Gar Lay the Bent to the Bonny Broom- Child 1 Version D; Riddles Wisely Expounded
Version D; Child 1 Riddles Wisely Expounded
Motherwell's Manuscript, p. 142.
[Version D is from Motherwell's Manuscript, p. 142. Child simply says "D belongs with C: it was given by the reciter as a colloquy between the devil and a maiden."
Motherwell's MS., 1825 and after. A folio, almost entirely in Motherwell's hand, containing, besides some pieces not indexed, 228 indexed ballads. Most of these are from the West of Scotland, but not a few were given Motherwell by Buchan and are duplicates of copies which occur in Buchan's MSS. In the possession of Mr Malcolm Colquhoun Thomson, Glasgow.
R. Matteson 2011]
Gar Lay the Bent to the Bonny Broom- Motherwell's Manuscript, p. 142; c. 1825
1 'O what is higher than the trees?
Gar lay the bent to the bonny broom
And what is deeper than the seas?
And you may beguile a fair maid soon
2 'O what is whiter than the milk?
Gar lay the bent to the bonny broom
Or what is softer than the silk?
And you may beguile a fair maid soon
3 'O what is sharper than the thorn?
Gar lay the bent to the bonny broom
O what is louder than the horn?
And you may beguile a fair maid soon
4 'O what is longer than the way?
Gar lay the bent to the bonny broom
And what is colder than the clay?
And you may beguile a fair maid soon
5 'O what is greener than the grass?
Gar lay the bent to the bonny broom
And what is worse than woman was?'
And you may beguile a fair maid soon
6 'O heaven's higher than the trees,
Gar lay the bent to the bonny broom
And hell is deeper than the seas.
And you may beguile a fair maid soon
7 'And snow is whiter than the milk,
Gar lay the bent to the bonny broom
And love is softer than the silk.
And you may beguile a fair maid soon
8 'O hunger's sharper than the thorn,
Gar lay the bent to the bonny broom
And thunder's louder than the horn.
And you may beguile a fair maid soon
9 'O wind is longer than the way,
Gar lay the bent to the bonny broom
And death is colder than the clay.
And you may beguile a fair maid soon
10 'O poison's greener than the grass,
Gar lay the bent to the bonny broom
And the Devil's worse than eer woman was.'
And you may beguile a fair maid soon