No. 245: Young Allan
[There are no known US or Canadian traditional versions of this ballad.]
CONTENTS:
1. Child's Narrative
2. Footnotes (There are two footnotes for this ballad)
3. Brief (Kittredge)
4. Child's Ballad Texts A-E (Another version of A, designated A1, from "The Old Lady's Collection," No. 4 is found in Additions and Corrections.)
5. End-notes
6. Additions and Corrections
ATTACHED PAGES (see left hand column):
1. Recordings & Info: 245. Young Allan
A. Roud No. 242: Young Allan (34 Listings)
2. Sheet Music: 245. Young Allan (Bronson gives two music examples and texts)
3. English and Other Versions (Including Child versions A-E with additional notes)]
Child's Narrative: 245. Young Allan
A. Skene Manuscript, p. 33.
[A1 from "The Old Lady's Collection," No. 4]
B. 'Young Allan,' Buchan's Manuscripts, II, 182.
C. 'Young Allan,' Buchan's Ballads of the North of Scotland, II, 11.
D. 'Young Allan,' Murison Manuscript, p. 117.
E. 'Earl Patrick,' Kinloch Manuscripts, V, 395.
The copy in Christie's Traditional Ballad Airs, I, 252, is abridged from C, with half a dozen arbitrary and insignificant changes.
Skippers (lords) of Lothain, A, of Scarsburgh, C, of Aberdeen, D, are bragging over their drink: some, absurdly enough, of their hawks and hounds, A-C, some of their ladies, young Allan of his ship, which will outsail all others but three.[1] A boy in A, C, says that his master has a boat (it is a coal-carrier in C) which will take the wind from him. A wager is laid, A, B, C. All the rest go to drinking, 'to the tows,' but Allan to his prayers, C 8. They sail; there is a terrible storm, in the course of which the, three competitors are 'rent in nine,' A 9, or two of them sink, and the topmast of the third 'gaes in nine,' E 7-9.
In A they have sailed only a few leagues, when Allan's ship is so racked by the storm that they see water through her sides. At this point, especially in A, Allan's seamanship appears to very little advantage; he is more of a fair-weather yachtsman than of a skeely skipper. If he could get a bonny boy to take the helm and bring the ship in safe, the boy should have a liberal share of his gold and land, and a daughter Ann besides, whom one is surprised that Young Allan should have to offer. In A and D the bonny boy evidently takes command of the ship, although in A 18 the sailors ascribe their safety, under God, to their good master. The ballad indeed suffers almost as grievously as the comely cog.
In B-E Allan calls for a bonny boy to take the helm while he goes to the masthead to look for land. In D he makes the same promises as in A, but the bonny boy cares only for Ann. In B, C the bonny boy suggests that Allan should waken his drunken men, for whom good thick shoes had been bought, though none had been given him. But in all the boy takes the helm, and in fact keeps it till the ship is in. Allan, at the masthead, can see neither day nor landmark; many feather-beds are floating on the water, B, C. The boy calls his master down; the sea can be seen through the ship's sides, B-E.
Orders are given, by the boy or by Allan (by the boy certainly in D, and by Allan in E), to take feather-beds and canvas and lay, busk, or wrap the ship round; pitch and tar are also recommended in B, C. This done, Allan addresses the ship: Spring up, and gold shall be your hire, A; Haste to dry land, and every nail that is in you shall be a gold pin, B; For every iron nail in you, of gold there shall be ten, C; in D, indirectly, Where she wants an iron nail drive in a silver pin, and where she wants an oaken bolt beat in the gold, and the like in E. When the ship hears this, she springs from the water like sparks from the tire, A-C.
The first shore they come to is Troup, B, Howdoloot, C, Linn, D, E. The ship is kept off with cannon, B, C, with spears and bayonets, D; is towed in (wrongly), E. The next shore they come to is Lee, B, E, Howdilee, C, wanting in D; 'they bare her to the sea,' C, 'they turned their ship about,' D, the ship is towed in (wrongly), B, E. The third shore they come to is Lin, B, Howdilin, C, Aberdeen, D; the ship is towed in (welcomed), with drums beating and pipes playing, B, C, D.
