Lord Thomas and Fair Annie- Scott 1802 Child A
Below Child's text is Scott's text and notes for Lord Thomas and Fair Annie originally from 1802. There is an editorial analysis by Thomas Finlayson Henderson (in brackets).
Lord Thomas and Fair Annie- Version A; Child 62 Fair Annie
Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, II, 102, 1802, chiefly from the recitation of an old woman residing near Kirkhill, in West Lothian.
1 It's narrow, narrow, make your bed,
And learn to lie your lane;
For I'm ga'n oer the sea, Fair Annie,
A braw bride to bring hame.
Wi her I will get gowd and gear;
Wi you I neer got nane.
2 'But wha will bake my bridal bread,
Or brew my bridal ale?
And wha will welcome my brisk bride,
That I bring oer the dale?'
3 'It's I will bake your bridal bread,
And brew your bridal ale,
And I will welcome your brisk bride,
That you bring oer the dale.'
4 'But she that welcomes my brisk bride
Maun gang like maiden fair;
She maun lace on her robe sae jimp,
And braid her yellow hair.'
5 'But how can I gang maiden-like,
When maiden I am nane?
Have I not born seven sons to thee,
And am with child again?'
6 She's taen her young son in her arms,
Another in her hand,
And she's up to the highest tower,
To see him come to land.
7 'Come up, come up, my eldest son,
And look oer yon sea-strand,
And see your father's new-come bride,
Before she come to land.'
8 'Come down, come down, my mother dear,
Come frae the castle wa!
I fear, if langer ye stand there,
Ye'll let yoursell down fa.'
9 And she gaed down, and farther down,
Her love's ship for to see,
And the topmast and the mainmast
Shone like the silver free.
10 And she's gane down, and farther down,
The bride's ship to behold,
And the topmast and the mainmast
They shone just like the gold.
11 She's taen her seven sons in her hand,
I wot she didna fail;
She met Lord Thomas and his bride,
As they came oer the dale.
12 'You're welcome to your house, Lord Thomas,
You're welcome to your land;
You're welcome with your fair ladye,
That you lead by the hand.
13 'You're welcome to your ha's, ladye,
Your welcome to your bowers;
You're welcome to your hame, ladye,
For a' that's here is yours.'
14 'I thank thee, Annie; I thank thee, Annie,
Sae dearly as I thank thee;
You're the likest to my sister Annie,
That ever I did see.
15 'There came a knight out oer the sea,
And steald my sister away;
The shame scoup in his company,
And land whereer he gae!'
16 She hang ae napkin at the door,
Another in the ha,
And a' to wipe the trickling tears,
Sae fast as they did fa.
17 And aye she served the lang tables,
With white bread and with wine,
And aye she drank the wan water,
To had her colour fine.
18 And aye she served the lang tables,
With white bread and with brown;
And ay she turned her round about,
Sae fast the tears fell down.
19 And he's taen down the silk napkin,
Hung on a silver pin,
And aye he wipes the tear trickling
A' down her cheek and chin.
20 And aye he turn'd him round about,
And smiled amang his men;
Says, Like ye best the old ladye,
Or her that's new come hame?
21 When bells were rung, and mass was sung,
And a' men bound to bed,
Lord Thomas and his new-come bride
To their chamber they were gaed.
22 Annie made her bed a little forbye,
To hear what they might say;
'And ever alas!' Fair Annie cried,
'That I should see this day!
23 'Gin my seven sons were seven young rats,
Running on the castle wa,
And I were a grew cat mysell,
I soon would worry them a'.
24 'Gin my seven sons were seven young hares,
Running oer yon lilly lee,
And I were a grew hound mysell,
Soon worried they a' should be.'
25 And wae and sad Fair Annie sat,
And drearie was her sang,
And ever, as she sobbd and grat,
'Wae to the man that did the wrang!'
26 'My gown is on,' said the new-come bride,
'My shoes are on my feet,
And I will to Fair Annie's chamber,
And see what gars her greet.
27 'What ails ye, what ails ye, Fair Annie,
That ye make sic a moan?
Has your wine barrels cast the girds,
Or is your white bread gone?
28 'O wha was't was your father, Annie,
Or wha was't was your mother?
And had ye ony sister, Annie,
Or had ye ony brother?'
29 'The Earl of Wemyss was my father,
The Countess of Wemyss my mother;
And a' the folk about the house
To me were sister and brother.'
30 'If the Earl of Wemyss was your father,
I wot sae was he mine;
And it shall not be for lack o gowd
That ye your love sall tyne.
31 'For I have seven ships o mine ain,
A' loaded to the brim,
And I will gie them a' to thee,
Wi four to thine eldest son:
But thanks to a' the powers in heaven
That I gae maiden hame!'
