No. 114: Johnie Cock [or Johnnie O'Breadesley]
CONTENTS:
1. Child's Narrative
2. Footnotes (Found at the end of Child's Narrative)
3. Brief (Kittredge)
4. Child's Ballad Texts A-M (F b is supplied in Additions and Corrections)
5. Endnotes
6. Additions and Corrections
ATTACHED PAGES (see left hand column):
1. Recordings & Info: 114. Johnie Cock
A. Roud No. 69: Johnie Cock (96 Listings)
2. Sheet Music: 114. Johnie Cock (Bronson's music examples and texts)
3. US & Canadian Versions [Four traditional versions; two from Virginia]
4. English and Other Versions (Including Child versions A-M with additional notes)]
Child's Narrative: Johnie Cock
A. a. Ravenscroft's Deuteromelia, or, The Second Part of Music. Percy Papers, Miss Fisher's Manuscript, No 5, 1780.
B. 'Johnny Cock,' Pieces of Ancient Poetry from Unpublished Manuscripts and Scarce Books, Bristol, 1814, [John Fry], p. 53.
C. 'Johnny Cock,' Pieces of Ancient Poetry, etc., p. 51.
D. 'Johnie of Cockerslee,' Kinloch's annotated copy of his Ancient Scottish Ballads, p. 38 bis.
E. 'Johnie o Cocklesmuir,' Kinloch Manuscripts, VII, 29; Kinloch's Ancient Scottish Ballads, p. 36.
F. a. 'Johnie of Breadislee,' Scott's Minstrelsy, I, 59, 1802.
b. 'John o Cockielaw,' in Scott's youthful handwriting, inserted, as No 3, at the beginning of a Manuscript volume, in small folio, containing a number of prose pieces, and beginning with excerpts from Law's Memorials. Abbotsford Library, L 2
G. 'Johnnie Brad,' Harris Manuscript, fol. 25.
H. 'Johnnie o Cocklesmuir,' Buchan's Manuscripts, I, 82; Dixon, Scottish Traditional Versions of Ancient Balads, p. 77, Percy Society, vol. xvii.
I. 'Johnie of Braidisbank,' Motherwell's Minstrelsy, p. 23.
J. Chambers, Scottish Ballads, p. 181.
K. Finlay's Scottish Ballads, I, xxxi: one stanza.
L. Harris Manuscript, fol. 25 b: one stanza.
M. Froude, Thomas Carlyle, II, 335, New York, 1882, supplemented by Mrs. Aitken: one stanza.
The first notice in print of this precious specimen of the unspoiled traditional ballad is in Ritson's Scotish Song, 1794, I, xxxvi, note 25: the Rev. Mr. Boyd, the translator of Dante, had a faint recollection of three ballads, one of which was called 'Johny Cox.' Before this, 1780, a lady of Carlisle had sent a copy to Doctor Percy, A. Scott, 1802, was the first to publish the ballad, selecting "the stanzas of greatest merit" from several copies which were in his hands. John Fry gave two valuable fragments, C, B (which he did not separate), in his Pieces of Ancient Poetry, 1814, from a manuscript "appearing to be the text-book of some illiterate drummer."[1] I have been able to add only three versions to those which were already before the world, A, D, G; and of these D is in part the same as B, previously printed by Kinloch.
Pinkerton, Select Scotish Ballads, II, xxxix, 1783, has preserved a stanza, which he assigns to a supposititious ballad of 'Bertram the Archer:'[2]
'My trusty bow of the tough yew,
That I in London bought,
And silken strings, if ye prove true,
That my true-love has wrought.'
This stanza agrees with J 6, and with A 18, H 19 in part, and is very likely to belong here; but it might be a movable passage, or commonplace.
All the versions are in accord as to the primary points of the story. A gallant young fellow, who pays no regard to the game-laws, goes out, despite his mother's entreaties, to ding the dun deer down. He kills a deer, and feasts himself and his dogs so freely on it that they all fall asleep. An old palmer, a silly auld, stane-auld carl, observes him, and carries word to seven foresters [fifteen B, three (?) C]. They beset Johnie and wound him; he kills all but one, and leaves that one, badly hurt, to carry tidings of the rest. Johnie sends a bird to his mother to bid her fetch him away, F 19, 20, cf. B 13; a bird warns his mother that Johnie tarries long, H 21 (one of Buchan's parrots). The boy in A 20, 21 is evidently a corruption of bird. Information is given the mother in a different way in L. B-G must be adjudged to be incomplete; I-M are mere fragments. H has a false and silly conclusion, 22-24, in imitation of Robin Hood and of Adam Bell. Mrs. Harris had heard another version besides G (of which she gives only one stanza, L), in which "Johnie is slain and thrown owre a milk-white steed; news is sent to Johnie's mother, who flies to her son." It is the one forester who is not quite killed that is thrown over his steed to carry tidings home, F 18, G 11. D 19, E 17, and Mrs. Harris's second version are, as to this point, evidently corrupted.
The hero's name is Johnny Cock, B 2, C 1; Johny Cox, Rev. Mr. Boyd; John o Cockis (Johny Cockis?), H 17; Johny o Cockley's Well, A 14; o Cockerslee, D 14; of Cockielaw, in one of the versions used by Scott for F; o Cocklesmuir, E 13, H 15. Again, Johnie Brad, G 1, L; Johnie o Breadislee, F 14; Braidislee, J 2.
