Recordings & Info 39. Tam Lin
[The single known traditional US text is from Dorothy Scarborough's A Song Catcher in Southern Mountains c. 1936. She got the text and music from Margaret Widdemer in Connecticut who attributes the words and music to "the late Elinor Wylie." Wylie learned the song from "her nurse, a woman from the northern marshes."
R. Matteson 2012]
CONTENTS
1) Alternative Titles
2) Traditional Ballad Index
3) Folk Index
4) Child Collection Index
5) Excerpt from The British Traditional Ballad in North America by Tristram Coffin 1950, from the section A Critical Biographical Study of the Traditional Ballads of North America
6) Wiki
7) Mainly Norfolk (lyrics and info)
ATTACHED PAGES: (see left hand column)
1) Roud Number 35: Tam Lin (57 Listings)
2) The Opening of "Tam Lin"- E. B. Lyle
3) The Teind to Hell in Tam Lin- E. B. Lyle
Alternative Titles
Tamlin
Tam Lane
Janet and Tam Blain
Young Tambling
Tam-a-Line, the Elfin Knicht
Traditional Ballad Index: Tam Lin [Child 39]
DESCRIPTION: Janet goes to Carterhaugh to pull flowers. She meets Tam Lin, who makes her sleep with him. She finds herself pregnant, and demands Tam Lin marry her. But to do so, she must rescue him from thralldom to the Elven queen. With difficulty, she does so.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1769; perhaps cited in 1549 (see notes)
KEYWORDS: magic pregnancy marriage rescue shape-changing
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland,England) Ireland US(NE)
REFERENCES (19 citations):
Child 39, "Tam Lin" (15 texts)
Bronson 39, "Tam Lin" (4 versions plus 1 in addenda)
GreigDuncan2 330, "True Tammas" (1 text)
Lyle-Crawfurd2 86, "A Fairie Sang"; Lyle-Crawfurd2 99, "Janet and Tam Blain" (2 texts)
Dixon II, pp. 11-20, "Tam-a-Line, the Elfin Knicht" (1 text)
Scarborough-SongCatcher, pp. 250-254, "Tam Lane" (1 text; tune on p. 422) {Bronson's #4}
Leach, pp. 136-141, "Tam Lin" (1 text)
OBB 2, "Tam Lin" (1 text)
Friedman, p. 41, "Tam Lin" (1 text)
PBB 23, "Tam Lin" (1 text)
Gummere, pp. 283-289+360, "Tam Lin" (1 text)
Hodgart, p. 129, "Tam Lin" (1 text)
DBuchan 27, "Tam Lin" (1 text)
Tunney-SongsThunder, pp. 163-169, "Tamlin" (1 text)
Darling-NAS, pp. 28-31, "Tam Lin" (1 text)
DT 39, TAMLIN1* TAMLIN2* TAMLIN3
ADDITIONAL: Emily Lyle, _Fairies and Folk: Approaches to the Scottish Ballad Tradition_, Wissenschaflicher Verlag Trier, 2007, pp. 110-111, "Tam Lin" (1 text plus an excerpt); pp.116-117, "Lady Margaret" (1 text, 1 tune, a much-worn-down version from Betsy Johnson); pp. 118-119, "[Leady Margat]" (1 text); on pp. 119-121 Lyle compares various texts of "Tam Lin" with portions of several other ballads
Iona & Peter Opie, The Oxford Book of Narrative Verse, pp. 32-37, "Tam Lin" (1 text)
James Kinsley, editor, Burns: Complete Poems and Songs (shorter edition, Oxford, 1969) #558, pp. 658-663, "Tam Lin" (1 text, 1 tune, from c. 1796)
Roud #35
RECORDINGS:
Anne Briggs, "Young Tambling" (Briggs2, Briggs3)
A. L. Lloyd, "Tamlyn (Young Tambling)" (on Lloyd3)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Seven Virgins (The Leaves of Life)" (tune)
NOTES: Carterhaugh, also mentioned as the site of magic in "The Wee Wee Man," "is a plain at the confluence of the Ettrick and Yarrow in Selkirkshire" (Scott).
The idea of gaining a lover who is changing shape has ancient roots. We find it in Ovid's "Metamorphoses," where Peleus (the father of Achilles) has the problem of coupling with his wife Thetis.
The problem was, Thetis was very attractive, and a lot of the Gods (including Zeus and Poseidon) wanted her for themselves. But there was that prophecy that her son would be greater than his father. (This is the prophecy that finally got Prometheus free of his torture, because he knew who was involved and Zeus didn't).
Once the gods knew that Thetis was the dangerous party, they decided to wed her off to a mortal so she could have a son and they could get back to the serious business of hitting on her. They chose Peleus, and held a great marriage feast (it was at that feast that Eris threw out the Apple of Discord, causing the fight between Aphrodite, Athena, and Hera which led to the Judgment of Paris, and hence to the abduction of Helen and the Trojan War).
The gods could marry Thetis off; they couldn't make her like it. Peleus found himself in the interesting position of having to locate and, in effect, capture his wife. Given help from the gods, he found Thetis in a cave and attempted to couple with her. To defeat him, she turned into a bird, a tree, and a tigress. The latter scared him off, but eventually he caught her while asleep (Metamorphoses XI.225ff.).
Dixon quotes a possible mention of this song from Wedderburn's Complaynt of Scotland: He refers once to a dance of "thom of lyn," and elsewhere to the "tayl of yong tamlane." But Lyle, p. 110, points out that the full reference in the latter case is to "the tayl of the 3ong tamlene and of the bald braband," with the meaning of the latter item being unknown. Hence we cannot prove that either of these is this piece, even if it's the same story. Indeed, Dixon hints that the references might be to "Tom o' the Linn," which appears to be the song we index as "Brian O'Lynn (Tom Boleyn)."
Lyle catalogs a number of parallels to other ballads, noting especially (pp. 123-126) a link to "The King's Dochter Lady Jean" [Child 52]. The points of lyric contact are interesting, but "Tam Lin" is at the heart a ballad of the supernatural, "Lady Jean" an incest ballad. The only fundamental point they have in common is rape.
Some versions of the ballad end with the Queen of Fairie, deprived of Tam Lin, being forced pay another tithe to hell. Lyle, p. 128, connects this to the legend of changelings four, e.g., in "The Queen of Elfan's Nourice" [Child 40]. The story is that the Elven people carried off unbaptized infants to pay their tithe. The difficulty with this link is that it implies that Janet could have saved Tam by bringing in a priest to have him baptized, rather than going through the rigamarole on Hallow's Eve.
Nonetheless Wimberly, pp. 390-391, follows a hint from Child and argues strongly that there is a baptism ritual involved -- it's just that the versions of "Tam Lin" have so disordered the transformations that this is no longer true. Presumably the transformations continued until Janet could bring Tam to water (perhaps a holy well?) and throw him in. From that, he would emerge "an utter naked man" -- but also cleansed of the taint of the Queen. This raises interesting questions about the possibility of re-baptism (which most sects would deny is possible), but maybe such analysis is too much to ask of a ballad.
For observations on shape-shifting in ballads, see the notes to "The Twa Magicians" [Child 44]. Lyle, p. 139, argues that the use of elements of other ballads in "Tam Lin" implies that it was compiled by a ballad-maker who did not believe in the literal truth of the elements. In other words, if I understand her right, there was no underlying folktale; it was composed as fiction.
