No. 236: The Laird o Drum
[In 1817 Kinloch provided this summary: This ballad was composed on the marriage of Alexander Irvine of Drum to his second wife, Margaret Coutts, a woman of inferior birth and manners, which step gave great offence to his relations.
Child also gives three ballads about an earl (Knight, laird) proposing marriage to a shepherd's daughter in his appendix (see below).
The Michigan ballad, one of two extant US/Canadian ballads is a variant of the 1792 Burns recomposition, No. 356 "O'er the Moor Amang the Heather," by the Scottish Jean Glover of Kilmarnock, which according to Alan Cunningham became popular in 1790. The third verse also appears in the other extant version from Canada published by Barry entitled (probably by Barry) ''The Laird and the Shepherd's Daughter." See US and Canadian versions for more information.
R. Matteson 2013]
CONTENTS:
1. Child's Narrative
2. Footnotes (Footnotes are added at the end of Child's Narrative)
3. Brief (Kittredge)
4. Child's Ballad Texts A-F (Changes to make A b and D b-d and F b found in End-Notes. A second version of B, designated B1, is given from "The Old Lady's Collection," No 16 in Additions and Corrections. There are three untitled related versions in the Appendix.)
5. End-notes
6. Appendix (Three untitled related versions)
7. Additions and Corrections
ATTACHED PAGES (see left hand column):
1. Recordings & Info: 236. The Laird o Drum
A. Roud No. 247: The Laird o Drum (100 Listings)
2. Sheet Music: 236. The Laird o Drum (including Bronson's music examples and texts)
3. US & Canadian Versions
4. English and Other Versions (Including Child versions A-F)
Child's Narrative: 236. The Laird o Drum
A. a. Kinloch Manuscripts, V, 9.
b. 'Laird of Drum,' Kinloch's Ancient Scottish Ballads, p. 199.
B. 'The Laird of Doune' [miswritten for Drum], Skene Manuscript, p. 78.
B1. 'The Lard of Drum,' "The Old Lady's Collection," No 16.
C. Manuscript copy formerly in the possession of Sir Walter Scott.
D. a. Buchan's Ballads of the North of Scotland, II, 194.
b. 'The Laird of Drum,' Buchan's Manuscripts, II, 101; Dixon, Scottish Traditional Versions of Ancient Ballads, p. 53, Percy Society, vol. xvii.
c. The New Deeside Guide, by James Brown, [1832,] p. 11.
d. Gibb Manuscript, p. 21.
E. 'The Laird of Drum,' Manuscript, inserted in Dr. Joseph Robertson's interleaved copy of The New Deeside Guide, Aberdeen [1832].
F. a. 'The Ladye o the Drum,' Loudon Manuscript, p. 7.
b. 'The Laird o the Drum,' Macmath Manuscript, p. 13.
First taken into a collection by Kinloch, 1827, who remarks that the ballad had been printed as a broadside in the North, and was extremely popular. B, the oldest version that has been recovered, was written down in 1802-3. There are verbal agreements between B, especially, and a fragment in Herd's Manuscripts (I, 55, II, 187, Herd's Scottish Songs, 1776, II, 6), and there has been borrowing from one side or the other. Herd's fragment belongs to a ballad of a shepherd's daughter and an earl which is preserved in two copies in Motherwell's Manuscript (I, 37, 252). No 397 of The Musical Museum, communicated to Johnson, says Stenhouse, by Burns, [1792,] and probably in a large measure his work, begins with stanzas which may have been suggested by the ballad before us or by the other. See an appendix.
The copy in Christie, I, 24, was epitomized from A b, with some alterations. That in The Deeside Guide, 1889, p. 17, is Aytoun's, compounded of A b and D a.
Alexander Irvine, the young laird of Drum, says Spalding, was married to the lady Mary Gordon on December 7, 1643: Memorials of the Trubles in Scotland, etc., II, 296. Lady Mary Gordon was fourth daughter to George the second Marquis of Huntly, and niece to the Marquis of Argyll. The Laird of Drum suffered extremely in his worldly fortunes through his fidelity to the cause of the Stuarts. This would have been a natural reason for his declining a peerage offered him at the Restoration, and for his marrying, the second time, to win and not to spend. He took for his second wife Margaret Coutts (A 9), "a woman of inferior birth and manners, which step gave great offence to his relations." (Kinloch.) He died in 1687. After the death of Irvine of Drum, Margaret Coutts married Irvine of Cults. She died in 1710, at the age of only forty-five.[1]
Drum is ten miles west of Aberdeen.[2] For the commonplace in A a 3, B 8, C 5, etc., see II, 181 b.
Knortz, Lieder und Romanzen Alt-Englands, No 29, p. 105, translates Allingham's ballad.