Allan calls for the bonny boy that brought the ship safe in, that took the helm in hand, and offers him gold, land, and his daughter; the boy rejects gold and land, and takes the daughter, A, D; Allan makes over to the boy his comely cog and gives him his daughter, B; gives him his daughter, C.
Five-and-forty ships, A, three-and-fifty, C, one-and-twenty, E, went to sea, and only one came back. [2]
This ballad is mixed with that of 'Sir Patrick Spens,' No 58, II, 21 ff. E 1-6 belong entirely to No 58, and K 6-10, M 1, 3, of No 58 belong to 'Young Allan.' The bonny boy is found in 58, B, C, E, G, I, J; the floating feather-beds occur in E-H, J, O, R; the sea is seen through the ship in 58, C 15, I 21; cloth is wapped into the ship's side to keep out water, H 19, 20; feather-beds and canvas (and pitch) are used as here in I 22, 23.
By far the most interesting feature in this ballad is Allan's addressing his ship and the ship's intelligent behavior, A 16, 17, B 12-15, C 21-22. Frioðþjóf's ship Elliða understood and obeyed the speech of its master: Fornaldar Sogur, II, 79, 443 (cited by Bugge). Ranild's ship came to him when he blew his horn: 'Svend Ranild,' Grundtvig, No 28, I, 867 (translated by Prior, I, 286). In another Danish ballad, and one of the best, the Ox when sailed by St. Olav, responds to his commands as if fully endowed with consciousness; he thwacks it in the side and over the eye, and it goes faster and faster; but it is animate only for the nonce: 'Hellig-Olavs Vasddefart,' Grundtvig, No 50, II, 134, Prior, I, 356.
The Phæacian ships have neither helmsman nor helm, and know men's minds and the way to all cities: Odyssey, viii, 557 ff. There is a magical self-moving ship in Marie de France's Guigemar, and elsewhere.
Footnotes:
1. Five are named in C 3, 4, but that is too many to allow. Probably two versions may have been combined here. B has only the three mentioned in C 4; the three of A 3 are repeated in A 9; and there are three only in E 7-9. The Black Burgess of C 3 occurs in A 3, and 'the smack calld (caud) Twine' of C 3 looks like a corruption of 'the small (sma') Cordvine.'
2. In a note at the end of E (which he regarded as a variety of 'Sir Patrick Spens'), Burton says: "There appears to be still lurking in some part of Aberdeenshire a totally different version of this ballad, connected with the localities of the North [that is, not with Dunfermline, with which 'Young Allan' has no concern, or with Linn or Lee, which are in Outopia]. A person who remembered having heard it said that it ends happily, with the mariners drinking the bluid-red wine at Aberdeen. It mentions Bennachie, or the Hill of Mist, a celebrated hill in Aberdeenshire, which is seen far out at sea, and seems to have guided the gallant mariner to the shore." All the copies "end happily" so far as Young Allan is concerned, and this is all that we are supposed to care for.
Brief Description by George Lyman Kittredge
This ballad is mixed with 'Sir Patrick Spens' (No, 58). By far the most interesting feature in it is Allan's addressing his ship and the ship's intelligent behavior. Such ships are known elsewhere in popular tradition. In one of the best of the Danish ballads (Grundtvig, No, 50), the Ox, when sailed by St. Olav, responds to his commands as if fully endowed with consciousness; he thwacks it in the side and over the eye, and it goes faster and faster; but it is animate only for the nonce. The Phasacian ships have neither helmsman nor helm, and know men's minds and the way to all cities: Odyssey, viii, 557 ff. There is a magical self-moving ship in Marie de France's Guigemar, and elsewhere.
Child's Ballad Texts
['Young Allan']- Version A; Child 245 Young Allan
Skene Manuscript, p. 33; taken down in the north of Scotland, 1802-3.
1 A' the skippers of bonny Lothain,
As they sat at the wine,
There fell a reesin them amang,
An it was in unhappy time.