Briggs, volume A.1, p. 502, does not say quite the same thing, but she does call the song "a compendium of Scottish fairy beliefs." She also notes that Sir Walter Scott turned the idea into the poem "Alice Brand." "Alice Brand" is a long and complex poem, being sections XII-XV of "The Lady of the Lake" (pp. 154-156 of Scott-Works), with other elements, but it is clear that Scott did have traditional ballads in mind when he wrote it. - RBW
Bibliography
Briggs: Katherine Briggs, A Dictionary of British Folk-Tales in the English Language, Part A: Folk Narratives, 1970 (I use the 1971 Routledge paperback that combines volumes A.1 and A.2)
Lyle: Emily Lyle, Fairies and Folk: Approaches to the Scottish Ballad Tradition, Wissenschaflicher Verlag Trier, 2007
Scott-Works: Sir Walter Scott, The Works of Sir Walter Scott, Wordsworth, 1995 (containing most of his poetry but not his ballad collections or his prose)
Wimberly: Lowry Charles Wimberly, Folklore in the English and Scottish Ballads: Ghosts, Magic, Witches, Fairies, the Otherworld, 1928 (I use the 1965 Dover paperback edition)
Folk Index: Tam Lin [Ch 39]
Friedman, Albert B. (ed.) / Viking Book of Folk Ballads of the English-S, Viking, sof (1963/1957), p 41 [1790s]
Johnson, James & Robert Burns (eds) / Scots Musical Museum, Amadeus, Bk (1991/1853), #411 [1792]
Leach, MacEdward / The Ballad Book, Harper & Row, Bk (1955), p137
Leach, MacEdward / The Heritage Book of Ballads, Heritage, Bk (1967), p 38
Armstrong, Frankie. I Heard a Woman Singing, Flying Fish FF 332, LP (1984), trk# 7
Briggs, Anne. Collection, Topic TSCD 504, CD (1999), trk# 20 [1971] (Young Tambling)
Conescu, Nancy; and Friends. Long Distance, Mek --, CD (1997), trk# 8a
Fairport Convention. Fairport Convention Chronicles, Island 982 255-7, CD (2005), trk# 2.01
Lee, Rick and Lorraine. Contrasts, Front Hall FHR 014, LP (1978), trk# A.04
MacColl, Ewan. Cold Snap, Folkways FW 8765, LP (1978), trk# A.05
Pyewackett. Man in the Moon Drinks Claret, MW MWCD 4007, CD (1994/1982), trk# 5
Widdemer, Margaret. Scarborough, Dorothy(ed.) / A Song Catcher in the Southern Mountains, AMS, Bk (1966/1937), p251,422 [1930ca] (Tam Lane)
Child Collection Index
039 A.L. Lloyd Tamlyn (Young Tambling) (live) Classic A.L. Lloyd - Traditional Songs 1994 7:28 Yes
039 A.L. Lloyd Tamlyn (Young Tambling) An Evening with A.L. Lloyd 2010 No
039 Alan Heap (Heapydood) Tam Lin <website> Alan Heap (Heapydood) 2007 1:29 Yes
039 Alastair McDonald Tam Lin Heroes and Legends of Scotland 1996 6:43 Yes
039 Alastair McDonald Tam Lin Tam Lin 197? 5:20 Yes
039 Alastair McDonald Tam Lin Tam Lin & Other Celtic Legends 2008 No
039 Alison McMorland, Geordie McIntyre & Kirsty Potts Tam Lin Ballad Tree 2003 5:55 Yes
039 Alistair Hulett Tam Lin In Sleepy Scotland 2001 9:23 Yes
039 Anne Briggs Young Tambling A Collection 1990 10:43 Yes
039 Anne Briggs Young Tambling Anne Briggs 1971 10:43 Yes
039 Anne Briggs Young Tambling Classic Anne Briggs - The Complete Topic Recordings 1995 10:37 Yes
039 Annwn Tam Lin + Down Among the Dead Men Live at the Starry Plough 1998 9:44 Yes
039 Annwn Tam Lin + Down Among the Dead Men Come Away to the Hills 1996 5:10 Yes
039 Barry Dransfield An Culin + Tamlin Reel Unruly 2005 3:39 Yes
039 Betsy Johnston + Willie Whyte Tam Lin Scottish Tradition 5: The Muckle Sangs - Classic Scottish Ballads 1992 7:14 Yes
039 Bill Jones The Tale of Tam Lin Panchpuran 2001 5:27 Yes
039 Bill Jones Tam Lin The Pure Drop <website> 2007 5:21 Yes
039 Bill Jones Band The Tale of Tam Lin Live at the Live 2002 5:31 Yes
039 Bill Thurman The Tam Lin Reel The Celtic Collection 1992-2001 2003 No
039 Bittersweet & Briers New Potatoes + Tamlin Live [Bittersweet & Briers] 2004 No
039 Bob Hay & The Jolly Beggars Tam Lin Tam Lin and More Songs by Robert Burns 2006 9:14 Yes
039 Bob Webb & Nigel Culley Tam Lin Old and New Folk Tunes 2006 No
039 Bongshang Phosphene + Tamlinn Crude 1995 6:44 Yes
039 Broadside Electric Tam Lin Amplificata 1997 5:20 Yes
039 Brollywacker The Tamlin Reel Above Around Behind Below 1997 4:24 Yes
039 Brollywacker The Tamlin Reel Above Around Behind Below 1997 4:25 Yes
039 Calliope House Cooley's + Tam Lin Splendid Isolation 2003 No
039 Carnival Knowledge Road to Lisdoonvarna/Meg Gray/Tam Lin A Little Knowledge is a Dangerous Thing 2002 No
039 Catriona MacDonald & Ian Lowthian Islay Rant + Farewell to Chernobyl + Tam Lin Opus Blue 1993 5:52 Yes
039 Celtic Soul Spancill Hill + Tam Linn Takin' Down the Half Door 2002 4:24 Yes
039 Coyote Run Tam Lin Between Wick and Flame 2008 No
039 Coyote Run Tam Lin Ten Years Running - A Retrospective 2010 No
039 Culchies Farewell to Erin/Tam Lin Bruscar Bán 2005 No
039 Current 93 Tamlin SixSixSix: SickSickSick 2004 10:36 Yes
039 Current 93 Tamlin Tamlin 1994 10:36 Yes
039 Dan Beimborn The Mason's Apron + Tam Lin + The Banjo Reel Shatter the Calm 2002 3:52 Yes
039 Dan Beimborn The Mason's Apron + Tam Lin + The Banjo Reel Live at the Plough & Stars, San Francisco 2002 3:59 Yes
039 Dan Dutton Tam Lin Pull, Pick, Pluck 2004 13:18 Yes
039 Daniel Dutton Tam Lin Twelve Ballads 2006 No
039 Dave & Toni Arthur Tam Lin Hearken to the Witches' Rune 1970 4:13 Yes
039 Dawn 'n Blueclover Tamlin The Celtic Blues Project 2008 No
039 Dé Chéadaoin Tam Lin Dé Chéadaoin 2003 No
039 Dick Miles & Friends Tam Lin Around the Harbour Town and Other Songs of Shore and Home 2004 No
039 Dick Miles Tam Linn <website> 2007- 4:48 Yes
039 Drop the Box Tamlin Drop the Box 1995 No
039 Duncan Williamson Lady Margaret Put Another Log on the Fire: Songs and Tunes from a Scots Traveller 1994 8:09 Yes
039 Eddie Butcher Saturday Night Is Hallowe'en Night Early Ballads in Ireland 1968-1985 1985 :39 Yes
039 Eddie Butcher The Bride Stolen by Fairies (Tam Lin) Old British Ballads of Donegal and Derry - Traditional Singers Collected By Hugh Shields 1972 No
039 Ewan MacColl Tam Lin Cold Snap - Traditional & Contemporary Songs and Ballads 1978 9:05 Yes
039 Fairport Convention Tam Lin Across the Decades 2003 No
039 Fairport Convention Tam Lin Who Knows Where the Time Goes? 1991 7:13 Yes
039 Fairport Convention Tam Lin What We Did on Our Holidays - An Introduction to Fairport Convention 1999 No
039 Fairport Convention Tam Lin Meet on the Ledge - The Classic Years (1967-1975) 1999 7:12 Yes
039 Fairport Convention Tam Lin The Best of Sandy Denny - 16 of Her Greatest Recordings 1987 7:08 Yes
039 Fairport Convention Tam Lin A Boxful of Treasures 2004 7:08 Yes
039 Fairport Convention Tam Lin Cropredy 2007 2007 9:22 Yes
039 Fairport Convention Tam Lin From Past Archives 1992 7:40 Yes
039 Fairport Convention Tam Lin Heyday - BBC Radio Sessions 1968-69 2002 7:49 Yes
039 Fairport Convention Tam Lin Swarb! - Forty Five Years of Folk's Finest Fiddler - The Life and Music of Dave Swarbrick 2003 6:06 Yes
039 Fairport Convention Tam Lin 5 2002 7:49 Yes
