIII
‘But if they come on me ane and all, | |
| Ye may stand by and see me fall.’ | |
| |
XXIV
They have come on him ane by ane, | |
| And fourteen men he has them slain. | 50 |
| |
XXV
But the fifteenth man behind stole round, | |
| And he’s gi’en him a deadly wound. | |
| |
XXVI
But for a’ sae wounded as Earl Brand was | |
| He has set his lady on her horse. | |
| |
XXVII
They rode till they came to the water o’ Doune. | 55 |
| And there he lighted to wash his wound. | |
| |
XXVIII
‘O Earl Bran’, I see your heart’s bloud!’— | |
| ‘It’s na but the glent o’ my scarlet hood.’ | |
| |
XXIX
They rode till they came to his mother’s yett, | |
| So faint and feebly he rapp’d thereat. | 60 |
| |
XXX
‘O my son’s slain, he’s falling to swoun, | |
| And a’ for the sake of an English loun!’— | |
| |
XXXI
‘So say not sae, my dearest mother, | |
| But marry her to my youngest brother. | |
| |
XXXII
‘This has not been the death o’ ane, | 65 |
| But it’s been the death o’ fair seventeen.’ | |
| | | GLOSS: tide] time, season. lee-lang] live-long. yett] gate. all-by-dene] all together. glent] gleam. |
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