Footnotes:
1. Epitaphs and Inscriptions ... in the North East of Scotland, by Andrew Jervise, 1875, 1, 17. (W. Macmath.)
2. The House of Drum is a well-known mansion in Liberton, near Edinburgh, and there is a note to F a importing (wrongly) that the ballad refers to this place.
Brief Description by George Lyman Kittredge
Alexander Irvine, the young laird of Drum (ten miles west of Aberdeen), was married to the lady Mary Gordon in 1643. Lady Mary Gordon was fourth daughter to George the second Marquis of Huntly, and niece to the Marquis of Argyll. The Laird of Drum suffered extremely in his worldly fortunes through his fidelity to the cause of the Stuarts. This would have been a natural reason for his declining a peerage offered him at the Restoration, and for his marrying, the second time, to win and not to spend. He took for his second wife Margaret Coutts (A 9), "a woman of inferior birth and manners, which step gave great offence to his relations" (Kinloch). He died in 1687. After the death of Irvine of Drum. Margaret Coutts married Irvine of Cults. She died in 1710, at the age of only forty-five.
Child Ballad Texts
['Laird of Drum']- Version A a; Child 236 The Laird o Drum
a. Kinloch Manuscripts, V, 9, in the handwriting of James Beattie,
b. Kinloch's Ancient Scottish Ballads, p. 199; "from recitation."
1 O it fell out upon a day,
When Drums was going to ride, O
And there he met with a well-far'd may,
Keeping her flocks on yon side. O
2 'O fair may, O rare may,
Can not you fancy me?
Of a' the lasses here about
I like nane so well as thee.'
3 'Set your love on another, kind sir,
Set it not on me,
For I'm not fit to be your bride,
And your whore I'll never be.'
4 Drums is to her father gane,
Keeping his flocks on yon hill,
And he has gotten his consent,
And the maid was at his will.
5 'My daughter can neither read nor write,
She was neer brought up at school;
But well can she milk cow and ewe,
And make a kebbuck well.
6 'She'll winn in your barn at bear-seed time,
Cast out your muck at Yule;
She'll saddle your steed in time o need,
Draw aff your boots hersell.'
7 'Have not I no clergymen?
Pay I no clergy fee?
I'll school her as I think fit,
And as I think fit to be.'
8 Drums is to the Highlands gane
For to be made ready,
And a' the gentry thereabout
Says, Yonder comes Drums and his lady.
9 'Peggy Coutts is a very bonnie bride,
And Drums is a wealthy laddie;
But Drums might hae chosen a higher match
Than any shepherd's daughter.'
10 Then up bespake his brother John,
Says, Brother you've done us wrong;
You've married ane below our degree,
A stain to a' our kin.
11 'Hold your tongue, my brother John,
I have done you no wrong;
For I've married ane to wirk and win,
And ye've married ane to spend.
12 'The last time that I had a wife,
She was above my degree;
I durst not come in her presence
But with my hat on my knee.'
13 There was four-and-twenty gentlemen
Stood at the yetts o Drum;
There was na ane amang them a'
That welcomd his lady in.
14 He's taen her by the milk-white hand
And led her in himsell,
And in thro ha's and thro bowers,
'And you're welcome, Lady o Drum.'
15 Thrice he kissd her cherry cheek,
And thrice her cherry chin,
And twenty times her comely mouth,
'And you're welcome, Lady o Drum.'
16 'Ye shall be cook in my kitchen,
Butler in my ha;
Ye shall be lady at my command
When I ride far awa.'
17 'But what will I do when auld Drum dies,
When auld Drum dies and leaves me?
Then I'll tak back my word again,
And the Coutts will come and see me.'
---------------
'The Laird of Doune'- Version B; Child 236 The Laird o Drum
Skene Manuscript, p. 78; taken down from recitation in the north of Scotland, 1802-3.
1 There was a knight, [an a gallant knight,]
An a gallant knight was he,
An he's faen in love
Wi his shepherd's daghterie.
2 . . . .
He could neither gang nor ride,
He fell so deep in her fancy,
Till his nose began to bleed.
3 'Bonny may, an bra may,
Canna ye on me rue?
By a' the maid[s] I ever saw,
There is nane I loo by you.'
4 'Ye'r a shepherd's ae daghter,
An I'm a barron's son;
An what pleasure I wad hae
To see ye gae out an in!'
5 'I'm a shepherd's ae dochter,
An ye'r a barron's son;
An there is nae pleasure I could ha
To see ye gae out or in.
6 . . . .
. . . .
'For I wadna gie the fancy of my bonny love
For na love nor favour o you.'
7 'Bonny may, an bra may,
Canna ye on me rue?
By a' the maids I ever saw
There is nane I loo by you.'
8 'Lay ne yer fancy, sir, on me,' she says,
'Lay na yer fancy on me;
For I'm our low to be your bride,
An yer quine I'll never be.
9 'For I will wear nane o yer silks,
Nor nane o yer scarlet claes;
For the hue o the whin shall be my gown,
An I will gae as I pleas.'