_________________
Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, II, 102, 1802
LORD THOMAS AND FAIR ANNIE
NOW FIRST PUBLISHED IN A PERFECT STATE
[1802]
This ballad is now, for the first time, published in a perfect state. A fragment, comprehending the 2nd, 4th, 5th, and 6th verses, as also the 17th, has appeared in several collections. The present copy is chiefly taken from the recitation of an old woman, residing near Kirkhill, in West Lothian; the same from whom were obtained the variations in the tale of amlane, and the fragment of the Wife of Usher's Well, which is the next in order.
The tale is much the same with the Breton romance, called Lay Le Frain, or the Song of the Ash. Indeed, the Editor is convinced, that the farther our researches are extended, the more we shall see ground to believe, that the romantic ballads of later times are, for the most part, abridgments of the ancient metrical romances, narrated in a smoother stanza, and more modern language. A copy of the ancient romance alluded to is preserved in the invaluable collection (W. 4. 1.) of the Advocates' Library, and begins thus :—
'We redeth oft and findeth ywrite
And this clerkes wele it wite
Laves that ben in harping
Ben yfound of ferli thing
Sum beth of wer and sum of wo
Sum of joye and mirthe also
And sum of trecherie and of gile
Of old aventours that fel while
And many ther beth of faery
Of al thinges that men seth
Maist o' love forsoth yai beth.
'In Breteyne bi hold time
This layes were wrought so seithe this rime
When kinges might our y here
Of ani mervailes that ther wer
They token a harp in glee and game
And maked a lay and gaf it name
Now of this aventours that weren y falle
Y can tel sum ac nought alio
Ac herkeneth Lordinges sothe to sain I chil you tel
Lay le Fraxn Bifel a cas in Breteyne
Whereof was made Lay le Frain
In Ingliche for to tellen y wis
Of ane asche forsothe it is
On ane ensammple fair with alle
That sum time was bi falle,' etc.
A ballad, agreeing in every respect with that which follows, exists in the Danish collection of ancient songs, entitled Kaempe Viser. It is called Skian Anna, i.e. Fair Annie; and has been translated literally by my learned friend, Mr. Robert Jamieson.—See his Popular Ballads, Edin. 1806, vol. ii. p. 100. This work contains many original and curious observations on the connection between the ancient poetry of Britain and of the northern nations.
[The fragment to which Scott refers appeared in Herd's Ancient and Modern Songs, 1769, p. 307, and 1776, vol. i. p. 167. It consists of eight stanzas, and includes iii., xii., and xix., in addition to those mentioned by Scott. How much Scott obtained from the old woman is doubtful. There is an equivalent—with great variation in expression— for stanza i. in the two opening stanzas of a version entitled 'Burd Helen,' obtained by Jamieson from the recitation of Mrs. Arnot, Arbroath (Popular Ballads, ii. 376). For stanzas vii.-x. there is no equivalent in other versions, but they have certain resemblances to stanzas in 'The Daemon-Lover' and 'The Bonny Lass of Lochroyan.' The substance of the remainder of the ballad is found in Jamieson's 'Burd Helen,' and also in his 'Lady Janet' (ib., ii. 371), obtained from Mrs. Brown, in which the Earl of Richmond takes the place of the Earl of Wemyss. The 'Lord Thomas and Fair. Annie' ballad in Percy's Reliques has no direct connection with the Minstrelsy ballad. The Percy ballad is nothing more than a blend of 'Lord Thomas and Fair Ellinor,' and 'Fair Margaret and Sweet William,' which are merely variations of the same theme. The Minstrelsy 'Lord Thomas and Fair Annie' is a third variation—a variation with a happy ending. In the case of ' Lord Thomas,' we have a triple tragedy—two murders and a suicide. The 'brown bride' stabs fair Eleanor to the heart, whereupon Lord Thomas cuts off the 'brown bride's' head, and then puts the sword into his own breast. In 'Fair Margaret,' Margaret, after seeing William and the 'brown bride' pass her window, dies for 'pure true love,' and William, on learning this, dies on the morrow after the funeral, 'for sorrow.' The bride in the Minstrelsy ballad, on learning that the mistress of Lord Thomas is her sister, goes 'maiden hame '; and we are led to infer that Lord Thomas and Fair Annie are 'happy ever after.' The 'bridal bread,' etc., were anciently regarded as ritual food, in regard to which see especially Hartland's Legend of Perseus, ii. 343-355].
LORD THOMAS AND FAIR ANNIE
I. 'It's narrow, narrow, make your bed,
And learn to lie your lane;
For I 'm gaun o'er the sea, Fair Annie,
A braw bride to bring hame.