The hunting-ground, or the place where Johnie is discovered, is up in Braidhouplee, down in Bradyslee, A 6, high up in Bradyslee, low down in Bradyslee, A 12; Braidscaur Hill, D 6, Braidisbanks, D 12, I 1; Bride's Braidmuir, H 2, 5; Broadspear Hill, B 2, 5; Durrisdeer only in F 4. The seven foresters are of Pickeram Side, A 3, 19; of Hislinton, F 9. B 11 reads, Fifteen foresters in the braid alow; which seems to require emendation, perhaps simply to Braid alow, perhaps to Braidislee.
With regard to the localities in A, Percy notes that Pickeram Side is in Northumbria, and that there is a Cockley Tower in Erringside, near Brady's Cragg, and a Brady's Cragg near Chollerford Bridge. There is a Cockley, alias Cocklaw, in Erringside, near Chollerton, in the south division of Tynedale Ward, parish of St. John Lee. The Erring is a small stream which enters the Tyne between Chollerton and Chollerford. Again, Cocklaw Walls appears in the map of the Ordnance Survey, a little to the north and east of Cockley in Erringside, and Cocklaw Walls may represent the Cockley's Well of the ballad. (Percy notes that Cockley's Well is said to be near Bewcastle, Cumberland.) I have not found Brady's Cragg or Pickeram Side in the Ordnance Survey maps, nor indeed any of the compounds of Braidy or Braid anywhere.
There is a Braid a little to the south of Edinburgh, Braid Hills and Braid Burn; and Motherwell, Minstrelsy, p. 17, says that there is tradition for this region having been the hunting-ground.
Scott's copy, F, lays the scene in Dumfriesshire, and there is other tradition to the same effect.[3]
Percy was struck with the occurrence of the wolf in A 17, found also in B 10, C 5. He considered, no doubt, that the mention of the wolf was a token of the high antiquity of the ballad. "Wolues that wyryeth men, wommen and children" are spoken of in Piers Plowman, C, Passus, X, v. 226, Skeat, 1886, I, 240, and the C text is assigned to about 1393. Holinshed (1577), I, 378, says that though the island is void of wolves south of the Tweed, yet the Scots cannot boast the like, since they have grievous wolves.
F is translated by Schubart, p. 187; Wolff, Halle der Völker, I, 41, Hausschatz, p. 224; Doenniges, p. 10; Gerhard, p. 51; R. von Bismarck, Deutsches Museum, 1858, I, 897; Cesare Cantù, Documenti alla Storia Universale, V, 806; in Le Magasin Pittoresque, 1838, p. 127 b; by Loève-Veimars, p. 296. Grundtvig, p. 269, No 41, translates a compound of F, I, E (Kinloch's Ancient Scottish Ballads, p. 36), and B; Knortz, Schottische Balladen, No 18, a mixture of F and others.
Footnotes:
1. This manuscript, which Fry bought in Glasgow in 1810, contained several other ballads, "but written so corruptly as to be of little or no authority." It did not occur to Fry that the illiteracy of the drummer gave his ballads the best of authority. I have done what I could to recover the manuscript, but in vain, though I had the kindest assistance in Bristol from the Rev. J. Percivall, Mr. Francis Fry, and Mr. J. F. Nicholls.
2. See Motherwell's apt remarks, Minstrelsy, p. 1.
3. "It is sometimes said that this outlaw possessed the old Castle of Morton in Dumfriesshire, now ruinous... The mention of Durisdeer, a neighboring parish, adds weight to the tradition." Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, 1833, III, 114 f. Mr. W. Benuet, writing in 1826 in The Dumfries Monthly Magazine, III, 250, of which he was editor, speaks of a field a little to the southwest of Lochmaben as still showing the trace of a circular tower, which was "called Cockiesfield, from one John Cock, or O'Cock, who had there his residence, and who during his lifetime was one of the most renowned freebooters in Annandale." Mr. Macmath, who pointed out the passage to me, observes that in Thomson's map of Dumfriesshire, 1828, the name is given "Cocketfield," and that there is also a Cocket Hill.
Brief Description by George Lyman Kittredge
The first notice in print of this precious specimen of the unspoiled traditional ballad is in Ritson's Scotish Song, 1794, i, xxxvi, note 25. Before this, 1780, a lady of Carlisle had sent a copy to Percy (A). Scott, 1802, was the first to publish the ballad, selecting "the stanzas of greatest merit" from several copies which were in his hands.
Child's Ballad Texts
['Johny o Cockleys Well'] Version A; Child 114 Johnie Cock
'The Seven Forsters at Pickeram Side,' communicated to Percy by Miss Fisher, of Carlisle, 1780, No 5 of Manuscript.
1 Johny he has risen up i the morn,
Calls for water to wash his hands;
But little knew he that his bloody hounds
Were bound in iron bands. bands
Were bound in iron bands
2 Johny's mother has gotten word o that,
And care-bed she has taen:
'O Johny, for my benison,
I beg you'l stay at hame;
For the wine so red, and the well baken bread,
My Johny shall want nane.
3 'There are seven forsters at Pickeram Side,
At Pickeram where they dwell,
And for a drop of thy heart's bluid
They wad ride the fords of hell.'