2 Some o them reesd their hawks,
An some o them their hounds,
An some o them their ladies gay,
Trod neatly on the ground;
Young Allan he reesd his comely cog,
That lay upon the strand.
3 'I hae as good a ship this day
As ever sailed our seas,
Except it be the Burges Black,
But an the Small Cordvine,
The Comely Cog of Dornisdale;
We's lay that three bye in time.'
4 Out spak there a little boy,
Just at Young Allan's knee:
'Ye lie, ye lie, Young Allan,
Sae loud's I hear ye lie.
5 For my master has a little boat
Will sail thrice as well as thine;
For she'll gang in at your foremast,
An gae out your fore-lee,
An nine times in a winter night
She'll tak the wind frae thee.'
6 'O wht will ye wad, ye Young Allan?
Or what will ye wad wi me?'
'I'll wad my head against your land
Till I get more monnie.'
7 They had na saild a league,
A league but barely three,
But through an thro the bonny ship
They saw the green wall sea.
8 They had na saild a league,
A league but barely five,
But through an thro their bonny ship
They saw the green well wave.
9 He gaed up to the topmast,
To see what he coud see,
And there he saw the Burgess Black,
But an the Small Cordvine,
The Comely Cog of Dornisdale;
The three was rent in nine.
10 Young Allan grat and wrang his hands,
An he kent na what to dee:
'The win is loud, and the waves are proud,
An we'll a' sink in the sea.
11 'But gin I coud get a bonny boy
Wad tak my helm in han,
That would steer my bonny ship,
An bring her safe to land,
12 'He shoud get the twa part o my goud,
The third o my land,
An gin we win safe to shore
He shoud get my dochter Ann.'
13 'O here am I, a bonny boy
That will tak your helm in han,
An will steer your bonny ship,
An bring her safe to lan.
14 'Ye tak four-an-twenty feather-beds
An lay the bonny ship round,
An as much of the good canvas
As mak her hale an soun.'
15 They took four-and-twenty feather-beds
An laid the bonny ship roun,
An as much o the good canvas
As made her hale an soun.
16 'Spring up, spring up, my bonny ship,
An goud shall be your hire!'
Whan the bonny ship heard o that,
That goud shoud be her hire,
She sprang as fast frae the sat water
As sparks do frae the fire.
17 'Spring up, spring up, my bonny ship,
And goud sall be your fee!'
Whan the bonny ship heard o that,
That goud shoud be her fee,
She sprang as fast frae the sat water
As the leaf does frae the tree.
18 The sailors stan on the shore-side,
Wi their auld baucheld sheen:
'Thanks to God an our guid master
That ever we came safe to land!'
19 'Whar is the bonny boy
That took my helm in han,
That steerd my bonny ship,
An brought her safe to lan?
20 'He's get the twa part o my goud,
The third part o my lan,
An, since we're come safe to shore,
He's get my dochter Ann.'
21 'O here am I, the bonny boy
That took your helm in han,
That steered your bonny ship,
An brought her safe to lan.
22 'I winna hae the twa part o your goud,
Nor the third part o your lan,
But, since we hae win safe to shore,
I'll wed your dochter Ann.'
23 Forty ships went to the sea,
Forty ships and five,
An there never came ane o a' back,
But Young Allan, alive.
---------
['Young Allan'] Version A1; Child 245 Young Allan
The Old Lady's Collection, Manuscript, No. 4.
1 Aa the skippers of bonny Lothen,
As they sat att the wine,
Ther fell a rosin them among,
An it was in an unhappy time.
2 Some of them roused ther haks,
An some of them ther hounds,
An some of them ther gay ladys,
Trood neat on the plain:
Young Allan he roused his comely coug,
That lay upon the strand.
3 'I baa as good a ship this day
As ever sailled our seas,
Except it be the Burges Black,
Bat an the Small Cordvine,
The comly coug of Doruisdall;
We sail lay that three bay in time.'