039 Fairport Convention Tam Lin Fairport unConventioNal - Classic Convention 2002 7:46 Yes
039 Fairport Convention Tam Lin A.T.2 - The Reunion Concert/The Boot 2000 No
039 Fairport Convention Tam Lin Cropredy 2002 - Another Gig : Another Palindrome [Festival Cropredy 2002] 2002 9:27 Yes
039 Fairport Convention Tam Lin (1) Liege & Lief 1969 7:08 Yes
039 Fairport Convention Tam Lin (2) Liege & Lief 1969 7:48 Yes
039 Fairport Convention Tam Lin 25th Anniversary Concert 1993 8:40 Yes
039 Fairport Convention Tam Lin New Electric Muse - The Story of Folk Into Rock 1996 7:08 Yes
039 Fairport Convention Tam Lin Cropredy 1992 1992 8:40 Yes
039 Fairport Convention Tam Lin Rarities Vol 1 9:13 Yes
039 Fairport Convention Tam Lin Amazing Grace 1975 8:08 Yes
039 Fairport Convention Tam Lin Cropredy 1991 1992 10:12 Yes
039 Fairport Convention Tam Lin Cropredy 2006 2006 7:53 Yes
039 Fairport Convention Tam Lin Now Be Thankful - The Full House BBC Sessions 1999 8:05 Yes
039 Fairport Convention Tam Lin Cropredy Warmup Gig - The Mill Arts Centre, Banbury 1991 9:15 Yes
039 Fairport Convention Tam Lin Studio Outtakes, Home Demos, Unheard Songs, Complete Studio Recordings 2010 7:14 Yes
039 Fairport Convention Tam Lin (1) Liege and Lief Outtakes 1969 7:06 Yes
039 Fairport Convention Tam Lin (2) Liege and Lief Outtakes 1969 7:01 Yes
039 Fairport Convention Tam Lin Beginner's Guide to Folk Music 2003 No
039 Fairport Convention Tam Lin Global Roots - Island Folk 2003 No
039 Fairport Convention Tam Lin Sense of Occasion 2007 7:22 Yes
039 Fairport Convention Tam Lin [1] Live at the BBC 2007 8:05 Yes
039 Fairport Convention Tam Lin [2] Live at the BBC 2007 7:48 Yes
039 Fairport Convention Tam Lin Fairport Convention Perform Liege & Lief - the Cropredy Festival 2007 2007 8:08 Yes
039 Fairport Convention & Vikki Clayton Tam Lin Cropredy Capers - 25 Years of the Festival 2004 8:20 Yes
039 Frankie Armstrong Tam Lin Here's a Health to the Man and the Maid 1976 No
039 Frankie Armstrong Tam Lin Ballads 1997 9:57 Yes
039 Frankie Armstrong Tam Lin I Heard a Woman Singing 1998 7:32 Yes
039 Frankie Armstrong Tam Lin Encouragement 2008 9:57 Yes
039 Frankie Armstrong & Blowzabella Tam Lin + Fanfare Tam Lin 1984 9:04 Yes
039 Fynesound Tam Lin Almost Home - Scottish and Irish Traditional Music 2005 No
039 Gaelic Storm Bonnie Ship the Diamond/Tamlinn Gaelic Storm 1998 5:25 Yes
039 Gaelic Tribe Tam Lin (Reel) West of Donegal 2004 No
039 Gandalph Murphy & The Slambovian Circus of Dreams Tam Lin <website> 2007 7:29 Yes
039 Giordano Dall'Armellina Tam Lin Ballate Britanniche Del Tempo Che Fu - Medieval Ballads from the British Isles 2001 3:56 Yes
039 Hilary Spencer Tam Lin Other Roads, Other Lives 1998 7:15 Yes
039 Holly Tannen Fair Margaret and Young Whatshisname Rime of the Ancient Matriarch 1999 3:58 Yes
039 Holly Tannen Tam Lin Between the Worlds 2000 8:51 Yes
039 Hotpoint Stringband Tam Lin + Powwow Steppin' on Cords 2000 5:01 Yes
039 Ian Giles Tam Lin Folk Music of Scotland 2001 No
039 Ian Giles Tam Lin Scotland the Brave - A Pageant of Celtic Music 2008 No
039 Inishkea Tam Lin Celtic Dance 2007 No
039 James Findlay Tam Lin Sport and Play 2011 No
039 JenRic Rakes of Kildare + Tamlin Traveler 2003 No
039 Jeremy Allan Kittel Tamlin Celtic Fiddle 2000 3:52 Yes
039 Jesse Autumn & Friends Brenda Stubbert's/Tam Lin California Celt 2002 No
039 Jim & Holly Lawrence Tan Linn Caledonian Shadows 2011 No
039 Joe Jewell & Featherstone Tam Lin Bluebells of Scotland 1997 2:44 Yes
039 Jon Boden Tam Lin A Folk Song a Day - October 2010 10:08 Yes
039 Jumpleads Tam Lin The Stag Must Die 1982 6:17 Yes
039 Jumpleads Tam Lin Fylde Folk Festival '83 1983 6:29 Yes
039 Ken Kolodner Tam Lin Walking Stones - a Celtic Sojourn 1997 No
039 Kirsten Easdale Tam Lin The Complete Songs of Robert Burns, Vol. 11 2003 8:42 Yes
039 Laurie Riley & Bob McNally Tam Lin Castle Kelly 1986 2:42 Yes
039 Laurie Riley & Michael MacBean Tam Lin Glenlivet 1990 2:10 Yes
039 Leahys Luck Tam Lin Tree Rings 1998 No
039 Linn Barnes & Allison Hampton Tam Lin The Sylvan Court 1992 No
039 Lorna MacDonald Czarnota Tam Lin Dancing in Dark Waters 2003 No
039 Mary Z. Cox Tam Lin Dulcimer Fandango 2003 3:28 Yes
039 Maureen S. O'Brien Tam Lin <website> - 9:57 Yes
039 Mediaeval Baebes Tam Lin Mirabilis 2005 4:24 Yes
039 Melbourne Scottish Fiddle Club & Friends The Ballad of Tam Lin Red Hot Scots 1999 7:24 Yes
039 Mike Waterson Tamlyn Mighty River of Song 2004 10:59 Yes
039 Mike Waterson Tamlyn Mike Waterson 1999 10:59 Yes
039 Mike Waterson Tamlyn Three Score and Ten - A Voice to the People 2009 10:59 Yes
039 Mock Turtle Soup Scotland/Tam Lin/St. Antoine's Of Both Worlds 2004 No
039 Moira Cameron Tamlin Sands of the Shore - Be Tricked or Betrayed 2007 No
039 Moira Craig Tam Lin On Ae Bonny Day 2001 3:30 Yes
039 Morrison Brothers Band Tamlin Busking at Twilight 2002 3:57 Yes
039 Musica Radicum Tamlin Worlde Blis Ne Laste 2007 2:00 Yes
039 Nancy Conescu & Friends Tam Lin/Fermoy Lasses/The Nine Pins Long Distance 1998 No
039 NeidFyre Farewell to Chernobyl + Tam Lin Waddles from the Sea 2006 No
039 New Shilling Tam Linn Set New Shilling 2006 No
039 New Shilling Tam Linn Set Live !! 2007 No
039 Nick Hennessey Tam Lin Of Fire, Wind and Silver Stream 1998 No
039 Oak Tam Linn Andraste - Traditional and Pagan Songs 2008 No
039 Orrin Star, Russell Scholl & Jim Whitney Tam Lin The English and Scottish Popular Ballads - Digital Child Companion CD 2003 2:48 Yes
039 Outgrabe Tam Lin Love & Death 1997 5:42 Yes
039 Patrick Tunney Saturday Night Is Hallowe'en Night The Ulster Folk & Transport Museum Collection No
039 Pentangle Tam Lin The Ballad of Tam Lin 1971 7:14 Yes
039 Pentangle Tam Lin The Time Has Come - 1967-1973 2007 7:31 Yes
039 Pete Morton Tamlyn Frivolous Love 1987 8:18 Yes
039 Pete Morton Tamlyn Another Train 2001 No
039 Piers Cawley Tamlyn <website> 2005 9:11 Yes
039 Poisoned Dwarf Cuckoo's Nest/Andy Renwick's Ferret/Tam Linn Six Shades of Green 2005 No
039 Pyewackett Tam Lin The Man in the Moon Drinks Claret 1982 5:26 Yes
039 Real Time The Snow It Melts the Soonest + Tamlyn Real Time 2002 No
039 Rick & Lorraine Lee Tam Lin Contrasts 1978 5:34 Yes
039 Rick Lee Tam Lin Natick 1995 6:13 Yes
039 Roger Landes Storm-Stayed at Grady's + Francis John McGovern's + the Enchanted Lady + Tam Lin Dragon Reels 1997 4:13 Yes
039 Roundstone Buskers The Legend of Tam Lin Roundstone Buskers 2002 No
039 Ruth Barrett Tam Lin Songs of the Otherworld 2010 No
039 Scythian Tammlin Aidan's Orbit 2004 4:32 Yes
039 Shannon Tam Lin Poor But Happy 2002 4:23 Yes
039 Skip Healy Turnpike Bend + George White's Favorite + Bobby Casey's + Tam Lin's Empty Pockets 1984 No
039 SkyeLark Lams Fold Valley/Rakes of Mallow/Tam Lin Celtic Gold 2002 No
039 Slainte of San Francisco Bay Tamlin/Breton Andro Along Celtic Lines 2004 No
039 Steeleye Span Tam Lin Spanning the Years 1995 10:44 Yes