10 . . . .
. . .
'Ye'r na our laigh to be my bride,
An my quine ye's never be.
11 'Bonny may, and bra may,
Winna ye on me rue?
By a' the maids I ever see,
There's nane I loo but you.'
12 'Gin ye ha faen so deep in my fancy
Ye can neither gan[g] nor ride,
Gae tak me to the middle o the ring,
An bring me guid companie.'
13 He has taen her by the milk-white hand
And led her thro haas an bowers:
'Ye'r the chioce of my heart,
An a' I hae is yours.'
14 He took her by the milk-white hand
And led her out and in:
'Ye'r the choice o my heart,
My dear, ye'r welcome in.'
15 Out spake his brither John,
'Brither, ye ha done great wrong;
Ye hae married a wife this night
Disdained by a' yer kin.'
16 'Hold yer tong, my brither John,
For I hae don na wrong;
For I ha married a wife to . . . ,
An ye ha ane to spend.'
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'The Lard of Drum'- Version B1; Child 236 The Laird o Drum
"The Old Lady's Collection," No 16.
1 Ther was a knigh[t],
An a gillan knight was he,
An he's faein in love we his shiperd's daughter,
. . .
2 . . .
He could nether gang nor ride;
He fell so deap in her fancy
Till his nose began to blead.
3 'Bonny may, an bra may,
Canno ye on me rue?
By a' the meads I ever saa,
Ther is nane I lou by you.
4 'Ye'r a shepherd's ae dother,
An I am a barren's son,
An gratt is the pleasur I wad haa
To see you gaa out an in, may.'
5 'I am a shiperd's ae dother,
An ye 'r a barren's son,
An ther is ne pleasur I could ha
To see you gae out nor in.
6 . . .
. . .
For I widne gee the fancey of my bonny love
For ne love nor favour of you, sir.'
7 'Bonny may, an bra may,
Canna ye on me rue?
By a' the maids I ever saa,
Ther is nane I loie but you.'
8 'Lay not your love on me,' she says,
'Lay not your love on me,
For I am our lake to be yer bride,
An you[r] quen I ell never be.
9 'For I will wear nane of your silks,
Nor nean of yer scarlet clase;
For the hue of the eue sail be my goun,
An I will goo as I pleas.'
10 . . .
. . .
Ye'r na our lake to be my bride,
An my quien ye's never be.
11 'Bonney may, an bra may,
Winne ye on me rue?
By a' the may[s] I see,
Ther is nane I loe but you, may.'
12 'If ye ha faen sae deap in my fancy
Ye cane nether gang nor rid,
Ye take me to the middel of the ring,
An bear me guid comp[a]ny.'
13 He has tane her by the milk-whit hand
An led her thro hase an bours:
'Ye'r the jule of my heart,
An a' I have is yours.'
14 He tuke her by the milk-whit hand
An led her out an in:
'Ye'r the jule of my heart,
My d[ea]r, ye 'r welcom in.'
15 Out spak his brother John,
'Brother, ye haa don grate wrong;
Ye ha marred a wife this night
Discredet to all yer kin.'
16 'Hold yer toung, my brother John,
For I hae don ne wrang,
For I ha marred a wife to wine,
An ye ha ane to spend.'
---------------
['The Laird o Drum']- Version C; Child 236 The Laird o Drum
From a Manuscript copy formerly in possession of Sir Walter Scott; communicated by the Rev. W. Forbes-Leith, through Mr. Macmath.
1 There was a shepherd's daughter
Sheering at the bear,
And by cam the Laird o Drum,
On an evening clear.
2 'O will ye fancy me, fair maid?
O will ye fancy me?
O will ye fancy me, fair maid,
An lat the sheering be?'
3 'O say na sae again, kind sir,
O say na sae again;
I'm owr low to be your bride,
Ye'r born owr high a man.'
4 Said, Fair maid, O rare maid,
Will ye on me rue?
Amang a' the lasses o the land
I fancy nane but you.
5 'Lay your love on another,' she said,
'And lay it not on me,
For I'm owr low to be your bride,
Your miss I'll never be.
6 'Yonder is my father dear,
Wi hogs upon yon hill;
Gif ye get but his consent,
I shall be at your will.'
7 He's taen him to her father dear,
Keeps hogs upon yon hill,
An he has gotten his consent,
The may was at his will.
8 'My daughter canna read or write,
She never was at school;
Weel can she milk cow and ewe,
An serve your house fu weel.
9 'Weel can she shack you barns
And gae to mill an kill,
Saddle your steed in time o need,
And draw your boots hirsel.
10 'She canna wear your silk sae fine,
Nor yet your silver clear;
The hue o the ewe man be her weed,
Altho she was your dear.'
11 He's wedded the shepherd's daughter,
An he has taen her hame;
He's wedded the shepherd's daughter,
And led her on to Drum.