4 Johny he's gotten word of that,
And he's turnd wondrous keen;
He's put off the red scarlett,
And he's put on the Lincolm green.
5 With a sheaf of arrows by his side,
And a bent bow in his hand,
He's mounted on a prancing steed,
And he has ridden fast oer the strand.
6 He's up i Braidhouplee, and down i Bradyslee,
And under a buss o broom,
And there he found a good dun deer,
Feeding in a buss of ling.
7 Johny shot, and the dun deer lap,
And she lap wondrous wide,
Until they came to the wan water,
And he stemd her of her pride.
8 He 'as taen out the little pen-knife,
'Twas full three quarters long,
And he has taen out of that dun deer
The liver bot and the tongue.
9 They eat of the flesh, and they drank of the blood,
And the blood it was so sweet,
Which caused Johny and his bloody hounds
To fall in a deep sleep.
10 By then came an old palmer,
And an ill death may he die!
For he's away to Pickram Side,
As fast as he can drie.
11 'What news, what news?' says the Seven Forsters,
'What news have ye brought to me?'
'I have noe news,' the palmer said,
'But what I saw with my eye.
12 'High up i Bradyslee, low down i Bradisslee,
And under a buss of scroggs,
O there I spied a well-wight man,
Sleeping among his dogs.
13 'His coat it was of light Lincolm,
And his breeches of the same,
His shoes of the American leather,
And gold buckles tying them.'
14 Up bespake the Seven Forsters,
Up bespake they ane and a':
O that is Johny o Cockleys Well,
And near him we will draw.
15 O the first y stroke that they gae him,
They struck him off by the knee;
Then up bespake his sister's son:
'O the next 'll gar him die!'
16 'O some they count ye well-wight men,
But I do count ye nane;
For you might well ha wakend me,
And askd gin I wad be taen.
17 'The wildest wolf in aw this wood
Wad not ha done so by me;
She'd ha wet her foot ith wan water,
And sprinkled it oer my brae,
And if that wad not ha wakend me,
She wad ha gone and let me be.
18 'O bows of yew, if ye be true,
In London, where ye were bought,
Fingers five, get up belive,
Manhuid shall fail me nought.'
19 He has killd the Seven Forsters,
He has killd them all but ane,
And that wan scarce to Pickeram Side,
To carry the bode-words hame.
20 'Is there never a boy in a' this wood
That will tell what I can say;
That will go to Cockleys Well,
Tell my mither to fetch me away?'
21 There was a boy into that wood,
That carried the tidings away,
And many ae was the well-wight man
At the fetching o Johny away.
-------
'Johnny Cock'- Version B; Child 114 Johnie Cock
Pieces of Ancient Poetry from Unpublished Manuscripts and Scarce Books, Bristol, 1814, p. 53.
1 Fifteen foresters in the Braid alow,
And they are wondrous fell;
To get a drop of Johnny's heart-bluid,
They would sink a' their souls to hell.
2 Johnny Cock has gotten word of this,
And he is wondrous keen;
He['s] custan off the red scarlet,
And on the Linkum green.
3 And he is ridden oer muir and muss,
And over mountains high,
Till he came to yon wan water,
And there Johnny Cock did lie.
4 They have ridden oer muir and muss,
And over mountains high,
Till they met wi' an old palmer,
Was walking along the way.
5 'What news, what news, old palmer?
What news have you to me?'
'Yonder is one of the proudest wed sons
That ever my eyes did see.'
* * * * *
6 He's taen out a horn from his side,
And he blew both loud and shrill,
Till a' the fifteen foresters
Heard Johnny Cock blaw his horn.
7 They have sworn a bluidy oath,
And they swore all in one,
That there was not a man among them a'
Would blaw such a blast as yon.
8 And they have ridden oer muir and muss,
And over mountains high,
Till they came to yon wan water,
Where Johnny Cock did lie.
9 They have shotten little Johnny Cock,
A little above the ee:
. . . . .
'For doing the like to me.
10 'There's not a wolf in a' the wood
Woud 'ha' done the like to me;
'She'd ha' dipped her foot in coll water,
And strinkled above my ee,
And if I would not have waked for that,
'She'd ha' gane and let me be.
11 'But fingers five, come here, [come here,]
And faint heart fail me nought,
And silver strings, value me sma things,
Till I get all this vengeance rowght!'
12 He ha[s] shot a' the fifteen foresters,
Left never a one but one,
And he broke the ribs a that ane's side,
And let him take tiding home.
13 '. . . a bird in a' the wood
Could sing as I could say,
It would go in to my mother's bower,
And bid her kiss me, and take me away.'
----------
'Johnny Cock'- Version C; Child 114 Johnie Cock
Pieces of Ancient Poetry from Unpublished Manuscripts and Scarce Books, Bristol, 1814, p. 51.
1 Johnny Cock, in a May morning,
Sought water to wash his hands,
And he is awa to louse his dogs,
That's tied wi iron bans.
That's tied wi iron bans.
2 His coat it is of the light Lincum green,
And his breiks are of the same;
His shoes are of the American leather,
Silver buckles tying them.
3 'He' hunted up, and so did 'he' down,
Till 'he' came to yon bush of scrogs,
And then to yon wan water,
Where he slept among his dogs.