4 Out spak a littel boy,
Just att Young Allan's knee,
'Ye lie, ye lie, ye Young Allan,
Sae loud as I hear ye lie.
5 'For my master has a littel boat
Will sail thris as well as thin;
For she 'II come in att your formast
An gee out att yer forlee,
An nine times in a winter night
She'll take the wine fra the.
6 'O fatt will ye wade, ye Yonng Allan,
Or fatt will ye wad we me?'
'I ill wad my head agenst yer land,
Till I gett more monie.'
7 They hed na sailed a legg, [a legg,]
A legg bat bairly three,
Till throng an throu ther bonny ship
They saa the green wall sea.
8 They had na sailled a leag, [a leag,]
A leag bat barly fave,
Till through en throu ther bonny ship
They saa the green wall wave.
9 He gied up to the tapmast,
To see fat he cond see,
An ther he saa the Burges Black,
Bat an the Small Cordvine,
The comly coug of Dornasdell;
The three was rent in nine.
10 Young Allan he grat, an he wrang his hans,
An he kent na fat till dee:
'The win is loud, an the waves is prood,
An we will a' sink in the sea.
11 'Bat gin I cod gett a bonny boy
To tak my healm in han,
... that wad bring
My bonny ship safe to lan,
12 'He sud gett the tua part of my goud,
An the therd part of my lan,
An gin we wine safe to sbor
He sud gett my daughter Ann.'
13 'Hear am I, a bonny boy
That will take yer helm in han,
... an will bring
Your bonny ship safe to land.
14 'Ye take four-an-twenty fether-beds,
An ye lay the bonny ship roun,
An as much of the good cannis
As make her hell an soun.'
15 They took four-an-tuenty fether-beds,
An laid the bonny ship roun,
An as mnch of the good canies
As made her bell an soun.
16 'Spring np, my bony ship,
An goud sail be yer hair!'
Fan the bonny ship hard of that,
Att gond sud be her hire,
She sprang as fast fra the sate water
As the spark dis frae the fire.
17 'Spring up, my bonny ship,
An goud sail be yer fee!'
An fan the bonny ship hard of that,
Goud was to be her fee,
She sprang as fast fra the sat water
As the life dos fra the tree.
18 The salors stans on the shore-sid,
We ther ill-bukled shen:
'Thanks to God an our gued master
That ever we came to land!'
19 'Far is the bonny boy
That took my healm in hand?
... that brought
My bonny ship safe to land?
20 'He's gett the twa part of my goud,
The therd part of my lan,
An si nee we ha wone safe to shore
He's gett my daughter Ann.'
21 'Hear am I, the bonny boy
That took yer healm in han,
That brought yer bonny ship,
An brought her safe to lan.
22 'I winnë ha the tua part of yer goud,
Nor the therd part of yer lan,
Bat since we ha wine safe to shor
I will wed yer daugter Ann.'
23 Fortey ships went to the sea,
Forty ships an five,
An ther came never on back
Bat Young Allan alive.
-----------
'Young Allan'- Version B; Child 245 Young Allan
Buchan's Manuscripts, II, 182.
1 There were four-and-twenty sailors bold
Sat drinking at the wine;
There fell a rousing them among,
In an unseally time.
2 Some there reasd their hawk, their hawk,
And some there reasd their hound,
But Young Allan reasd his comely cog,
As she floats on the feam.
3 'There's not a ship amang you a'
Will sail alang wi me,
But the comely cog o Heckland Hawk,
And Flower o Germanie,
And the Black Snake o Leve London;
They are all gane frae me.'
4 The wager was a gude wager,
Of fifty tuns of wine,
And as much o the gude black silk
As cleathd their lemans fine.
5 At midnight dark the wind up stark,
The seas began to rout;
Young Allan and his bonny new ship
Gaed three times witherlins about.
6 'O faer will I get a bonny boy
Will take my helm in hand
Ere I gang up to the tapmast-head
To look for some dry land?'
7 'O waken, waken your drunken men,
As they lie drunk wi wine;
For when ye came thro Edinburgh town
Ye bought them shoes o ben.