Wi' her I will get gowd and gear;
Wi' you I ne'er got mine.
II. 'But wha will bake my bridal bread,
Or brew my bridal ale?
And wha will welcome my brisk bride,
That I bring o'er the dale?'
III. 'It's I will bake your bridal bread,
And brew your bridal ale;
And I will welcome your brisk bride,
That you bring o'er the dale.'
IV. 'But she that welcomes my brisk bride,
Maun gang like maiden fair;
She maun lace on her robe sae jimp,
And braid her yellow hair.'
V. 'But how can I gang maiden-like,
When maiden I am nane?
Have I not borne seven sons to thee,
And am with child again?'
VI. She's ta'en her young son in her arms,
Another in her hand;
And she's up to the highest tower,
To see him come to land.
VII. 'Come up, come up, my eldest son,
And look o'er yon sea-strand,
And see your father's new-come bride,
Before she come to land.'
VIII. Come down, come down, my mother dear!
Come frae the castle-wa'!
I fear, if langer ye stand there,
Ye'll let yoursell down fa.'
IX. And she gaed down, and farther down,
Her love's ship for to see;
And the topmast and the mainmast
Shone like the silver free.
X. And she's gane down, and farther down,
The bride's ship to behold;
And the topmast and the mainmast
They shone just like the gold.
XI. She's ta'en her seven sons in her hand;
I wot she didna fail!
She met Lord Thomas and his bride,
As they came o'er the dale.
XII.[1] 'You're welcome to your house, Lord Thomas;
You 're welcome to your land;
You 're welcome, with your fair ladye,
That you lead by the hand.
XIII. 'You're welcome to your ha's, ladye;
You're welcome to your bowers;
You're welcome to your hame, ladye,
For a' that's here is yours.'
XIV. 'I thank thee, Annie; I thank thee, Annie:
Sae dearly as I thank thee;
You're the likest to my sister Annie,
That ever I did see.
XV. 'There came a knight out o'er the sea,
And steal'd my sister away;
The shame scoup [2] in his company,
And land where'er he gae!'
XVI. She hang ae napkin at the door,
Another in the ha';
And a' to wipe the trickling tears,
Sae fast as they did fa'.
XVII. [3] And aye she served the lang tables,
With white bread and with wine;
And aye she drank the wan water,
To had her colour fine.[4]
XVIII. And aye she served the lang tables,
With white bread and with brown;
And aye she turned her round about,
Sae fast the tears fell down.
XIX. [5] And he's ta'en down the silk napkin,
Hung on a silver pin;
And aye he wipes the tear trickling
Adown her cheik and chin.
XX. And aye he turned him round about,
And smiled amang his men:
Says—' Like ye best the old ladye,
Or her that's new come hame?'
XXI. When bells were rung, and mass was sung,
And a' men bound to bed,
Lord Thomas and his new-come bride,
To their chamber they were gaed.
XXII. Annie made her bed a little forebye,
To hear what they might say;
'And ever alas!' fair Annie cried,
'That I should see this day!
XXIII. 'Gin my seven sons were seven young rats,
Running on the castle-wa',
And I were a gray cat mysell!
I soon would worry them a'.
XXIV. 'Gin my seven sons were seven young hares,
Running o'er yon lilly lee,
And I were a grew hound mysell!
Soon worried they a' should be.'
XXV. And wae and sad fair Annie sat,
And drearie was her sang;
And ever, as she sobb'd and grat,
'Wae to the man that did the wrang!'
XXVI. 'My gown is on,' said the new-come bride,
'My shoes are on my feet,
And I will to fair Annie's chamber,
And see what gars her greet.
XXVII. 'What ails ye, what ails ye, Fair Annie,
That ye make sic a moan?
Has your wine barrels cast the girds,
Or is your white bread gone?
XXVIII. 'O wha was't was your father, Annie,
Or wha wast was your mother?
And had ye ony sister, Annie,
Or had ye ony brother?'
XXIX. 'The Earl of Wemyss was my father,
The Countess of Wemyss my mother:
And a' the folk about the house,
To me were sister and brother.'
XXX. 'If the Earl of Wemyss was your father,
I wot sae was he mine;
And it shall not be for lack o' gowd,
That ye your love sall tyne.
XXXI. 'For I have seven ships o' mine ain,
A' loaded to the brim;
And I will gie them a' to thee,
Wi ' four to thine eldest son.
But thanks to a' the powers in heaven,
That I gae maiden hame!'
1 [Verbally from Herd, with 'Lord Thomas' for 'Master.']
2. Scoup, go, or rather fly.
3. [Stanza xvii. is verbally from Herd.]
4. [To keep her from changing countenance.]
5 [Stanza xix. is verbally from Herd.]