* * * * *
4 Johnny Cock out-shot a' the foresters,
And out-shot a the three;
Out shot a' the foresters,
Wounded Johnny aboun the bree.
5 'Woe be to you, foresters,
And an ill death may you die!
For there would not a wolf in a' the wood
Have done the like to me.
6 'For' 'twould ha' put its foot in the coll water
And ha strinkled it on my bree,
And gin that would not have done,
Would have gane and lett me be.
7 'I often took to my mother
The dandoo and the roe,
But now I'l take to my mother
Much sorrow and much woe.
8 'I often took to my mother
The dandoo and the hare,
But now I'l take to my mother
Much sorrow and much care.'
--------
'Johnie of Cockerslee'- Version D; Child 114 Johnie Cock
Kinloch's annotated copy of his Ancient Scottish Ballads, p. 38 bis: a West- Country version.
1 Up Johnie raise in a May morning,
Calld for water to wash his hands,
And he has calld for his gude gray hunds,
That lay bund in iron bands. bands
That lay bund in iron bands
2 'Ye'll busk, ye'll busk my noble dogs,
Ye'll busk and mak them boun,
For I'm going to the Braidscaur hill,
To ding the dun deer doun.'
3 Whan Johnie's mither gat word o that,
On the very bed she lay,
Says, Johnie, for my malison,
I pray ye at hame to stay.
4 Your meat sall be of the very, very best,
Your drink sall be the same,
And ye will win your mither's benison,
Gin ye wad stay at hame.
5 But Johnie has cast aff the black velvet,
And put on the Lincoln twine,
And he is on to gude greenwud,
As fast as he could gang.
6 His mither's counsel he wad na tak,
He's aff, and left the toun,
He's aff unto the Braidscaur hill,
To ding the dun deer doun.
7 Johnie lookit east, and Johnie lookit west,
And he lookit aneath the sun,
And there he spied the dun deer sleeping,
Aneath a buss of whun.
8 Johnie shot, and the dun deer lap,
And he's scaithed him in the side,
And atween the water and the wud
He laid the dun deer's pride.
9 They ate sae meikle o the venison,
And drank sae meikle o the blude,
That Johnie and his twa gray hunds
Fell asleep in yonder wud.
10 By ther cam a silly auld man,
And a silly auld man was he,
And he's aff to the proud foresters,
As fast as he could dree.
11 'What news, what news, my silly auld man?
What news? come tell to me:'
'I heard na news, I speird na news
But what my een did see.
12 'As I cam in by Braidisbanks,
And doun amang the whuns,
The bonniest youngster eer I saw
Lay sleepin amang his hunds.
13 'His cheeks war like the roses red,
His neck was like the snaw;
His sark was o the holland fine,
And his jerkin lac'd fu braw.'
14 Up bespak the first forester,
The first forester of a':
O this is Johnie o Cockerslee;
Come draw, lads, we maun draw.
15 Up bespak the niest forester,
The niest forester of a':
An this be Johnie o Cockerslee,
To him we winna draw.
16 The first shot that they did shoot,
They woundit him on the bree;
Up bespak the uncle's son,
'The niest will gar him die.'
17 The second shot that eer they shot,
It scaithd him near the heart;
'I only wauken,' Johnie cried,
'Whan first I find the smart.
18 'Stand stout, stand stout, my noble dogs,
Stand stout, and dinna flee;
Stand fast, stand fast, my gude gray hunds,
And we will gar them die.'
19 He has killed six o the proud foresters,
And wounded the seventh sair:
He laid his leg out owre his steed,
Says, I will kill na mair.
20 'Oh wae befa thee, silly auld man,
An ill death may thee dee!
Upon thy head be a' this blude,
For mine, I ween, is free.'
-----------
'Johnie o Cocklesmuir'- Version E; Child 114 Johnie Cock
Kinloch's Manuscripts, VII, 29: from recitation in the North Country.
1 Johnie rose up in a May morning,
Calld for water to wash his hands,
And he has calld for his gud gray hunds,
That lay bund in iron bands. bands
That lay bund in iron bands.
2 'Ye'll busk, ye'll busk my noble dogs,
Ye'll busk and mak them boun,
For I'm gaing to the Broadspear hill,
To ding the dun deer doun.'
3 Whan Johnie's mither heard o this,
She til her son has gane:
'Ye'll win your mither's benison,
Gin ye wad stay at hame.
4 'Your meat sall be o the very, very best,
And your drink o the finest wine;
And ye will win your mither's benison,
Gin ye wad stay at hame.'
5 His mither's counsel he wad na tak,
Nor wad he stay at hame;
But he's on to the Broadspear hill,
To ding the dun deer doun.
6 Johnie lookit east, and Johnie lookit west,
And a little below the sun,
And there he spied the dun deer lying sleeping,
Aneath a buss o brume.
7 Johnie shot, and the dun deer lap,
And he has woundit him in the side,
And atween the water and the wud
He laid the dun deer's pride.
8 They ate sae meikle o the venison,
And drank sae meikle o the blude,
That Johnie and his twa gray hunds
Fell asleep in yonder wud.
9 By ther cam a silly auld man,
A silly auld man was he,
And he's aff to the proud foresters,
To tell what he did see.