8 'There was no shoes made for my feet,
Nor gluve made for my hand;
But nevertheless, my dear master,
I'll take your helm in hand
Till ye gae to the topmast head
And look for some dry land.'
9 'I cannot see no day, no day,
Nor no meathe can I ken;
But many a bonny feather-bed
Lies floating on the faem.'
10 'Come down, come down, my dear master,
You see not what I see;
Through and through your bonny new ship
Comes in the green haw sea.'
11 'Take fifty ells o the canvas broad
And wrap it in a' roun,
And as much good pich an tar
Make her go hale an soun.
12 'Sail on, sail on, my bonny ship,
And haste ye to dry lan,
And every nail that is in you
Shall be a gay gold pin.
13 'Sail on, sail on, my bonny ship,
And hae me to some lan,
And a firlot full o guineas red
Will be dealt at the lan's end.'
14 The ship she hearkend to their voice
And listend to the leed,
And she gaed thro the green haw sea
Like fire out o a gleed.
15 When the ship got word o that,
Goud was to be her beat,
She's flowen thro the stormy seas
Like sparks out o a weet.
16 The first an shore that they came till,
It was the shore o Troup;
Wi cannons an great shooting there,
They held Young Allan out.
17 The next an shore that they came till,
It was the shore o Lee;
Wi piping an sweet singing there,
They towed Young Allan tee.
18 The next an shore that they came till,
It was the shore o Lin;
Wi drums beating and pipers playing,
They towed Young Allan in,
And Allan's lady she was there,
To welcome Allan hame.
19 'O faer is my little boy,' he said,
'That I brought oer the sea?'
'I'm coming, master, running, master,
At your command shall be.'
20 'O take to you my comely cog,
And wed my daughter free,
And a' for this ae night's wark
That ye did wake wi me.'
-----------
'Young Allan'- Version C; Child 245 Young Allan
Buchan'a Ballads of the North of Scotland, II, 11.
1 All the skippers o Scarsburgh
Sat drinking at the wine;
There fell a rousing them amang,
On an unseally time.
2 Some there rousd their hawk, their hawk,
And some there rousd their hound,
But Young Allan rousd his comely cog,
As she stood on dry ground.
3 'There's nae a ship in Scarsburgh
Will sail the seas wi mine,
Except it be the Brugess Black,
Or than the smack calld Twine.
4 'There's nae a ship amang you a'
Will sail alang wi me,
But the comely cog o Hecklandhawk,
And Flower o Yermanie,
And the Black Snake o Leve London;
They are a' gane frae me.'
5 Out it speaks a little wee boy
Stood by Young Allan's knee;
'My master has a coal-carrier
Will take the wind frae thee.
6 'She will gae out under the leaf,
Come in under the lee,
And nine times in a winter night
She'll turn the wind wi thee.'
7 When they had wagerd them amang
Full fifty tuns o wine,
Besides as mickle gude black silk
As clathe their lemans fine,
8 When all the rest went to the tows,
All the whole night to stay,
Young Allan he went to his bower,
There with his God to pray.
9 'There shall nae man gang to my ship
Till I say mass amd dine,
And take my leave o my lady;
Gae to my bonny ship syne.'
10 Then they saild east on Saturday,
On Sunday sail d west,
Likewise they sailed on Mononday
Till twelve, when they did rest.
11 At midnight dark the wind up stark,
And seas began to rout,
Till Allan and his bonny new ship
Gaed three times witherlands about.
12 'O,' sighing says the Young Allan,
'I fear a deadly storm;
For mony a heaving sinking sea
Strikes sair on my ship's stern.
13 'Where will I get a little wee boy
Will take my helm in hand
Till I gang up to my tapmast
And see for some dry land?'
14 'O waken, waken your drunken men,
As they lye drunk wi wine;
For when ye came thro Edinbro town
Ye bought them sheen o ben.
15 'There was nae shoe made for my foot,
Nor gluve made for my hand;
But nevertheless, my dear master,
I'll take your helm in hand
Till ye gang to the tall tapmast
And look for some dry land.