039 Steeleye Span Tam Lin The 35th Anniversary World Tour 2004 2004 12:01 Yes
039 Steeleye Span Tam Lin Tonight's the Night - Live 1992 10:47 Yes
039 Steeleye Span Tam Lin Folk Rock Pioneers in Concert 2006 11:58 Yes
039 Steeleye Span Tam Lin Toasted - Live at Nettle Back Folk Club, Oxfordshire, England 2006 14:44 Yes
039 Steeleye Span Tam Lin 25 Live - The Classic Twenty Fifth Anniversary Tour Concert 1995 No
039 Steeleye Span The Old Maid in the Garrett + Tam Lin (Reel) Time [CD] 1996 5:55 Yes
039 Steeleye Span The Old Maid in the Garrett + Tam Lin (Reel) fRoots 7 1996 5:54 Yes
039 Tempest Tam Lin Serrated Edge 1992 5:12 Yes
039 Tempest Wizard's Walk - Tam Lin + Wizard's Walk + Boffyflow and Spike + Jenny Dang the Weaver The Double-Cross 2006 5:11 Yes
039 The Cockies Lead the Knave + Tamlin A Sackful of Ferrets 1997 3:46 Yes
039 The Decemberists Tam Lin Live at Doug Fir Lounge, Portland OR 2005 6:43 Yes
039 The Elftones The Silver Spire/Tam Lin/Dinky's The Moon and Seven Stars 2001 No
039 The Gypsy Guerrilla Band Tam Lyn Reel Ernie Rocks! 2008 No
039 The Mrs Ackroyd Band Tam Lin Gnus and Roses 1994 8:07 Yes
039 The Old Sod Band Julia Delaney + Tam Lin + the Banshee Grass Roots 2001 3:09 Yes
039 The Watersons Tamlyn For Pence and Spicy Ale 1993 11:00 Yes
039 Thumpermonkey Lives! & Vanessa Hawes Tam Lin Tooting Bizarre Live Sessions 2007 6:47 Yes
039 Tickled Pink Tam Lin Tickled Pink 1993 6:58 Yes
039 Tir Na N'Og Paddy Fahey's Reel/Mountain Road/Tam Linn/Morse Avenue The Black Rose 2001 6:05 Yes
039 Toni Arthur Tam Lin John Howson Collection 1970-1995 No
039 Triskillian Tam Lin + Tam Lin's Lullabye Werltenklanc 2005 8:12 Yes
039 Unknown Girl Tam Lin Fiddle Competition at Feis 2007 1:32 Yes
039 Venereum Arvum Tam Lin Scowan Urla Grun + Fower Muckle Sangs 2003 No
Excerpt from The British Traditional Ballad in North America
by Tristram Coffin 1950, from the section A Critical Biographical Study of the Traditional Ballads of North America
39. TAM LIN
Texts: Scarborough, Sgctchr So Mts, 250.
Local Titles: Tam Lane.
Story Types: A: Tam Lane (who has been wooed away to the land of the fairies as a lover of the Queen of Elves) appears to Lady Margaret while she is pulling roses in Cartershay (Carterhaugh). He seduces her. When she wishes to know if he is a "Christian knight" he tells her of his plight and that, because the fairies pay a tithe to Hell every seven years, he wants to
return. In order to bring him back to be a father to her child, Lady Margaret is to go to the crossroad and pull the rider from the white steed as the fairy folk ride by. She does this and wins the knight, though the Fairy Queen is extremely irritated and tells Tarn Lane what would have happened to him had she known his plans. (The holding of the knight through various horrible
shapes that the fairies cause him to take and the throwing him in the well are lacking, while the fatherhood of Tam in respect to the girl's baby is not clear.)
Examples: Scarborough.
Discussion: Except for the melody and the first stanza which were given to the informant by Elinor Wylie, this text can not be fully accepted as part of the American tradition of the Child ballads. See Scarborough, Sgctchr So MtSy 250 I. The story given follows the Child narrative rather closely.
For a discussion of the folklore centering about the well, Carterhaugh, the fairies and earth-maiden, as well as the crossroads, and for a history of the story see Child, I, 33Sff.
Tam Lin- From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tam (or Tamas) Lin (also called Tamlane, Tamlin, Tomlin, Tam Lien, Tam-a-Line, or Tam Lane) is the hero of a legendary ballad originating from the Scottish Borders. The story revolves around the rescue of Tam Lin by his true love from the Queen of the Fairies. While this ballad is specific to Scotland, the motif of capturing a person by holding him through all forms of transformation is found throughout Europe in folktales.[1]
The story has been adapted into various stories, songs and films.
Synopsis
Carterhaugh, near the confluence of the Yarrow Water and the Ettrick WaterMost variants begin with the warning that Tam Lin collects either a possession or the virginity of any maidens who pass through the forest of Carterhaugh. A young maiden, usually called Janet or Margaret, comes to Carterhaugh and plucks a double rose, whereupon Tam appears and asks why she is in Carterhaugh without his command and has taken what is his. She states that she owns Carterhaugh, because her father has given it to her.
In most variants, she then goes home and discovers that she is pregnant; some variants pick up the story at this point. When an old knight taxes her with it, she announces that she will not declare him her baby's father, that her lover is an elf and that she loves him. She returns to Carterhaugh. In some variants, her brother has told her that an herb growing there will induce an abortion. In all, she picks something, whether the herb or the same roses as when they first met. Tam reappears, enraged, and forbids her to abort.
She asks him whether he was ever human, either after that reappearance, or in some variants, immediately after their first meeting resulted in her seduction. He reveals that he was a mortal man, who, after falling from his horse, was rescued and captured by the Queen of the Fairies. Every seven years, the fairies pay a teind, a tithe to Hell, of one of their people, and Tam fears he will become that tithe on that night (Hallowe'en). He is to ride as part of a company of knights, and Janet will recognise him by the white horse upon which he is riding. He warns her that, when she catches him, the fairies will attempt to make her drop him by turning him into all manner of beasts (see Proteus), but that he will do her no harm, and when he is finally turned into a burning coal she is to throw him into a well, whereupon he will reappear as a naked man and she should hide him. Janet does as she is asked, and wins her knight. The Queen of the Fairies is not best pleased, but acknowledges her claim.
In different variations, Tam Lin is reportedly the grandson of The Laird of Roxburgh, the Laird of Foulis, the Earl of Forbes or the Earl of Murray. His name also varies between versions (Tam Lin being the most common) as Tom Line, Tomlin, Young Tambling, and Tam-a-line.
Versions
The first recorded version of the song appears in the 1549 book "The Complaynt of Scotland".
There have been several interpretations of the Tam Lin story:
Francis James Child collected fourteen variants in The English and Scottish Popular Ballads,[2] but the summary of Child Ballad 39A is considered to be the earliest (Another Child ballad, Burd Ellen and Young Tamlane has no connection with this ballad except for the similarity of the heroes' names.)