10 'What news, what news, my silly auld man,
What news? come tell to me:'
'Na news, na news,' said the silly auld man,
'But what mine een did see.
11 'As I cam in by yon greenwud,
And doun amang the scrogs,
The bonniest youth that ere I saw
Lay sleeping atween twa dogs.
12 'The sark that he had on his back
Was o the holland sma,
And the coat that he had on his back
Was laced wi gowd fu braw.'
13 Up bespak the first forester,
The first forester ava:
'An this be Johnie o Cocklesmuir,
It's time we war awa.'
14 Up bespak the niest forester,
The niest forester ava:
'An this be Johnie o Cocklesmuir,
To him we winna draw.'
15 The first shot that they did shoot,
They woundit him on the thie;
Up bespak the uncle's son,
The niest will gar him die.
16 'Stand stout, stand stout, my noble dogs,
Stand stout, and dinna flee;
Stand fast, stand fast, my gude gray hunds,
And we will mak them dee.'
17 He has killed six o the proud foresters,
And he has woundit the seventh sair;
He laid his leg out oure his steed,
Says, I will kill na mair.
-----------
'Johnie of Breadislee'- Version F; Child 114 Johnie Cock
Scott's Minstrelsy, I, 59, 1802; made tip from several different copies. Nithsdale.
1 Johnie rose up in a May morning,
Called for water to wash his hands:
'Gar loose to me the gude graie dogs,
That are bound wi iron bands.'
2 When Johnie's mother gat word o that,
Her hands for dule she wrang:
'O Johnie, for my bennison,
To the grenewood dinna gang!
3 'Eneugh ye hae o the gude wheat-bread,
And eneugh o the blude-red wine,
And therefore for nae vennison, Johnie,
I pray ye, stir frae hame.'
4 But Johnie's buskt up his gude bend bow,
His arrows, ane by ane,
And he has gane to Durrisdeer,
To hunt the dun deer down.
5 As he came down by Merriemass,
And in by the benty line,
There has he espied a deer lying,
Aneath a bush of ling.
6 Johnie he shot, and the dun deer lap,
And he wounded her on the side,
But atween the water and the brae,
His hounds they laid her pride.
7 And Johnie has bryttled the deer sae weel
That he's had out her liver and lungs,
And wi these he has feasted his bludey hounds
As if they had been erl's sons.
8 They eat sae much o the vennison,
And drank sae much o the blude,
That Johnie and his bludey hounds
Fell asleep as they had been dead.
9 And by there came a silly auld carle,
An ill death mote he die!
For he's awa to Hislinton,
Where the Seven Foresters did lie.
10 'What news, what news, ye gray-headed carle?
What news bring ye to me?'
'I bring nae news,' said the gray-headed carle,
'Save what these eyes did see.
11 'As I came down by Merriemass,
And down amang the scroggs,
The bonniest childe that ever I saw
Lay sleeping amang his dogs.
12 'The shirt that was upon his back
Was o the holland fine;
The doublet which was over that
Was o the Lincome twine.
13 'The buttons that were on his sleeve
Were o the gowd sae gude;
The gude graie hounds he lay amang,
Their mouths were dyed wi blude.'
14 Then out and spak the first forester,
The heid man ower them a':
If this be Johnie o Breadislee,
Nae nearer will we draw.
15 But up and spak the sixth forester,
His sister's son was he:
If this be Johnie o Breadislee,
We soon shall gar him die.
16 The first flight of arrows the foresters shot,
They wounded him on the knee;
And out and spak the seventh forester,
The next will gar him die.
17 Johnie's set his back against an aik,
His fute against a stane,
And he has slain the Seven Foresters,
He has slain them a' but ane.
18 He has broke three ribs in that ane's side,
But and his collar bane;
He's laod him twa-fald ower his steed,
Bade him carry the tidings hame.
19 'O is there na a bonnie bird
Can sing as I can say,
Could flee away to my mother's bower,
And tell to fetch Johnie away?'
20 The starling flew to his mother's window-stane,
It whistled and it sang,
And aye the ower-word o the tune
Was, Johnie tarries lang!
21 They made a rod o the hazel-bush,
Another o the slae-thorn tree,
And mony, mony were the men
At fetching our Johnie.
22 Then out and spake his auld mother,
And fast her teirs did fa;
Ye wad nae be warnd, my son Johnie,
Frae the hunting to bide awa.
23 'Aft hae I brought to Breadislee
The less gear and the mair,
But I neer brought to Breadislee
What grieved my heart sae sair.
24 'But wae betyde that silly auld carle,
An ill death shall he die;
For the highest tree on Merriemass
Shall be his morning's fee.'
25 Now Johnie's gude bend bow is broke,
And his gude graie dogs are slain,
And his bodie lies dead in Durrisdeer,
And his hunting it is done.
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'Johnnie Brad'- Version G; Child 114 Johnie Cock
Harris Manuscript, fol. 25: from Mrs. Harris's recitation.
1 Johnnie Brad, on a May mornin,
Called for water to wash his hands,
An there he spied his twa blude-hounds,
Waur bound in iron bands. bands
Waur bound in iron bands
2 Johnnie's taen his gude bent bow,
Bot an his arrows kene,
An strippit himsel o the scarlet red,
An put on the licht Lincoln green.