16 'And here am I, a little wee boy
Will take your helm in han
Till ye gang up to your tapmast,
But, master, stay not lang.'
17 'I cannot see nae day, nae day,
Nor nae meathe can I ken;
But mony a bonny feather-bed
Lyes floating on the faem,
And the comely cog o Normanshore,
She never will gang hame.'
18 The comely cog o Nicklingame
Came sailing by his hand;
Says, Gae down, gae down, ye gude skipper,
Your ship sails on the sand.
19 'Come down, come down, my gude master,
Ye see not what I see;
For thro and thro our comely cog
I see the green haw sea.'
20 'Take fifty ells o gude canvas
And wrap the ship a' round;
And pick her weell, and spare her not,
And make her hale and sound.
21 'If ye will sail, my bonny ship,
Till we come to dry land,
For ilka iron nail in you,
Of gowd there shall be ten.'
22 The ship she listend all the while,
And, hearing of her hire,
She flew as swift threw the saut sea
As sparks do frae the fire.
23 The first an shore that they came till,
They ca'd it Howdoloot;
Wi drums beating and cannons shouting,
They held our gude ship out.
24 The next an shore that they came till,
They ca'd it Howdilee;
Wi drums beating and fifes playing,
They bare her to the sea.
25 The third an shore that they came till,
They ca'd it Howdilin;
Wi drums beating and pipes playing,
They towd our gude ship in.
26 The sailors walkd upon the shore,
Wi their auld baucheld sheen,
And thanked God and their Lady,
That brought them safe again.
27 'For we went out o Scarsburgh
Wi fifty ships and three;
But nane o them came back again
But Young Allan, ye see.'
28 'Come down, come down, my little wee boy,
Till I pay you your fee;
I hae but only ae daughter,
And wedded to her ye'se be.'
---------
'Young Allan'- Version D; Child 245 Young Allan
Murison Manuscript, p. 117; learned by Mrs. Murison from her mother, Old Deer, Aberdeenshire.
1 There was three lords sat drinkin wine
In bonnie Aberdeen, [O]
. . . . .
. . . .
2 Some o them talked o their merchandise,
An some o their ladies fine, [O]
But Young Allan he talked o his bonnie ship,
That cost him mony a poun.
* * * * *
3 'Whar will I get a bonnie wee boy
That'll tak my helm in han, O
Till I gang up to my high topmast
An look oot for some dry lan?
4 'He'll get half o my gowd, an half o my gear,
An the third pairt o my lan,
An gin he row me safe on shore
He shall hae my daughter Ann.'
5 'O here am I, a bonny wee boy
That'll tak your helm in han
Till ye gang up to your high topmast
An look oot for some dry lan.
6 I'll nae seek your gowd, nor I'll nae seek your gear,
Nor the third pairt o your lan,
But gin I row you safe to shore
I shall hae your daughter Ann.
7 'Come doon, come doon, Young Allan,' he cries,
'Ye see nae what I see;
For through an through your bonnie ship-side
An I see the open sea.
8 'Ye'll tak twenty-four o your feather-beds,
Ye'll busk your bonnie ship roon,
An as much o the guid canvas-claith
As gar gang hale an soun.
9 'An whar ye want an iron bolt
Ye'll ca a siller pin,
An whar ye want an oaken bolt
Ye'll beat the yellow gold in.'
10 He's taen twenty-four o his feather-beds
An buskit's bonnie ship roon,
An as much o the guid canvas-claith
As gar her gang hale an soun.
11 An whar he's wantit an iron bolt
He's ca'd a siller pin,
An whar he's wantit an oaken bolt
He's beat the yellow gold in.
12 The firstan shore that they cam till,
It was the shore o Linn;
They held their spears an beenits oot,
An they wouldna lat Allan in.
13 The neistan shore that they cam till
It was the shore o . . '.;
. . . .
An they turned their ship aboot.
14 But the neistan shore that they came till,
'Twas bonnie Aberdeen;
The fifes an drums they a' did play,
To welcome Allan in.