12 There were four an twenty bold barons
Stood at the yet o Drum;
There was na ane amang them a'
That welcomd his lady hame.
13 Out then spak his brother dear,
Says, Ye'v done mickel wrong;
Ye'v wedded a mean woman,
The lack o a' her kin.
14 'I never did thee wrong, brother,
I never did thee wrong;
I've wedded a woman to work and win,
An ye hae ane to spen.
15 'The last woman I wedded
Was aboon my degree;
I could na sit in her presence
But wi hat upon my knee.'
16 He's taen her by the milk-white hand
An led her but an ben,
An in the ha, amang them a',
He's hailed her Lady Drum.
17 'Now I've wedded the Shepherd's daughter,
An I hae brought her hame,
In the ha, amang ye a',
She is welcome hame to Drum.'
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['The Laird o Drum']- Version D; Child 236 The Laird o Drum
a. Buchan's Ballads of the North of Scotland, II, 194.
1 The laird o Drum is a hunting gane,
All in a morning early,
And he did spy a well-far'd may,
Was shearing at her barley.
2 'O will ye fancy me, fair may,
And let your shearing be, O
And gang and be the lady o Drum?
O will ye fancy me?' O
3 'I winna fancy you,' she says,
'Nor let my shearing be;
For I'm ower low to be Lady Drum,
And your miss I'd scorn to be.'
4 'But ye'll cast aff that gown o grey,
Put on the silk and scarlet;
I'll make a vow, and keep it true,
You'll neither be miss nor harlot.'
5 'Then dee you to my father dear,
Keeps sheep on yonder hill;
To ony thing he bids me do
I'm always at his will.'
6 He has gane to her father dear,
Keeps sheep on yonder hill:
'I'm come to marry your ae daughter,
If ye'll gie me your gude will.'
7 'She'll shake your barn, and winna your corn,
And gang to mill and kill;
In time of need she'll saddle your steed;
And I'll draw your boots mysell.'
8 'O wha will bake my bridal bread,
And wha will brew my ale,
And wha will welcome my lady hame,
It's mair than I can tell.'
9 Four and twenty gentle knights
Gied in at the yetts o Drum;
But nae a man lifted his hat
Whan the lady o Drum came in.
10 But he has taen her by the hand,
And led her but and ben;
Says, You'r welcome hame, my lady Drum,
For this is your ain land.
11 For he has taen her by the hand,
And led her thro the ha;
Says, You'r welcome hame, my lady Drum,
To your bowers ane and a'.
12 Then he['s] stript her o the robes o grey,
Drest her in the robes o gold,
And taen her father the sheep-keeping,
Made him a bailie bold.
13 She wasna forty weeks his wife
Till she brought hame a son;
She was as well a loved lady
As ever was in Drum.
14 Out it speaks his brother dear,
Says, You've dune us great wrang;
You've married a wife below your degree,
She's a mock to all our kin.
15 Out then spake the Laird of Drum,
Says, I've dune you nae wrang;
I've married a wife to win my bread,
You've married ane to spend.
16 'For the last time that I was married,
She was far abeen my degree;
She wadna gang to the bonny yetts o Drum
But the pearlin abeen her ee,
And I durstna gang in the room where she was
But my hat below my knee.'
17 When they had eaten and well drunken,
And all men bound for bed,
The Laird o Drum and his lady gay
In ae bed they were laid.
18 'Gin ye had been o high renown,
As ye are o low degree,
We might hae baith gane down the streets
Amang gude companie.'
19 'I tauld you ere we were wed
You were far abeen my degree;
But now I'm married, in your bed laid,
And just as gude as ye.
20 'Gin ye were dead, and I were dead,
And baith in grave had lain,
Ere seven years were at an end,
They'd not ken your dust frae mine.'
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'The Laird of Drum'- Version E; Child 236 The Laird o Drum
From Dr. Joseph Robertson's interleaved and annotated copy of The New Deeside Guide, [nominally] by James Brown [but written by Joseph Robertson], Aberdeen [1832]; inserted at p. 12.
1 The Laird of Drum is a wooing gane,
All in a morning early,
And there he spied a weel-far'd may,
She was shearing at her barley.
2 'Will you fancy me, my bonny may,
And will you fancy me? O
And will you come and be Lady Drum,
And let your shearing a be?' O
3 'It's I winna fancy you, kind sir,
I winna fancy thee;
For I'm too low to be lady o Drum,
And your whore I would scorn to be.'
4 Ye'll cast aff the robes of gray,
And put on the silk and the scarlet,
And here to you I'll make a vow
Ye'se neither be whore nor harlot.'
5 'I winna cast aff the robes o gray,
To put on the silk and the scarlet,
But I'll wear the colour of the ewe,
For they set me better that a' that.