Joseph Jacobs included a variant, "Tamlane", in More English Fairy Tales.[3]
Motifs
Child took the threat to take out Tam Lin's eyes as a common folklore precaution against mortals who could see fairies, in the tales of fairy ointment. Joseph Jacobs interpreted it as rather a reversal of the usual practice; the Queen of Faerie would have kept him from seeing the human woman who rescued him.[3]
In some variants, "Hind Etin" has verses identical to this for the first meeting between the hero and heroine.[4]
Adaptations
Illustration by John D. Batten for Tamlane in More English Fairy Tales[3][edit] ProseBlood and Iron by Elizabeth Bear
"My Kingdom" by Hannah Wolf Bowen, Abyss & Apex, Winter 2004
Tam Lin by Susan Cooper
The Armourer's House by Rosemary Sutcliff includes a telling of the Tam Lin tale, which parallels the novel's theme of a young girl struggling to obtain her dreams.
Tam Lin by Pamela Dean
Wild Robin written and illustrated by Susan Jeffers (children's picture book)
The Nightwood by Robin Muller
Fire and Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jones
The Hawthorn Tree by Patrick Little (gender role variation)
An Earthly Knight by Janet McNaughton
The Dogs of Babel by Carolyn Parkhurst
The Perilous Gard by Elizabeth Marie Pope
Summer's Lease by Eluki bes Shahar (Rosemary Edghill)
"Cotillion" by Delia Sherman, in Firebirds, edited by Sharyn November
Tam Lin in the graphic novel series Ballads and Sagas edited by Charles Vess
Tam Lin: An Old Ballad by Jane Yolen, illustrated by Charles Mikolaycak
Burd Janet by Jane Yolen, in Not One Damsel in Distress
Winter Rose by Patricia McKillip
Gnat Stokes and the Foggy Bottom Swamp Queen by Sally Keehn
"He Said, Sidhe Said" by Tanya Huff, in Finding Magic
"Demon of the Night" by Margit Sandemo
The Queen of Spells by Dahlov Ipcar
"Shapes" by K. Elizabeth Cornwell, in "Fickle Muses"
Tithe by Holly Black
"Fire and Hemlock" by Diana Wynne Jones
Theatre
Tam Lin by N. G. McClernan
The Thyme of the Season by Duncan Pflaster (incorporates elements and allusions to the story)
Music
Tamlin (Тамлин) - folk-rock band from Ukraine[5]
Realworld - video of The stage projection of Benjamin Zephania's retelling of Tam Lyn
The Tamlins - A Jamaican vocal group
Songs
The following bands and singers have recorded musical versions, all called "Tam Lin" unless otherwise stated:
Frankie Armstrong on I Heard a Woman Singing, and a longer version on the compilation album Ballads (Fellside Records).
"Young Tambling" by Anne Briggs on Anne Briggs (album) LP
Broadside Electric on Amplificata
Current 93 on the limited edition Numbered single Tamlin as release 100 on the Durto Label and SixSixSix: SickSickSick compilation
Arcturus by Enter the Haggis on Aerials (2001)
"Tam Lin" by Fairport Convention on Liege & Lief, Sense of Occasion and Across the Decades (live)
"Tamlin" by harpist and singer/songwriter Gillian Grassie on Serpentine (2007)
Bob Hay and & Jolly Beggars on Tam Lin and More Songs by Robert Burns
The Tale of Tam Lin by Bill Jones on Panchpuran
Mediæval Bæbes on Mirabilis (2005)
Outgrabe on Love & Death
Pyewackett on The Man in the Moon Drinks Claret
Steeleye Span on Tonight's the Night, Live!
"Tamlin" by the Ukrainian band Tamlin (Тамлин) on Dreams on the Shore (2005 - Сны на Берегу)[5] and rearranged on On The Winter's Threshold (2008 - На Пороге Зимы)
Tempest (band) on Serrated Edge cassette (1992)
Tricky Pixie on Mythcreants (2009)
"Tam Lyn" by The Watersons on the 1993 CD reissue of their album For Pence and Spicy Ale" and also on their 2004 4CD anthology "Mighty River of Song"
Coyote Run on "Between Wick and Flame"
"Tamlin" by Gillian Grassie on her 2007 CD release of the album Serpentine"
The song Faerie Queen by Heather Alexander seems to draw upon this legend.
There are also versions which change the original story. "Tam Lyn retold" by Benjamin Zephaniah & Eliza Carthy (on the 2007 album The Imagined Village) retells the story with the girl meeting a man in a club and having a one night stand. 6 months later she finds him to say she's pregnant and finds out he's an immigrant without a valid visa and has a court case the following day. She attends the court and sees him go though various transformations before becoming himself: a kind peaceful person. The judge sees this and lets him become a legal citizen, free to bring up his child with his wife. "Discovery" by Three Weird Sisters hints at a darker Tam Lin with ulterior motives for his seduction of the girl.
Other musical uses
As well as these versions, the name has also been used as the stage name of a New York City-based singer-songwriter, an LP by Frankie Armstrong, Brian Pearson, Blowzabella and Jon Gillaspie, and for the title of an Irish reel.
Film
Tam-Lin (1970) directed by Roddy McDowall, and starring Ava Gardner.
Other
Tam-Lin, a Closet drama written by Elaine Lee and illustrated by Charles Vess, in The Book of Ballads and Sagas, Vess's collection of adaptations of traditional songs, mostly into comics form.
In Carolyn Parkhurst's novel The Dogs of Babel, (also known as Lorelei's Secret in the UK), a section of Tam Lin plays a pivotal role in the story. In it the narrator, Paul Iverson, discovers that his recently deceased wife left an encrypted message to him in their bookshelf, quoting Tam Lin.
In the Vertigo comic book, Fables, Tam Lin died in the defense of the last stronghold of the Fables against the forces of the Adversary. He is claimed to be the knight loved by the queen of the faeries, who had a reputation of a scoundrel, but gave up his chance of freedom to his page.
In the Vertigo comic book series The Books of Magic, The Names of Magic and The Books of Faerie, Tamlin is the father of the protagonist Timothy Hunter, potentially the greatest sorcerer in the world. In The Books of Faerie: The Widow's Tale, the story of Tamlin's romance with Queen Titania of Faerie is revealed.[6]
In The House of the Scorpion, a novel by Nancy Farmer, Tam Lin is the bodyguard of the protagonist, the clone of Matteo Alacrán.
The multi-faceted novel Red Shift by Alan Garner can be read as a subtle reworking of the ballad .
In the fantasy novel The Battle of Evernight by Cecilia Dart-Thornton, the story of Tam Lin is told as the story of Tamlain Conmor.
The novel Fire and Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jones, is a version of Tam Lin in which Tam Lin's captivity lasts into the 20th century.
the story was also inserted in C Dart-Thornton's last book of the Bitterbynd trilogy
In the Shin Megami Tensei series of video games, Tam Lin is a recurring demon that can often be recruited relatively early and is one of the very few demons whose design share an exact model with another demon - its brother model being another northern European mythological hero; Cu Chulainn.
This ballad was one of 25 traditional works included in Ballads Weird and Wonderful (1912) and illustrated by Vernon Hill (sculptor).
Tamlin appears in the fantasy novel Rumors of Spring by Richard Grant.
The Rose, The Knight, and The Faery Host are paintings by Stephanie Pui-Mun Law depicting various parts of the Tam Lin legend.
The Choose Your Own Adventure book Enchanted Kingdom has an ending in which you are rescued from the fairies by a girl you've befriended, who has to hold onto you through three transformations.
See also
Thomas the Rhymer
Gil Brenton
The Sprig of Rosemary
References
1.^ Francis James Child, The English and Scottish Popular Ballads, v 1, p 336-7, Dover Publications, New York 1965
2.^ Francis James Child, English and Scottish Popular Ballads, "Tam Lin"
3.^ a b c Jacobs, Joseph; Batten, John D. (1894). "Tamlane". More English Fairy Tales (2nd ed.). London: David Nutt. pp. 159–62 & notes: 238. ISBN 037001023X. http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/More_English_Fairy_Tales/Tamlane.
