Lord Ranald- Norman Kennedy (Aber) 1960 MacInnes
[From: Collection - School of Scottish Studies; Original Tape ID - SA1960.196,
R. Matteson 2018]
Summary - In this ballad, Lord Ranald [sic] comes home and his mother asks him where he has been. He says he has had dinner with his wife and had eel bree [broth], which poisoned him. Each time he answers, he says he is sick and needs to rest. They discuss what he will leave to his family members when he dies. To his wife, he will leave a rope to be hanged with.
Lord Randal- sung by Norman Kennedy of Aberdeen in August, 1960; collected by Dr John MacInnes. Norman Kennedy does not know where he got the tune but he has known it for a long time.
1. "Faur hae ye been all the day, Lord Ranald my honey?
Faur hae ye been all the day, my gentleman son?”
“I've been to dine wi my wife, mither, mak my bed soon;
For I'm seik until the hert an' fain wid I lie doon.”
2. “An' fit gat ye there, Lord Ranald my honey?
An' fit gat ye there, my ain darlin' son?”
“Eels believe it -- poisont me, mither, mak my bed soon;
For I'm seik until the hert an' fain wid I lie doon.”
3. "An' fit dae ye leave me, Lord Ranald my honey?
An' fit dae ye leave me, my ain dear son?”
“My blessin an' my land, mither, mak my bed soon;
For I'm seik until the hert an' fain wid I lie doon.”
4. "An' fit dae ye leave yes-er bairns, Lord Ranald my honey?
An' fit dae ye leave me, my ainlie son?”
“Let them gae beg thru life, mither, mak my bed soon;
For I'm seik unto the hert an' fain wid I lie doon.”
5. "An' fit dae ye lea' yes-er wife, Lord Ranald my honey?
An' fit dae ye leave me, my darlin' son?”
"A new rope tae hang her wi, mither, mak my bed soon;
For I'm seik untae the hert an' fain wid I lie doon.”