6 'But ye'll do you doun to my father dear,
Keeping sheep on yonder hill,
And the first ae thing that he bids me I'll do,
For I wirk aye at his will.'
7 He's done him doun to her father dear,
Keeping sheep on yonder hill:
'Ye hae a pretty creature for your daughter;
Dear me! but I like her well.'
8 'It's she can neither read nor write,
She was never brought up at the squeel;
She canna wash your china cups,
Nor yet mak a dish o tea.
9 'But well can she do a' ither thing,
For I learnt the girly mysell;
She'll fill in your barn, and winnow your corn,
She'll gang to your kill and your mill,
And, time o need, she'll saddle your steed,
And draw your boots hersell.'
10 'Wha will bake my bridal bread,
And wah will brew my ale?
Wha will welcome my lady in?
For it's more than I can tell.'
11 There was four-and-twenty gentlemen
Stood a' in the yetts o Drum,
But there was nane o them lifted their hats
To welcome the young lady in.
12 But up spake his ae brither,
Says, Brither, ye hae done wrang;
Ye have married a wife this day
A lauch to a' our kin.
13 'I've married ane to win my bread,
But ye married ane to spend;
But as lang's I'm able to walk to the yetts o Drum
On me she may depend.
14 'The last lady that I did wed
Was far above my command;
I durst not enter the bower where she was
But my hat low in my hand.'
15 When bells were rung, and mass was sung,
And a' man bound for bed,
The Laird o Drum and the Shepherd's dother
In one bed they were laid.
16 'If ye were come o noble bleed
An were as high as me,
We could gang to the yetts o Drum
Amangst gueed companie.'
17 'I tald you ere we was wed
I was oer low for thee,
But now we are wedd and in ae bed laid,
And you must be content wi me.
18 'For an ye were dead, an I were dead,
And laid in the dust low down,
When we were baith turnd up again
Wha could ken your mould frae mine?'
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'The Ladye o the Drum'- Version F a; Child 236 The Laird o Drum
a. Manuscript of David Louden, Morham, Haddington, p. 7, 1873; from Mrs. Dickson, Rentonhall, derived from her great-grandmother.
1 'Oh, will ye fancy me, fair maid?
Oh, will ye fancy me? O
Or will ye go to be ladye o the Drum,
An let a' your shearin abe? O
An let a' your shearin abe? O
An let a' your shearin abe?' O
2 'I can neither read nor write,
Nor neer been brocht up at schule;
But I can do all other things,
An keep a hoose richt weel.
3 'My faither he's a puir shepherd-man,
Herds his hogs on yonder hill;
Gin ye will go get his consent,
Then I'll be at your call.'
4 He has gane to her father,
That herds hogs on yonder hill;
He said, 'You've got a pretty daughter,
I'd fain tak her to my sel.'
5 'She can neither read nor write,
Was neer brocht up at schule;
But she can do all other things,
An I learnt aye the lassie my sel.
6 'She'll milk your cows, she'll carry your corn,
She'll gang to the mill or the kiln;
She'll saddle your steed at any time of need,
And she'll brush up your boots hersel.'
7 'It's who will bake my bridal bread?
Or who will brew my ale?
Or who will welcome this bonnie lassie in?
For it's more than I can tell.'
8 There's four-and-twenty gentlemen
Stand doun at the gate o the Drum;
Not one of them all would take off his hat
For to welcome the bonnie lassie in.
9 . . . .
. . . .
'Oh, brother, you've married a wife this day
A disgrace to all our kin.'
10 'Oh, brother, I've married a wife to win,
And ye've got one to spen,
And as long as the bonnie lassie walks out and in
She shall aye be the ladye o the Drum.'
11 When all was done, and no bells rung,
And all men bound for their bed,
The laird and the shepherd's bonnie daughter
In one bed they were laid.
12 'Though I'm not of as noble blood,
Nor yet of as high degree,
Now I lie locked in your arms two,
And you must be contented wi me.
13 'If you were dead, and I were dead,
And baith laid in one grave,
If we were baith to be raised up again,
Wha would ken your dust frae mine?
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End-Notes
A. a. 13. wellfar'd May.
21. fair May: rare May.
24. as thee May.
17. This stanza looks like a spurious addition.
b. Kinloch has taken fourteen of the seventeen stanzas of a (all but 1, 2, 17) into his printed copy, with a change of a word here and there (not here noticed), as was his way. The remaining ten stanzas must be from recitation, if Kinloch is to be understood strictly.
1 The laird o Drum is a-wooing gane;
It was on a morning early;
And he has fawn in wi a bonnie may,
A-shearing at her barley.
2 'My bonnie may, my weel-f aurd may,
O will ye fancy me, O
And gae and be the lady o Drum,
And lat your shearing abee?' O
3 'It's I canna fancy thee, kind sir,
I winna fancy thee;
I winna gae and be lady o Drum,
And lat my shearing abee.'