4.^ Francis James Child, The English and Scottish Popular Ballads, v 1, p 340, Dover Publications, New York 1965
5.^ a b [1]
6.^ Irvine, Alex (2008). "The Books of Faerie". In Dougall, Alastair. The Vertigo Encyclopedia. New York: Dorling Kindersley. pp. 36–37. ISBN 0-7566-4122-5. OCLC 213309015
[edit] External links Wikisource has original text related to this article:
Child's Ballads/39
Wikisource has original text related to this article: More English Fairy Tales/Tamlane
A website devoted to Tam Lin: Variant by Burns circa 1792
Mainly Norfolk: Tam Lin
[Roud 35; Child 39; Ballad Index C039; trad.]
For much more information about this ballad than can be shown here, see Abigail Acland's comprehensive Tam Lin web pages.
This is a truly magical ballad. It was first mentioned in The Complaynt of Scotland in 1549 but no words were published until Herd put a fragment into his Ancient and Modern Scots Songs in 1769. It never seems to have been collected outside Scotland, though a possible relative of Tam's, Brian O'Lynn (who may be a burlesqued son of the Irish god-mother Danu) crops up in comic songs in Ireland, Scotland and America, and the first printed version of Brian's song in 1568, called him Tom a Lin.
Janet is a puzzle; on the one hand she is clearly a virgin, by virtue of the gold she wears in her hair, and the threat in the first verse is like the warning to the maiden in the analogous Broomfield Wager. But like that maiden, she may have had magical powers herself to deal with the Fairy Queen, for more than half the convicted witches in Scotland in 1590 and 1697 were called Janet.
Carterhaugh is near Selkirk in Scotland, and it is said the three rings where grass will not grow mark the spot where three containers of magic milk or water stood, into which, in one old version of the ballad, Janet dipped her protean lover to change him back to human shape.
Fairport Convention recorded Tam Lin with Sandy Denny singing on October 29, 1968. The band play rhythm games on this song, which is mainly in 3/4 time, with the odd bar of 4/4 appearing now and then. The recording originally appeared on Liege and Lief, and made later appearances on the double CD compilation Meet on the Ledge: The Classic Years 1967-1975, on the famous anthology The Electric Muse, and on the Sandy Denny compilations Who Knows Where the Time Goes?, The Best of Sandy Denny, and A Boxful of Treasures.
An early version, taken at a quicker pace, was recorded by Fairport live on September 23, 1969 in in Studio 4, Maida Vale, for the Top Gear / John Peel radio show and broadcast on September 27, 1969 with a repeat on December 13, 1969. This version is much closer to the way the band would have performed the song live. For ten years, this recording was available on the 1992 semi-bootleg From Past Archives only, but then in 2002, it was suddenly reissued three (!) times: on Ashley Hutchings' CD 5 from the Guv'nor series, on the Island CD re-release of Heyday and on the Fairport unConventioNal 4CD set.
More live versions: Dave Swarbrick sang Tam Lin on Fairport's Stockholm gig in 1971; this was included in the Dave Swarbrick anthology Swarb! in 2003. Tam Lin also appears on Fairport's cassette The Boot: 1983 Fairport Reunion and, with the near-original lineup (Vikki Clayton replaces Sandy Denny), on their CD 25th Anniversary Concert.
Dave and Tony Arthur sang Tam Lin in 1970 on their Trailer album Hearken to the Witches Rune.
In 1971, Anne Briggs sang this ballad as Young Tambling unaccompanied on her first solo album Anne Briggs. This recording was reissued on her Fellside and Topic compilation CDs, Classic Anne Briggs and A Collection. A.L. Lloyd wrote in the original album's sleeve notes:
Better known through Child's English and Scottish Popular Ballads as Tam Lin. It was thought to have disappeared from tradition but of recent years a number of versions, mostly fragmentary, have turned up among country singers, particularly Scottish travelling people. I cobbled this set together, in part from Child, in part from recent collection; the tune is derived from one used for this ballad by travellers. Many consider it the best of all English-language ballad stories.
A.L. Lloyd sang Tamlyn (Young Tambling) live at the Top Lock Folk Club, Runcorn, on November 5, 1972. This recording is on his anthology Classic A.L. Lloyd and on the 2010 CD An Evening with A.L. Lloyd.
Mike Waterson sang Tamlyn unaccompanied on his 1977 album Mike Waterson. It was added to the Watersons' 1993 CD reissue of For Pence and Spicy Ale and in 2004 to the Watersons' 4CD anthology Mighty River of Song. A.L. Lloyd commented in the original recording's sleeve notes:
We haven't all that many fairy ballads, and this is by far the finest. It's fairly venerable, it was already printed on a broadside in 1558, and it wasn't new then. It seems to be uniquely Scottish, though there are international folk tales that come near its story; a Greek tale considerably more than two thousand years old tells how Peleus, wanting to marry the sea-nymph Thetis, lay in wait for her in a cave and seized here as she came riding in naked on a harnessed dolphin. She turned herself successively into fire, water, a lion, a snake, even to an ink-squirting cuttlefish, but Peleus “held her tight and feared not”, and in the end she gave in and the Olympian gods all came to the wedding. Tamlyn is a long ballad but the story moves swiftly. Mike says that he got his version “from A. L. Lloyd and Child”. So be it.
Steeleye Span recorded Tam Lin live during their 1991 tour. This recording was released on their CD Tonight's the Night... Live. Another live recording from St. David's Hall, Cardiff on December 6, 1994 was included on the video 25 Live: The Classic Twenty Fifth Anniversary Tour Concert.
A reel of this name, Tam Lin, which was written by Davey Arthur, can be found on Steeleye Span's album Time.
Frankie Armstrong's several version of Tam Lin can be found on the 1976 LP Here's a Health to the Man and the Maid, on her albums I Heard a Woman Singing and Tam Lin, and on the Fellside compilation Ballads. The latter album's sleeve notes comment:
Tam Lin has been Frankie's tour-de-force for several years now. Her stunning performance here, full of passion and drama, clearly illustrates why she is a ballad singer par excellence. This is the classic “Elfland” ballad and contains a considerable amount of ancient folklore: Tam Lin is a human abducted by the elves and when he returns to the human world at the end the Elf Queen's wish that she had “put out his eyes” is not borne out of vindictiveness, but because he has seen the secrets of Elfland and will take them to the human world.
Frankie notes: “Given that I've sung this more than any other ballad, that it is the most requested and consistently touches me to the core, it's strange that I find it difficult to know what to say about it. There are scholarly things that can be said—they are interesting but do not illuminate the story or its effect. At its heart there is a mystery and I have no desire to analyse this away—even were it possible—I simply know that its power lies somewhere in the glorious weaving of words, images, story and tune an in something magical about tales of transformation. This song has lived with me for thirty years now and inspired the song-cycle based on the themes and characters that I devised and recorded with Brian Person in the early eighties. Singing it still thrills me.”
Jon Boden sang Tam Lin quite close to Anne Briggs' version as the Halloween entry of his project A Folk Song a Day.
Lyrics
Fairport Convention sing Tam Lin
[The words are different from the original (Child) version but this is a very close approximation of the song as performed by Sandy Denny.]
1. “I forbid you maidens all that wear gold in your hair
To travel to Carterhaugh, for young Tam Lin is there
2. None that go by Carterhaugh but they leave him a pledge
Either their mantles of green or else their maidenhead”
3. Janet tied her kirtle green a bit above her knee
And she's gone to Carterhaugh as fast as go can she
4. She'd not pulled a double rose, a rose but only two
When up then came young Tam Lin, says,“Lady, pull no more”
5. “And why come you to Carterhaugh without command from me?”
“I'll come and go,” young Janet said, “and ask no leave of thee”
6. Janet tied her kirtle green a bit above her knee
And she's gone to her father as fast as go can she
7. Well, up then spoke her father dear and he spoke meek and mild
“Oh, and alas, Janet,” he said, “I think you go with child”
8. “Well, if that be so,” Janet said, “myself shall bear the blame
There's not a knight in all your hall shall get the baby's name
9. For if my love were an earthly knight, as he is an elfin grey
I'd not change my own true love for any knight you have”
10. So Janet tied her kirtle green a bit above her knee
And she's gone to Carterhaugh as fast as go can she
11. “Oh, tell to me, Tam Lin,” she said, “why came you here to dwell?”