3 Up it spak Johnnie's mither,
An' a wae, wae woman was she:
I beg you bide at hame, Johnnie,
I pray be ruled by me.
4 Baken bread ye sall nae lack,
An wine you sall lack nane;
Oh Johnnie, for my benison,
I beg you bide at hame!
5 He has made a solemn aith,
Atween the sun and the mune,
That he wald gae to the gude green wood,
The dun deer to ding doon.
6 He luiket east, he luiket wast,
An in below the sun,
An there he spied the dun deer,
Aneath a bush o brume.
7 The firsten shot that Johnnie shot,
He wounded her in the side;
The nexten shot that Johnnie shot,
I wat he laid her pride.
8 He's eaten o the venison,
An drunken o the blude,
Until he fell as sound asleep
As though he had been dead.
9 Bye there cam a silly auld man,
And a silly auld man was he,
An he's on to the Seven Foresters,
As fast as he can flee.
10 'As I cam in by yonder haugh,
An in among the scroggs,
The bonniest boy that ere I saw
Lay sleepin atween his dogs.'
* * * * *
11 The firsten shot that Johnnie shot,
He shot them a' but ane,
An he flang him owre a milk-white steed,
Bade him bear tidings hame.
-------------
'Johnnie o Cocklesmuir'- Version H; Child 114 Johnie Cock
Buchan's Manuscripts, I, 82; Dixon, Scottish Traditional Versions of Ancient Ballads, p. 77, Percy Society, vol. xvii.
1 Johnnie raise up in a May morning,
Calld for water to wash his hands,
And he's commant his bluidy dogs
To be loosd frae their iron bands. bands
To be loosd frae their iron bands
2 'Win up, win up, my bluidy dogs,
Win up, and be unbound,
And we will on to Bride's Braidmuir,
And ding the dun deer down.'
3 When his mother got word o that,
Then she took bed and lay;
Says, Johnnie, my son, for my blessing,
Ye'll stay at hame this day.
4 There's baken bread and brown ale
Shall be at your command;
Ye'll win your mither's blythe blessing,
To the Bride's Braidmuir nae gang.
5 Mony are my friends, mither,
Though thousands were my foe;
Betide me life, betide me death,
To the Bride's Braidmuir I'll go.
6 The sark that was on Johnnie's back
Was o the cambric fine;
The belt that was around his middle
Wi pearlins it did shine.
7 The coat that was upon his back
Was o the linsey brown;
And he's awa to the Bride's Braidmuir,
To ding the dun deer down.
8 Johnnie lookd east, Johnnie lookd west,
And turnd him round and round,
And there he saw the king's dun deer,
Was cowing the bush o brune.
9 Johnnie shot, and the dun deer lap,
He wounded her in the side;
Between him and yon burnie-bank,
Johnnie he laid her pride.
10 He ate sae muckle o the venison,
He drank sae muckle bleed,
Till he lay down between his hounds,
And slept as he'd been dead.
11 But by there came a stane-auld man,
An ill death mat he dee!
For he is on to the Seven Foresters,
As fast as gang could he.
12 'What news, what news, ye stane-auld man?
What news hae ye brought you wi?'
'Nae news, nae news, ye seven foresters,
But what your eyes will see.
13 'As I gaed i yon rough thick hedge,
Amang yon bramly scroggs,
The fairest youth that eer I saw
Lay sleeping between his dogs.
14 'The sark that was upon his back
Was o the cambric fine;
The belt that was around his middle
Wi pearlins it did shine.'
15 Then out it speaks the first forester:
Whether this be true or no,
O if it's Johnnie o Cocklesmuir,
Nae forder need we go.
16 Out it spake the second forester,
A fierce fellow was he:
Betide me life, betide me death,
This youth we'll go and see.
17 As they gaed in yon rough thick hedge,
And down yon forest gay,
They came to that very same place
Where John o Cockis he lay.
18 The first an shot they shot at him,
They wounded him in the thigh;
Out spake the first forester's son:
By the next shot he maun die.
19 'O stand ye true, my trusty bow,
And stout steel never fail!
Avenge me now on all my foes,
Who have my life i bail.'
20 Then Johnnie killd six foresters,
And wounded the seventh sair;
Then drew a stroke at the stane-auld man,
That words he neer spake mair.
21 His mother's parrot in window sat,
She whistled and she sang,
And aye the owerturn o the note,
'Young Johnnie's biding lang.'
22 When this reached the king's own ears,
It grievd him wondrous sair;
Says, I'd rather they'd hurt my subjects all
Than Johnnie o Cocklesmuir.
23 'But where are all my wall-wight men,
That I pay meat and fee,
Will gang the morn to Johnnie's castle,
See how the cause may be.'
24 Then he's calld Johnnie up to court,
Treated him handsomelie,
And now to hunt in the Bride's Braidmuir,
For life has license free.
-----------
'Johnie of Braidisbank'- Version I; Child 114 Johnie Cock
Motherwell's Minstrelsy, p. 23.
1 Johnie rose up in a May morning,
Called for water to wash his hands, hands
And he is awa to Braidisbanks,
To ding the dun deer down. down
To ding the dun deer down
2 Johnie lookit east, and Johnie lookit west,
And it's lang before the sun,
And there he did spy the dun deer lie,
Beneath a bush of brume.