After 3.
'My father he is a shepherd mean,
Keeps sheep on yonder hill,
And ye may gae and spier at him,
For I am at his will.
4. Drum: and always.
After 7:
'I'll learn your lassie to read and write,
And I'll put her to the scheel;
She'll neither need to saddle my steed,
Nor draw aff my boots hersell.
'But wha will bake my bridal bread,
Or brew my bridal ale,
And wha will welcome my bonnie bride,
Is mair than I can tell.'
104. lake for stain, and so entered in pencil in the Manuscript.
After 12:
'The first wife that I did wed,
She was far abeen my degree;
She wadna hae walkd to the yetts o Drum
But the pearls abeen her bree.
'But an she was adord for as much gold
As Peggie's for beautie,
She micht walk to the yetts o Drum
Amang gueed companie.'
163. in my command, a plausible reading.
After 16:
'But I told ye afore we war wed
I was owre low for thee;
But now we are wed, and in ae bed laid,
And ye maun be content wi me.
'For an I war dead, and ye war dead,
And baith in ae grave laid,
And ye and I war tane up again,
Wha could distan your mouls frae mine?'
O is added to the second and fourth lines except when the rhyme is in two syllables, as in 1.
B. Title. The Laird o Doune. So written twice: at p. 75 by anticipation, again at p. 78.
14. daighterıe (i undotted): daghter he?
31. May: and always.
44, 114. May added, for singing.
64. Sir added for singing.
No division into stanzas, and no indication of gaps. The deficiency at the end of 168 is noted by ...
D. a. O is added (for singing) to the second and fourth verse of every stanza except 1, 4, which have two-syllable rhyme.
19 is by mistake printed* twice.
b. O added as in a.
21. me, bonny lassie.
23. will ye fancy me, bonny lassie.
24. And lat your shearing be.
34, 44. whore for miss.
41. ye cast.
74. And wanting.
12, 13. Wanting. 162,4, 192. above for abeen.
165. durst not.
172. all man.
19. Repeated, as in a.
202. in your grave: lien.
Dixon made changes in printing this copy.
C. O is not added as in a.
13. he has spied.
21. you.
33. lady o.
51. go you.
71. winn.
72. mill or.
94. Drum was come.
104. is a' your ain.
122. in robes.
144. all your.
191. you weel ere.
20 Gin we were dead, and in grave laid,
And then taen up again,
I doubt they would look wi a gay clear ee
That would ken your dust frae mine.
In Robertson's annotated and interleaved copy, besides some readings from B, there are noted in the margin the following:
72. to your mill and your kill.
93. But there was nae ane did lift.
173. and the herd's dochter.
191. you before that we. This stanza twice, as in a.
20 as in a.
d. O is not added as in a, b.
12. Upon a.
13. he has spied.
22. O will you fancy me.
24. An let your shearin abee.
31. said.
32. abee.
33. For wanting. I 'm far ower: lady o.
34. your whore I winna.
4, 5. Wanting.
61. her auld faither.
62. Kept sheep upon the.
63. wanting.
64. That the may was at his will.
7 But my daughter can neither read nor write,
She was never at the schule;
But she'll saddle your steed in time of need,
An draw aff your boots hersel.
83. my bonny bride.
84. Is more.
91. gentlemen.
92. Stood at.
93. There was na ane that lifted.
94. Drum was come.
103. lady o.
104. is a' your ain.
11-13. Wanting.
141. Out an spake his brither John.
144. a' your.
151. Out an.
153. to save my gear.
161. the first time I had a wife.
163,4. I durstna, etc., 5,6 come before 3,4.
172. to bed.
173. an the weel-faured may.
191. afore we.
193. we are: in ae.
194. An I'm: as thee.
202. in ae grave lain.
203. were come an gane.
204. Wha could ken your mools.
E. O is appended, as in D a, b, except in 1, 4, 5.
F. a. "Mrs. Dickson says her mother used to say she has heard her (her mother's) grandmother sing the following ballad with great glee. Air, Boyne Water."
93,4, 10 are given as one stanza, the last two lines "instead of repeat."
O is appended throughout.
b. Variations given only in part.
O is appended as in D, E.
Begins:
The laird o the Drum a hunting went,
One morning very early,
And there he spied a bonny, bonny may,
A shearing at the barley.
1 'And could ye fancy a gentleman?
An wad ye married be? O
Or wad ye be the lady o the Drum?
I pray ye tell to me.'
'I could, etc.
And I wad, etc.
But for to be the lady o the Drum,
It's by far too high for me.'
2. Wanting.
32, 42. Feeding sheep.
34. I'm entirely at his will. (Good prose: cf. 5.)
43,4. It's I am in love wi your daughter, And I'll.
53. But for all other things she'll do very well.
61,2. wanting.