“The Queen of Fairies caught me when from my horse I fell
12. And at the end of seven years she pays a tithe to hell
I so fair and full of flesh and fear it be myself
13. But tonight is Halloween and the fairy folk ride
Those that would let true love win at Mile's Cross they must bide
14. So first let pass the horses black and then let pass the brown
Quickly run to the white steed and pull the rider down
15. For I'll ride on the white steed, the nearest to the town
For I was an earthly knight, they give me that renown
16. Oh, they will turn me in your arms to a newt or a snake
But hold me tight and fear not, I am your baby's father
17. And they will turn me in your arms into a lion bold
But hold me tight and fear not and you will love your child
18. And they will turn me in your arms into a naked knight
But cloak me in your mantle and keep me out of sight”
19. In the middle of the night she heard the bridle ring
She heeded what he did say and young Tam Lin did win
20. Then up spoke the Fairy Queen, an angry queen was she
Woe betide her ill-far'd face, an ill death may she die
21. “Oh, had I known, Tam Lin,” she said, “what this night I did see
I'd have looked him in the eyes and turned him to a tree”
Dave & Toni Arthur sing Tam Lin
1. Fair Margaret ran in the merry green wood
An d pulled a flower but one
When at her side stood young Tam-a-Lin,
Saying, “Margaret, leave it alone.
2. “How dare you pull my flowers, madam?
How dare you break my tree?
How dare you run in these green woods
Without the leave of me?”
3. “Oh this green wood it is my own,
My father gave it me.
And I can pluck myself a flower
Without the leave of thee.”
4. He took her by the milk-white hand
And by the grass-green sleeve
And laid her low down on the flowers
And asked of her no leave.
5. And when he'd had his will of her
Young Margaret she felt shame,
Says, “If you are a gentleman
Pray tell to me your name.”
6. “Oh Tam-a-Lin is the name,” he said,
“The Elf Queen gave to me.
And long I've haunted these green woods
All for your fair body.
7. “So do not pluck that herb, Margaret,
That herb that grows so grey,
For that would kill the little babe
That we've got in our play.
8. ”When I was a boy just turned of nine
My uncle sent for me
To hunt and hawk and ride with him
And keep him company.
9. “Oh drowsy, drowsy as I was,
Dead sleep upon me fell,
And the Queen of Elfin she rode by
And took me for herself.
10. “Tonight it is good Hallowe'en,
The Elfin court will ride.
And they that would their true love win
At the crossroads they must hide.
11. “The second court that comes along
Is clad in robes of green.
It is the head court of them all
For in it rides the Queen
12. “And I upon a milk-white steed
With a gold star in my crown,
And I do ride beside the Queen
And you must pull me down.
13. “Then I will grow in your two arms
Like a savage creature wild.
But hold me fast, let me not go,
I'm the father of your child.”
14. She took her petticoats in her hand,
Her mantle on her arm,
Unto the crossroads she's away
As fast as she could run.
15. The first court it came riding by,
She heard the bridles ring.
And the second court all dressed in green
And Tam Lin like a king.
16. She pulled him from his milk-white steed,
He on the ground did lay.
And the Elf Queen gave a shrieking cry,
”Young Tam-a-Lin's away, my boys!
Young Tam-a-Lin's away!”
17. And then they turned him in her arms
To a wolf and to an adder.
She held him fast in every shape
To be her baby's father.
18. They shaped him in her arms at last
A mother-naked man.
She wrapped him in her mantle green
And saw her true love won.
19. Out then cried the Elfin Queen
And an angry woman was she,
Said, “You've stolen away the very best knight
In all my company.
20. “Oh had I known, Tam-a-Lin,” she says,
“What now this night I see,
I would have burned out your two grey eyes
And put in two from a tree, Tam-a-Lin,
And put in two from a tree.”
Anne Briggs sings Young Tambling
1. Lady Margaret, Lady Margaret, was sewing at her seam
And she's all dressed in black.
And the thought come in her head to run in the wood
to pull flowers to flower her hat, me boys,
to pull flowers to flower her hat.
2. So she hoisted up her petticoats a bit above the knee
And so nimbly she'd run o'er the ground.
And when she come in the merry greenwood,
Well, she pulled them branches down, me boys,
Well, she pulled them branches down.
3. Suddenly she spied a fine young man,
He's standing by a tree.
He says, “How dare you pull them branches down
Without the leave of me, my dear,
Without the leave of me?”
4. Well, she says, “This little wood, oh, it is me very own,
Me father gave it to me.
I can pull these branches down
Without the leave of thee, young man,
Oh, without the leave of thee.”
5. And he took her by the milk-white hand
And by the grass-green sleeve,
He pulled her down at the foot of a bush,
And he never once asked her leave, me boys,
No, he never once asked her leave.
6. And when it was done she twist about
To ask her true-love's name.
But she nothing heard and she nothing saw
And all the woods grew dim, grew dim,
And all the woods grew dim.
7. There's four and twenty ladies all in the land
and they're all playing at chess.
Except it was the Lady Margaret
And she's green as any glass, me boys,
Oh, she's green as any glass.
8. And there's four and twenty ladies all in the land
Grow as red as any rose.
Except it was the Lady Margaret,
She's pale and wan, me boys,
Oh, pale and wan she goes.
9. Up then spoke the little servant girl,
She lift her hand and smiled,
Says, “I think my lady has loved too long
And now she goes with child, me dears,
Oh, and now she goes with child.”
10. Up then spoke the second serving girl
“Oh, ever and alas,” said she,
“But I think I know a herb in the merry greenwood,
It'll twine thy baby from thee, madam,
It'll twine thy baby from thee.”
11. So Lady Margaret she got her silver comb,
Made haste to comb her hair,
And then she's away to the merry greenwood
As fast as she can tear, me boys,
Oh, as fast as she can tear.
12. And she hadn't pulled in the merry greenwood
A herb but barely one
When by her stood the young Tambling,
He says, “Margaret, leave it alone,
Oh Margaret, leave it alone.”
13. “Why d'you pull that bitter little herb,
The herb that grows so grey,
For to destroy that fine young babe
That we got in our play, my dear,
That we got in our play?”
14. “Well, come tell me now, young Tambling,” she says,
“If an earthly man you be.”
“I'll tell you no lies,” says young Tambling,
“I was christened as good as thee, me dear,
I was christened as good as thee.”
15. “But as I rode a-hunting on a bitter, bitter night,
It was from my horse I fell,
And the Queen of Elfland she caught me
In yonder green hill to dwell, to dwell,
Oh, in yonder green hill to dwell.”
16. “But tonight is Halloween, lady,
The Elven Court will ride.
And if you would your true love win,
By the mill bridge you must hide, me dear,
By the mill bridge you must hide.”
17. “And first will run the black horse and then will run the brown,
And then race by the white.
You hold him fast and you fear him not,
For he's the father of your child, my love,
Oh, he's the father of your child.”
18. “They'll turn me all in your arms, lady,
Into many's the beasts so wild.
But you'll hold on fast and you fear no ill,
For it's the father of your child, my love,
It's the father of your child.”
19. So Lady Margaret she got her silver comb,
She made haste to comb her hair.
Then she's away to the old mill-bridge
As fast as she could tear, me boys,
Oh, as fast as she could tear.
20. And about the dead hour of the night
She heard the bridles ring.
And oh, me boys, it chilled her heart
More than any earthly thing it did,
More than any earthly thing.
21. And first run the black horse and then run the brown
And then race by the white.
Well, she hold it fast and feared it not,
For it's the father of her child,
Oh, it's the father of her child.
22. The thunder rolled across the sky,
The stars blazed bright as day.
The Queen of Elven gave a thrilling cry,
“Young Tambling's away, brave boys,
Young Tambling's away.”
23. And the very first thing they turned him into
Was a lion that runs so wild.
But she held him fast, she feared him not,
For he's the father of her child, me boys,
Oh, he's father of her child.
24. And the very next thing they turned him into,
It was a loathsome snake.
He says, “Hold me fast and fear me not,
For I'm one of God's own make, my love,
Oh, I'm one one of God's own make.”
25. And again they changed him all in her arms
To a red hot bar of iron.
But she held it fast, she feared it not,
And it did to her no harm, no harm,
And it did to her no harm.