3 Johnie shot, and the dun deer lap,
And he's woundit her in the side;
Out then spake his sister's son,
'And the neist will lay her pride.'
* * * * *
4 They've eaten sae meikle o the gude venison,
And they've drunken sae muckle o the blude,
That they've fallen into as sound a sleep
As gif that they were dead.
* * * * *
5 'It's doun, and it's doun, and it's doun, doun,
And it's doun amang the scrogs,
And there ye'll espy twa bonnie boys lie,
Asleep amang their dogs.'
* * * * *
6 They waukened Johnie out o his sleep,
And he's drawn to him his coat:
'My fingers five, save me alive,
And a stout heart fail me not!'
* * * * *
----------
['Johnie o Braidislee'] Version J; Child 114 Johnie Cock
Chambers's Scottish Ballads, p. 181, stanzas 13, 16, 17, 21, 22, 23, 26: from the recitation of a lady resident at Peebles.
1 His coat was o the scarlet red,
His vest was o the same;
His stockings were o the worset lace,
And buckles tied to the same.
2 Out then spoke one, out then spoke two,
Out then spoke two or three;
Out spoke the master forester,
'It's Johnie o Braidislee.
3 'If this be true, thou silly auld man,
Which you tell unto me,
Five hundred pounds of yearly rent
It shall not pay your fee.'
* * * * *
4 'O wae be to you seven foresters!
I wonder ye dinna think shame,
You being seven sturdy men,
And I but a man my lane.
5 'Now fail me not, my ten fingers,
That are both long and small!
Now fail me not, my noble heart!
For in thee I trust for all.
6 'Now fail me not, my good bend bow,
That was in London coft!
Now fail me not, my golden string,
Which my true lover wrocht!'
* * * * *
7 He has tossed him up, he has tossed him doun,
He has broken his collar-bone;
He has tied him to his bridle reins,
Bade him carry the tidings home.
----------
['There's no a bird in a' this foreste']- Version K; Child 114 Johnie Cock
Finlay's Scottish Ballads, I, xxxi.
1 'There's no a bird in a' this foreste
Will do as meikle for me
As dip its wing in the wan water
An straik it on my ee-bree.'
----------
['Johnnie Brod'] Version L; Child 114 Johnie Cock
Harris Manuscript, fol. 25 b.
1 But aye at ilka ae mile's end
She fand a cat o clay,
An written upon the back o it
'Tak your son Johnnie Brod away.'
-----------
['O busk ye, O busk ye, my three bluidy hounds']- Version M; Child 114 Johnie Cock
Reminiscences by Thomas Carlyle, II, 171, 1881, Froude's Life of Carlyle, II, 416, 1882, Froude's Life of Carlyle, 1795-1875, II, 335, 1882, completed by a communication of Mr. Macmath: as sung by Carlyle's mother.
1 'O busk ye, O busk ye, my three bluidy hounds,
O busk ye, and go with me,
For there's seven foresters in yon forest,
And them I want to see, see,
And them I want to see.
---------
End-Notes
A. 'The Seven Forsters at Pickeram Side' is a title supplied by Percy.
62. I wun is added by Percy, at the end.
73, 173. one water.
151. Oh.
194. bord words, or bood words.
B. follows C in Fry without a break. Words distinguished by ' ' in B, C are emendations or additions of Fry. 4, 5 come between 12 and 13.
11. braid alow.
101. the word.
105. would have.
112. hearted.
132. bows.
143. Out-shot.
D. "There is a West-Country version of this ballad, under the title of Johnie of Cockerslee, differing very little from the present. The variations in the reading I have marked at their respective places." Kinloch. Assuming that Kinloch has given all the variations (which include six entire stanzas), the West-Country version is reproduced by combining these readings with so much of the other copy, Kinloch's Ancient Scottish Ballads, p. 38, as did not vary. 153. Kinloch neglected to alter Cocklesmuir here.
E. 63. lying is struck through, probably to improve the metre. Kinloch made two slight changes in printing.
H. 51. Mony ane. (?)
91. Johnnie lap: probably an error of the copyist.
92, 182. wound: cf. 202.
214. bidding.
Dixon has changed stane-auld to silly-auld in 111, 121, 202; Cockis to Cockl's in 174; and has Scotticised the spelling.
I. Motherwell notes a stanza as wanting after 3, some stanzas as wanting after 4, 5.
J. "The version of the ballad here given is partly copied from those printed in the Border Minstrelsy and in the publications of Messrs. Kinloch and Motherwell, and is partly taken from the recitation of a lady resident at Peebles and from a manuscript copy submitted to me by Mr. Kinloch. The twelfth, thirteenth, fourteenth, sixteenth, seventeenth, twenty-first, twenty-second, twenty-third, twenty-sixth, and twenty-seventh stanzas are here printed for the first time." Chambers. The 14th stanza had been printed by Scott, F 12; the 23rd, repeated here (6), by Pinkerton; the 27th is D 20. The first half of the 12th is D 131,2, and the remainder Chambers's own: compare his 11 and F 11, from which it seems to have been made.
L. "I have heard another version, where Johnnie is slain and thrown 'owre a milk-white steed.' News is sent to Johnnie's mother, who flies to her son; But aye at ilka ae mile's end, etc."
