The Cruel Brother- Jean Scott (Selk); circa 1805; Child Appendix Version O
[My location and date (I assume this was collected around the time of Scott's Minstrelsy). From: “Scotch Ballads, Materials for Border Minstrelsy,” No 22 a. This opening fragment is the last version of Cruel Brother from English and Scottish Popular Ballads Volume 4 , appearing in the Appendix. I'm assigning it Version O although it was not assigned by Kittredge. It is added: In the handwriting of William Laidlaw; “from Jean Scott.” Laidlaw died in 1845 so the ballad dates from the early 1800s.]
CRUEL BROTHER- Appendix: Additional Copies Version O
In the handwriting of William Laidlaw (1780-1845); “from Jean Scott.”
There was three ladies playd at the ba,
With a hey hey an a lilly gay
Bye cam three lords an woo’d them a’.
Whan the roses smelld sae sweetly
The first o them was clad in yellow:
‘O fair may, will ye be my marrow?’
Whan the roses smell, etc.
The niest o them was clad i ried:
‘O fair may, will ye be my bride?’
The thrid o them was clad i green:
He said, O fair may, will ye be my queen?