7. Wanting.
82. Stood all at.
83. And nane o them would put their hand to their hat.
9 'O brother, you've married a wife the day,
And you have done much ill;
brother you've married a wife today
A scorn to a' your kin.'
101,2. I've got a wife to win my bread,
And you Ve got ane to spend it.
103,4. wanting.
After 10:
The first wife that I married,
She was far above my degree;
I durst na enter the room she was in
But wi hat below my knee.
11-13. Wanting.
Appendix
Herd's Manuscripts 1, 55, II, 187; Herd's Scottish Songs, 1776, II, 6.
1 'O my bonie, bonie may,
Will ye not rue upon me?
A sound, sound sleep I'll never get
Untill I lie ayon thee.
2 'I'll gie ye four-and-twenty good milk-kye,
Wer a' caft in ae year, may,
And a bonie bull to gang them by,
That blude red is his hair, may.'
3 'I hae nae houses, I hae nae land,
I hae nae gowd or fee, sir;
I am oer low to be your bryde,
Your loon I'll never be, sir.'
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Motherwell's Manuscript, p. 37; from the recitation of Thomas Risk, Smith, learned by him in his youth at St. Ninian's, Stirlingshire.
1 Montrose he had a poor shepherd,
And a poor shepherd was he;
He had as fair a daughter
As ever you could see,
And an earl has fallen in love wi her,
And his bride now she must be.
2 The earl he came to the shepherd's door,
And he tirled at the pin;
Slowly rose the fair maid
For to let the earl in.
3 'Good day, good day, fair maid,' he says;
'Good day, good day,' said she;
'Good day unto thee, noble sir,
What is thy will with me?'
4 'I 'm so possessed with love to thee,
That I cannot gang nor stand
Till you go unto yonder church,
To give me thy right hand.'
5 'Oh, no, oh no,' the fair maid says,
'Oh that can never be;
For thou art a lord of good estate,
And I but of mean degree.
6 'Oh no, oh no,' the fair maid says,
'Thou'rt rich and I am poor;
And I am owre mean to be thy wife,
Too good to be thy whore.
7 'I can shape, and I can sew,
And cows and yowes can milk,
But I was neer brought up in a lady's room,
To sew satin nor silk.
8 'And if you had your will of me
Ye wud me soon forget;
Ye wad gar turn me doun your stairs
And bar on me your yett.'
9 'Oh no, oh no,' the earl says,
'For so shall never be;
For this night or I eat or drink
My honoured bride you shall be.'
10 'My father he's a poor shepherd,
He's herding on yon hill;
You may go to my old father,
And ask at him his will.'
11 The earl he went to the poor shepherd,
Who was herding on the lea;
'Good day, good day, shepherd,' he says;
'Good day, good day,' said he,
Good day unto your honour, sir;
What is your will with me?'
12 'Oh you have a fair daughter;
Will ye give her to me,
Silk and satin she shall wear,
And, shepherd, so shall ye.'
13 'It's true I have a fair daughter,
But I'll not give her to thee;
For thou art a lord of good estate,
And she but of mean degree.
14 'The reason is, thou art too rich,
And my daughter is too poor;
She is ower mean to be thy wife,
Too good to be thy whoore.
15 'She can shape, etc. (as verse 7).
16 'And if you had your will of her, etc. (8).
17 Oh no, oh no,' the earl says, etc. (9).
18 The earl he to the fair maid again,
Who was spinning at her wheel;
She had but one petticoat on her,
But oh she set it weel!
19 'Cast off, cast off that petticoat
That you were wont to wear,
And put on a gown of the satin silk,
With a garland in your hair.'
20 She cast off the petticoat
That she was wont to wear,
And she put on a gown of the satin silk,
With a garland in her hair.
21 Many, many was there that night
To bear them company;
And she is the earl's wife,
She's thrice fairer than he.
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Motherwell's Manuscript, p. 252; from the recitation of Mrs. Crura, Dumbarton, 7 April, 1825.
1 'O fair maid and true maid,
Will ye not on me rue, maid?
Here's my hand, my heart's command,
I'll come and go by you, maid.
2 'I've four-and-twenty good milk-kye,
A' calved in a[e] year, maid,
And a bonnie bill to eisin them,
Just as red as your hair, maid.'
3 'Your kye go as far in my heart
As they go in my heel, sir;
And, altho I be but a shepherd's dochter,
I love my body weel, sir.
4 'I love my body weel, sir,
And my maidenhead far better;
And I'll keep it to marry me,
Because I 'm scarse o tocher.'
5 This knicht he turned his bridle about,
While the tear stood in his ee;
And he's awa to her father gane,
As fast as he could dree.
6 'Gude een, gude een, you gude auld man,'
'Gude een, you earl's knicht, sir;'
'But you have a fair dochter,' he says,
'Will you grant her to me, sir?
O silks and satins she shall wear,
Indeed and so shall ye, sir.'