15 'O where is he, the bonnie wee boy
That took my helm in han
Till I gied up to my high topmast
An lookd oot for some dry lan?
16 'He's get half o my gowd, an half o my gear,
An the third pairt o my lan,
An since he's rowt me safe to shore
He sall hae my daughter Ann.'
17 'O here am I, the bonnie wee boy
That took your helm in han
Till ye gied up to your high topmast
An lookd oot for some dry lan.
18 'I'll nae seek half o your good, nor half o your gear,
Nor the third pairt o your lan,
But since I've rowt you safe to shore
I sall hae your daughter Ann.'
-----------
'Earl Patrick'- Version E; Child 245 Young Allan
Kinloch Manuscripts, V, 395; in the handwriting of John Hill Barton, when a youth.
1 The king he sits in Dumfermline,
Birlin at the wine,
And callin for the best skipper
That ever sailed the faem.
2 Then out it spak a bonny boy,
Sat at the king's right knee;
'Earl Patrick is the best skipper
That ever sailed the sea.'
3 The king he wrote a braed letter,
And sealed it wi his ring,
And sent it to Earl Patrick,
. . .
4 'Oh wha is this, or wha is that,
Has tald the king o me?
For I was niver a gude mariner,
And niver sailed the sea.
* * * * *
5 'Ye'll eat and drink, my merry young men,
The red wine you amang,
For blaw it wind, or blaw it sleet,
Our ship maun sail the morn.
6 'Late yestreen I saw the new meen
Wi the auld meen in hir arm,'
And sichand said him Earl Patrick,
'I fear a deadly storm.'
7 They sailed up, sae did they down,
Thro mony a stormy stream,
Till they saw the Dam o Micklengaem,
When she sank amang the faem.
8 They sailed up, sae did they down,
Thro many a stormy stream,
Till they saw the Duke o Normandy,
And she sank among the faem.
9 They sailed up, sae did they down,
Thro many a stormy stream,
Till they saw the Black Shater o Leve London
And her topmast gaed in nine.
10 'Where will I get a bonny boy
That will tack my helm in hand
Till I gang up to my topmast,
And spy for some dry land?'
11 'Now here am I, a bonny boy
Will tack yer helm in hand
Till ye go up to your topmast
But I fear ye'll never see land.'
12 'Cum down, cum down, my gude master,
Ye see not what I see,
For through and through yer bonny ship
I see the raging sea.'
13 'Ye'll tak four-and-twenty fether-beds,
And lay my bonny ship roun,
And as muckle o the fine canvas
As make her haill and soun.
14 'And where she wants an iron nail
O silver she's hae three,
And where she wants a timmer-pin
We'll rap the red goud in.'
* * * * *
15 The firsten shore that they cam till,
They cad it shore the Linn;
Wi heart and hand and good command,
They towed their bonny ship in.
16 The nexten shore that they came till,
They caad it shore the Lee;
With heart and hand and good command,
They towed the bonny ship tee.
17 There was twenty ships gaed to the sea,
Twenty ships and ane,
And there was na ane came back again
But Earl Patrick alane.
------
End-Notes
A. 182. ill buckled corruptly for the auld baucheld of C 26 (baucheld = down at the heels).
B. 23. hind.
35. snakes o Leveland den; and snakes o Levelanden, C 46. I have not found snake, for ship, in late English, but the A. S. snacc = Icelandic snekkja, a fast ship, may well have come down. For Leve London see E 98.
114. We should perhaps read As make; cf. A 144, D 84.
C. 46. black snakes o Levelanden.
D. After 2.
"A long, long gap, that I have got nobody to fill up. I learned it from my mother, but she has quite forgotten it."
91. whar he.
133. Remark: "Not let land here either."
173. to yon, or you.
O is added at the end of every second line.
E. 68. sich and.
93. shater. Cf. B 36, C 46, where the texts have snakes (corrected here to snake). The writer of E had begun the word with something different from sh, but with what I cannot make out.
114. feear.
141. when or wher.
