Lord William- Hogg (Scotland) pre1803 Child E
[This version was taken from James Hogg, from the recitation of his mother and published by Scott in 1803. It surely dates back to the early 1700s since Hogg can "trace it back several generations."
Below Child's text is the source text with notes from Scott's Minstrelsy.]
Lord William- Version E; Child 68 Young Hunting
Scott's Minstrelsy, III, 265, 1803, communicated by James Hogg, from the recitation of his mother (Motherwell).
1 Lord William was the bravest knight
That dwalt in fair Scotland,
And, though renowned in France and Spain,
Fell by a ladie's hand.
2 As she was walking maid alone,
Down by yon shady wood,
She heard a smit o bridle reins,
She wishd might be for good.
3 'Come to my arms, my dear Willie,
You're welcome hame to me;
To best o chear and charcoal red,
And candle burnin free.'
4 'I winna light, I darena light,
Nor come to your arms at a';
A fairer maid than ten o you
I'll meet at Castle-law.'
5 'A fairer maid than me, Willie?
A fairer maid than me?
A fairer maid than ten o me
Your eyes did never see.'
6 He louted owr his saddle-lap
To kiss here ere they part,
And wi a little keen bodkin,
She pierced him to the heart.
7 'Ride on, ride on, Lord William now,
As fast as ye can dree;
Your bonny lass at Castle-law
Will weary you to see.'
8 Out up then spake a bonny bird,
Sat high upon a tree:
'How could you kill that noble lord?
He came to marry thee.'
9 'Come down, come down, my bonny bird,
And eat bread aff my hand;
Your cage shall be of wiry goud,
Whar now it's but the wand.'
10 'Keep ye your cage o goud, lady,
And I will keep my tree;
As ye hae done to Lord William,
Sae wad ye do to me.'
11 She set her foot on her door-step,
A bonny marble stane,
And carried him to her chamber,
Oer him to make her mane.
12 And she has kept that good lord's corpse
Three quarters of a year,
Until that word began to spread;
Then she began to fear.
13 Then she cryed on her waiting-maid,
Ay ready at her ca:
'There is a knight into my bower,
'Tis time he were awa.'
14 The ane has taen him by the head,
The ither by the feet,
And thrown him in the wan water,
That ran baith wide and deep.
15 'Look back, look back, now, lady fair,
On him that loed ye weel;
A better man than that blue corpse
Neer drew a sword of steel.
______________
LORD WILLIAM
This ballad was communicated to me by Mr. James Hogg; and, although it bears a strong resemblance to that of 'Earl Richard,' so strong, indeed, as to warrant a supposition that the one has been derived from the other, yet its intrinsic merit seems to warrant its insertion. Mr. Hogg has added the following note, which, in the course of my inquiries, I have found amply corroborated:—
'I am fully convinced of the antiquity of this song; for, although much of the language seems somewhat modernised, this must be attributed to its currency, being much liked, and very much sung in this neighbourhood. I can trace it back several generations, but cannot hear of its ever having been in print. I have never heard it with any considerable variation, save that one reciter called the dwelling of the feigned sweetheart, Castleswa.'
[Both 'Lord William' and 'Earl Richard' are variants of 'Young Hunting' (herd's Ms., and Scottish Songs, i. 148); and all three are little more than variants of ' May Colvin' (herd, i. 93), which is also very closely related to ' The False Knight Outwitted' (reprinted in Roxburghe Ballads, ed. Ebsworth, vii. 383-4). In 'Lord William,' etc., the knight is brave, renowned, and everything that is excellent; in 'May Colvin,' etc., the maid discovers his treachery, and throws him in the sea. In ' May Colvin,' the parrot accepts the bribe; in 'Lord William,' etc., it refuses to do so.]
LORD WILLIAM
I. Lord William was the bravest knight
That dwalt in fair Scotland,
And, though renown'd in France and Spain,
Fell by a ladie's hand.
II. As she was walking maid alone,
Down by yon shady wood,
She heard a smit[1] o' bridle reins,
She wish'd might be for good.
III. 'Come to my arms, my dear Willie,
You're welcome hame to me;
To best o' chear, and charcoal red,[2]
And candle burnin' free."
IV. 'I winna light, I darena light,
Nor come to your arms at a';
A fairer maid than ten o' you,
I 'll meet at Castle-law.'
V. 'A fairer maid than me, Willie!
A fairer maid than me!
A fairer maid than ten o' me,
Your eyes did never see."
VI. He louted ower his saddle lap,
To kiss her ere they part,
And wi' a little keen bodkin,
She pierced him to the heart.[3]
VII. Ride on, ride on, Lord William, now,
As fast as ye can dree!
Your bonny lass at Castle-law
Will weary you to see.'
VIII. Out up then spake a bonny bird,
Sat high upon a tree,—
'How could you kill that noble lord?
He came to marry thee.'
IX. 'Come down, come down, my bonny bird,
And eat bread aff my hand!
Your cage shall be of wiry goud,
Whar now it's but the wand.'[4]
X. 'Keep ye your cage o' goud, lady,
And I will keep my tree;
As ye hae done to Lord William,
Sae wad ye do to me.'
XI. She set her foot on her door step,
A bonny marble stane;
And carried him to her chamber,
O'er him to make her mane.
XII. And she has kept that good lord's corpse,
Three quarters of a year,
Until that word began to spread,
Then she began to fear.
XIII. Then she cried on her waiting-maid,
Aye ready at her ca';
'There is a knight into my bower,
Tis time he were awa'.
XIV. The ane has ta'en him by the head,
The ither by the feet,
And thrown him in the wan water,
That ran baith wide and deep.
XV. 'Look back, look back, now, lady fair,
On him that lo'ed ye weel!
A better man than that blue corpse
Ne'er drew a sword of steel.'
Footnotes:
1. Smit, clashing noise, from smite—hence also (perhaps) Smith and Smithy.
2. Charcoal-red. This circumstance marks the antiquity of the poem. While wood was plenty in Scotland, charcoal was the usual fuel in the chambers of the wealthy.
3. [Cf. 'Young Hunting' :—
'And she has minded her on a little penknife,
That hangs low down by her gare,
And she has given him Young Hunting
A deep wound and a sare';
The False Knight' :—
'He fetched the sickle to crop the nettle
That grew so near the brim,
And with all the strength that pretty Folly had,
She pushed the false knight in';
and 'Fine Flowers of the Valley' (Herd's Songs, i. 89) :—
'She was louting down to kiss him sweet,
Fine flowers i' the valley;
Wi' his penknife he wounded her deep,
Wi' the red, green, and the yellow. ]
4. Cf. 'The False Knight' :—
'O hold your tongue [my pretty] parrot,
Tell you no tales of me;
Your cage shall be made of beaten gold,
Which is now made of a tree.']