7 'I have a fair dochter,' he says,
'She's fair of blood and bane, sir;
But an ye had your will o her
Ye wud leave her alane, sir.'
8 'Ye would steek her not your chamber-doors,
And bar her at your yett, sir;
And an ye had your will o her
Ye wud her soon forget, sir.'
9 This knicht he turned his bridle about,
While the tear stood in his ee,
And he's awa to this fair maid gane,
As fast as he could drie.
10 'O fair maid and true maid,
Will ye not on me rue, maid?
Here's my hand, my heart's command,
I'll come and go by you, maid.
11 'Cast aff, cast aff your gay black gowns,
Put on your gowns of silk, maid;
Cast aff, cast aff your gay black snoods,
Put the garlands on your hair, maid.'
12 'It's I can bake, and I can brew,
And good kye can I milk, sir;
But I was neer born in the time o the year
To wear the gowns o silk, sir.
13 'Yestreen I was a shepherd's dochter,
Whistling my hogs to the hill;
But the nicht I am an earl's lady,
I may wear what I will.'
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Johnson's Museum, No 397, p. 410.
As I went out ae May morning,
A May morning it chanc'd to be,
There I was aware of a weelfar'd maid,
Cam linkin oer the lea to me.
O but she was a weelfar'd maid,
The bonniest lass that's under the sun;
I spier'd gin she could fancy me,
But her answer was, I am too young.
'To be your bride I am too young,
To be your loun wad shame my kin;
So therefore, pray, young man, begone,
For you never, never shall my favour win.'
Additions and Corrections
P. 324. B, as it stands in "The Old Lady's Collection," No 16, 'The Lard of Drum.'
1 Ther was a knigh[t],
An a gillan knight was he,
An he's faein in love we his shiperd's daughter,
. . .
2 . . .
He could nether gang nor ride;
He fell so deap in her fancy
Till his nose began to blead.
3 'Bonny may, an bra may,
Canno ye on me rue?
By a' the meads I ever saa,
Ther is nane I lou by you.
4 'Ye'r a shepherd's ae dother,
An I am a barren's son,
An gratt is the pleasur I wad haa
To see you gaa out an in, may.'
5 'I am a shiperd's ae dother,
An ye 'r a barren's son,
An ther is ne pleasur I could ha
To see you gae out nor in.
6 . . .
. . .
For I widne gee the fancey of my bonny love
For ne love nor favour of you, sir.'
7 'Bonny may, an bra may,
Canna ye on me rue?
By a' the maids I ever saa,
Ther is nane I loie but you.'
8 'Lay not your love on me,' she says,
'Lay not your love on me,
For I am our lake to be yer bride,
An you[r] quen I ell never be.
9 'For I will wear nane of your silks,
Nor nean of yer scarlet clase;
For the hue of the eue sail be my goun,
An I will goo as I pleas.'
10 . . .
. . .
Ye'r na our lake to be my bride,
An my quien ye's never be.
11 'Bonney may, an bra may,
Winne ye on me rue?
By a' the may[s] I see,
Ther is nane I loe but you, may.'
12 'If ye ha faen sae deap in my fancy
Ye cane nether gang nor rid,
Ye take me to the middel of the ring,
An bear me guid comp[a]ny.'
13 He has tane her by the milk-whit hand
An led her thro hase an bours:
'Ye'r the jule of my heart,
An a' I have is yours.'
14 He tuke her by the milk-whit hand
An led her out an in:
'Ye'r the jule of my heart,
My d[ea]r, ye 'r welcom in.'
15 Out spak his brother John,
'Brother, ye haa don grate wrong;
Ye ha marred a wife this night
Discredet to all yer kin.'
16 'Hold yer toung, my brother John,
For I hae don ne wrang,
For I ha marred a wife to wine,
An ye ha ane to spend.'
May, 44, 114, sir, 64, are added for singing as O is in other copies, and either one of these, or O, would naturally be appended in the other stanzas.
81. Lay not fancy our love on me. The next line shows that fanc was written by mistake.
325. Findlay's Manuscript, p. 13, has five stanzas of the ballad, from the recitation of a woman in Kincardineshire. The five stanzas are very nearly the same as D 1, 2, 4, 5, 61,2, with the matter-of-fact conclusion, 63,4,
An a' body seemed to be content,
And she was at his will.
A stanza from another version is given at the same place which resembles E 8:
She canna wash your china cups,
Nor dress you a dish o tea, O
But weei can she milk baith cow and ewe,
Wi her cogie at her knee. O
I have received nearly the same from Mr. Walker of Aberdeen as sung by John Walker, crofter, Portlethen, 1893.
Yer china cups I canna wash,
Nor cook a cup o tea, O
But weel can I milk the cowes and the ewes,
Wi the cogie on my knee. O
To be Corrected in the Print.
331 b, 81. Read out for not.