Additions and Corrections
376 b, last paragraph. Talking Ships. See Liebrecht, Zur Volkskunde, p. 365 f., apropos of Árnason's Skipamál, Þjoðsögur, II, 8. Árnason notes two talking ships in Flóamanna Saga, c. 36, and Liebrecht the Argo.
377. A. The original, altered in places by Skeat, stands as follows in "The Old Lady's Collection," where it is No 4.
1 Aa the skippers of merry Lothen,
As they sat att the wine,
Ther fell a rosin them among,
An it was in an unhappy time.
2 Some of them roused ther haks,
An some of them ther hounds,
An some of them ther gay ladys,
Trood neat on the plain:
Young Allan he roused his comely coug,
That lay upon the strand.
3 'I haa as good a ship this day
As ever sallied our seas,
Except it be the Burges Black,
Bat an the Small Cordvine,
The comly coug of Dornisdall;
We sail lay that three bay in time.'
4 Out spak a littel boy,
Just att Young Allan's knee,
'Ye lie, ye lie, ye Young Allan,
Sae loud as I hear ye lie.
5 'For my master has a littel boat
Will sail thris as well as thin;
For she'll come in att your formast
An gee out att yer forlee,
An nine times in a winter night
She'll take the wine fra the.
6 'O fatt will ye wade, ye Young Allan,
Or fatt will ye wad we me?'
'I ill wad my head agenst yer land,
Till I gett more monie.'
7 They hed na sailed a legg, [a legg,]
A legg bat bairly three,
Till throug an throu ther bonny ship
They saa the green wall sea.
8 They had na sailled a leag, [a leag,]
A leag bat barly fave,
Till through en throu ther bonny ship
They saa the green wall wave.
9 He gied up to the tapmast,
To see fat he coud see,
An ther he saa the Burges Black,
Bat an the Small Cordvine,
The comly coug of Dornasdell;
The three was rent in nine.
10 Young Allan he grat, an he wrang his hans,
An he kent na fat till dee:
'The win is loud, an the waves is prood,
An we will a' sink in the sea.
11 'Bat gin I cod gett a bonny boy
To tak my healm in han,
. . . that wad bring
My bonny ship safe to lan,
12 'He sud gett the tua part of my goud,
An the therd part of my lan,
An gin me wine safe to shor
He sud gett my daughter Ann.'
13 'Hear am I, a bonny boy
That will take yer helm in han,
. . . an will bring
Your bonny ship safe to land.
14 'Ye take four-an-twenty fether-beds,
An ye lay the bonny ship roun,
An as much of the good cannis
As make her hell an soun.'
15 They took four-an-twenty fether-beds,
An laid the bonny ship roun,
An as much of the good canies
As made her hell an soun.
16 'Spring up, my bony ship,
An goud sail be yer hair!'
Fan the bonny ship hard of that,
Att goud sud be her hire,
She sprang as fast fra the sate water
As the spark dis frae the fire.
17 'Spring up, my bonny ship,
An goud sail be yer fee!'
An fan the bonny ship hard of that,
Goud was to be her fee,
She sprang as fast fra the sat water
As the life dos fra the tree.
18 The salors stans on the shore-sid,
We ther ill-bukled shen:
'Thanks to God an our gued master
That ever we came to land!'
19 'Far is the bonny boy
That took my healm in hand?
. . . that brought
My bonny ship safe to land?
20 'He's gett the twa part of my goud,
The therd part of my lan,
An since we ha wone safe to shore
He's gett my doughter Ann.'
21 'Hear am I, the bonny boy
That took yer healm in han,
That brought yer bonny ship,
An brought her safe to lan.
22 'I winne ha the tua part of yer goud,
Nor the therd part of yer lan,
Bat since we ha wine safe to shor
I will wed yer daugter Ann.'
23 Fortey ships went to the sea,
Forty ships an five,
An ther came never on back
Bat Young Allan alive.
96. comly cord.
124, 204, 224. Anna.
172,4. hire for fee (caught from 16).
232. ane changed to Five.
Written without division into stanzas or verses.