M. "While she [Carlyle's mother] was at Craigenputtock, I made her train me to two songtunes; and we often sang them together, and tried them often again in coming down into Annandale." The last half of the stanza is cited. Letter of T. Carlyle, May 18, 1834, in Froude's Life, 1795-1835, II, 335.
"Mrs. Aitken, sister of T. Carlyle, sent me [January 15, 1884] the first two lines to complete the stanza of this Johny Cock, but can call up no more of the ballad." Letter of Mr. Macmath.
-----------
Additions and Corrections
To be Corrected in the Print.
6 a, 121. Read Braidisbauks.
11, M. Say: Reminiscences by Thomas Carlyle, II, 171, 1881, Froude's Life of Carlyle, II, 416, 1882.
In line 2, read, O busk and go with me, me.
The following are mostly trivial variations from the spelling of the text.
2 a, note, line 5. Read Bennet.
5 a, D 52. Read Lincolm.
b, 101. Read there.
8 b, 241. Read betide.
P. 1. There is a ballad of 'Bertram, the Bauld Archer' in Pitcairn's Manuscripts, III, 51; printed in Maidment's Scotish Ballads and Songs, 1859, p. 46. Pitcairn derived it from Mrs. McCorquodale, Stirling, a farmer's wife, who remembered it "to have been sung by her grandmother, a woman above eighty years old, who stated that she had it from an old woman, her aunt." The reciter herself was above sixty-five, and had "first heard it when a little girl." Nevertheless, Bertram is fustian, of a sort all too familiar in the last century. The story, excepting perhaps the first stanza, is put into the mouth of Bertram's mistress, à la Gilderoy. The bauld archer has gone to the forest for to mak a robberie. The king has made proclamation that he will give five hunder merk for Bertram's life. John o Shoumacnair (Stronmaknair, Maidment) proposes to his billies to kill Bertram and get the money. They busk themselves in hodden gray, 'like to friers o low degree,' present themselves to Bertram and ask a boon of him, which Bertram grants without inquiry. While they are parleying, Shoumacnair drives his dirk into Bertram's back. But, though he swirls wi the straik, Bertram draws his awsome bran, kills ane, wounds twa, and then his stalwart, gallant soul takes its flight to heaven.
2 b. Braid. "This version ['Johnie of Braidisbank,' I] was taken down by Motherwell and me from the recitation of Mr. James Knox, land-surveyor at Tipperlinne, near Edinburgh, in the month of May, 1824, when we met him in the good town of Paisley. At 17 a tradition is mentioned which assigns Braid to have been the scene of this woeful hunting. Mr. Knox is the authority for this tradition. Braid is in the neighborhood of Tipperlinne." Note by Mr. P.A. Ramsay in a copy of the Minstrelsy which had belonged to Motherwell. (W. Macmath.)
Wolves in Scotland. "It is usually said that the species was extirpated about 1680 by Sir Ewen Cameron of Lochiel, but the tradition to that effect appears to be true only of Sir Ewen's own district of western Invernessshire." The very last wolf may have been killed in 1743. R. Chambers, Domestic Annals of Scotland, III, 690.
7. F was made up from several copies, one of which was the following, 'John o Cockielaw,' in Scott's youthful handwriting, inserted, as No 3, at the beginning of a Manuscript volume, in small folio, containing a number of prose pieces, and beginning with excerpts from Law's Memorials. Abbotsford Library, L 2.
1 Johnny got up in a May morning,
Calld for water to wash his hands:
'Gar louse to me my good gray dogs
That are tied with iron bands.'
2 When Johnny's mother got word o that,
For grief she has lain down:
'O Johnny, for my benison,
I red you bide at hame!'
3 He's putten on his black velvet,
Likewise his London brown,
And he's awa to Durrisdeer,
To hunt the dun deer down.
4 Johnny shot, and the dun deer lap,
And he wounded her on the side;
Between the water and the brae,
There he laid her pride.
5 He's taken out the liver o her,
And likewise sae the lungs,
And he has made a' his dogs to feast
As they had been earl's sons.
6 They eat sae much o the venison,
And drank sae much of the blood,
That they a' then lay down and slept,
And slept as they had been dead.
7 And bye there cam a silly aid man,
And an ill death might he die!
And he's awa to the seven forresters,
As fast as he can drie.
8 'As I cam down by Merriemas,
And down aboon the scroggs,
The bonniest boy that ever I saw
Lay sleeping amang his doggs.
9 'The shirt that was upon his back
Was of the holland fine,
The cravat that was about his neck
Was of the cambrick lawn.
10 'The coat that was upon his back
Was of the London brown,
The doublet ...
Was of the Lincome twine.'
11 Out and spak the first forrester,
That was a forrester our them a';
If this be John o Cockielaw,
Nae nearer him we'll draw.
12 Then out and spak the sixth,
That was forrester amang them a';
If this is John o Cockielaw,
Nearer to him we'll draw.
13 Johnny shot six of the forresters,
And wounded the seventh, we say,
And set him on a milk-white steed
To carry tidings away.
44. Wi He there he (he written in place of another word). Wi He struck out.
63. Originally, That they lay a' them down.
72. Originally, And a silly aid man was he.
112. was hed. hed struck out.
To be Corrected in the Print.
11 b, last line but two. Supply C before 43.