26. And the very last thing they changed him into
Was like any naked man.
She flung her mantle over him,
She cried, “Me love I've won, I've won,”
Oh, she cried, “Me love I've won.”
27. And the Queen of Elven she called from a bush,
She's red as any blood.
“I should have tore out your eyes, Tambling,
And put in two eyes of wood, of wood,
And put in two eyes of wood.”
Mike Waterson sings Tamlyn
1. Come all you maids, and you very pretty maids
And a warning take by me
Don't go down to the Chaser's wood
If a maid you want to return and return
If a maid you want to return.
2. Lady Margaret, Lady Margaret, she was sitting in her bower
She was red as any rose
But she longed to go the Chaser's woods
To pull them flowers that grows and grows
Oh, to pull the flowers that grows
3. And she taken out her silver comb
Made in haste to comb her hair
Then she away to the Chaser's wood
As fast as she could tear and could tear
Aye, as fast as she could tear
4. And she hadn't pulled but the one red rose
The rose that grows there in the green
When a voice said, “Lady, how dare you pull a rose
Without no leave of me, and of me,
Aye, without no leave of me?”
5. “This little wood,” she says “it is me very own
Me father he given it to me.
I will pull, pluck, break, I'll bend the branch
And I won't ask leave of thee, and of thee,
No I won't ask leave of thee.”
6. Oh, he's taken her by the middle so small
Down to where the grass it grows so green
And what they've done, well I just couldn't say
Oh, the green grass grew between and between
Aye, the green grass grew between
7. Aye, he's taken her by the lily-white hand
Down to where the grass it grows so green
And it's what they done, well I just couldn't say
But he never once asked her leave, her leave
No he never once asked her leave.
8. It's four and twenty ladies, they're all sitting in the hall
Playing at the chess
All except for young Margaret
She's green as any grass, any grass,
And she's green as any grass.
9. Aye, there's four and twenty ladies, they're all sitting in the hall
All as red as the rose
All except for young Margaret
And pale and wan she goes, and she goes
Aye, pale and wan she goes.
10. Up there spake one of them little girls
And on her face there was a smile
She says, “I think my lady's loved a little long
And now she goes with child, and with child
Aye, and now she goes with child.”
11. Up there spake another of them girls
A pretty little girl was she
She says, “I know a herb growing in the Chaser's woods
As'll twine the babe from thee, and from thee
As'll twine the babe from thee.”
12. Lady Margaret, she picked up her silver comb
Made in haste to comb her hair
Then she away to the Chaser's wood
As fast as she could tear, and could tear
Aye, as fast as she could tear.
13. And she hadn't pulled but the one bit of herb
The herb that grows there in the loam
When up there spake young Tam o' the Lyn
Saying, “Margaret, leave it alone
Oh, sweetheart, Margaret, leave it alone.”
14. “Why do you want that bitter, bitter herb
The herb that grows so grey
Except for to twine away the pretty little baby
We got in our play, our play,
Mark, we got in our play.”
15. “Oh tell me this, young Tam-'o-Lyn,” she says
“If a mortal man you be.”
“Well, I'll tell you truth without a word of a lie
I got christened as good as thee, as thee
I got christened as good as thee.”
16. “But as I rode out on a bitter, bitter day
'Twas from me horse I fell
And the Queen of the Elvens did take me
In yonder greenwood for to dwell, and to dwell
Aye, in yonder greenwood for to dwell.”
17. “And it's every seventh seventh year
We pay a toll to hell
And the last one here is the first to go.
And I fear the toll, it's meself, it's meself
Aye, I fear the toll's meself.”
18. “Oh, tonight it is the Halloween
When the Elven Court shall ride
If you would your true lover save
By the old mill-bridge you must hide, you must hide
By the old mill bridge you must hide.”
19. “And it's first there'll come this black horse
And it's then there'll come the brown
And they're both raced by the white
You must throw your arms up around my neck
And I will not you afright, and afright
No, I will not you afright.”
20. “And they'll change me then, and it's all in your arms
Into many's the beast so wild
You must hold me tight, you must fear me not
I'm the father of your child,
Oh you know that I'm the father of your child.”
21. And the woods grew dark, and the woods grew dim
Tam o' the Lyn was gone.
She picked up her lily-white feet
And to the mill-bridge run, now she run
Aye, and to the mill-bridge run.
22. She looked high, and she looked low
She encompassed all around
But she nothing saw, she nothing heard
She heard no mortal sound, no sound
No, she heard no mortal sound.
23. Till about the dead hour of the night
She heard them bridles ring
It chilled her heart, it's given her a start
More than any mortal thing, any thing
More than any mortal thing.
24. Then it's first there come this black horse,
and it's then there come the brown
They both raced by the white
And she's thrown her arms up 'round his neck
And he didn't her afright, and afright
No, he didn't her afright.
25. And the thunder roared across the sky
And the stars they burned as bright as day
And the Queen of the Elvens give a stunning ? cry,
Saying, “Young Tam-a-Lyn is away, is away
Aye, Young Tam-a-Lyn is away.”
26. And they changed him then—it were all in her arms
To a lion roaring so wild
But she held him tight and she feared him not
He was the father of her child, oh she knew he was
The father of her child.
27. Soon they changed him again—it were all in her arms
To a big black hissing snake
But she held him tight and she feared him not
He was one of God's own make, oh she knew that he
Was one of God's own make.
28. And they changed him again—it were all in her arms
To a big black dog to bite
But she held him tight and she feared him not
He didn't her afright, and afright
No, he didn't her afright.
29. So they changed him again—it were all in her arms
To a white-hot bar of iron
But she held him tight and she feared him not
He'd done to her no harm, no harm
No, he'd done to her no harm.
30. Then they changed him again—it were all in her arms
To a mother-naked man
And she throwed her cloak up around his shoulders,
Saying, “Tam o' the Lyn, we've won, oh, we've won,”
Saying, “Tam o' the Lyn, we've won.”
31. Then the Queen of the Elvens, how she cursed young Tambalyn
Oh, well she cursed him good
She said, “I should have torn out your eyes young Tam-a-Lyn
I should have put in two eyes of wood, of wood
I should have put in two eyes of wood.”
32. “And it's curses on you, Tam-a-Lyn,” she says
“You once was my very own.
And when you was, I should have torn out your heart
And put in a heart of stone, cold stone
I should have put in a heart of stone.”
Steeleye Span's Tam Lin
1. Oh, I forbid you maidens all
That wear gold in your hair
To come or go by Carterhaugh
For young Tam Lin is there.
2. If you go by Carterhaugh
You must leave him a ward:
Either your rings or green mantle
Or else your maidenhead.
3. She's away o'er gravel green
And o'er the gravel brown;
She's away to Carterhaugh
To flower herself a gown.
4. She had not pulled a rosy rose,
A rose but barely one,
When by came this brisk young man,
Says, “Lady, let alone.
5. How dare you pull my rose, Madam?
How dare you break my tree?
How dare you come to Carterhaugh
Without the leave of me?”
6. “Well may I pull the rose,” she said,
“Well may I break the tree.
For Carterhaugh it my father's,
I'll ask no leave of thee.”
Oh, in Carterhaugh, in Carterhaugh
Oh, in Carterhaugh, in Carterhaugh
7. He's taken her by the milk-white hand
And there he's laid her down,
And there he asked no leave of her
As she lay on the ground.
8. “Oh tell me, tell me,” then she said,
“Oh tell me who art thee?”
“My name it is Tam Lin,” he said,
“And this is my story:
9. As it fell out upon a day,
A-hunting I did ride;
There came a wind out of the north
And woe it did betide.
10. And drowsy, drowsy as I was,
The sleep upon me fell;
The Queen of Fairies she was there,
And took me to herself.
Oh, in Carterhaugh, in Carterhaugh
Oh, in Carterhaugh, in Carterhaugh
11. At the end of every seven years
They pay a tithe to Hell;
And I'm so fain and full of flesh,
I fear 't will be myself.
12. Tonight it is good Halloween,
The fairy court will ride;
And if you would your true love win,
At Mile's Cross, you must bide.”
Oh, in Carterhaugh, in Carterhaugh
Oh, in Carterhaugh, in Carterhaugh
13. Gloomy was the night
And eerie was the way;
This lady in her green mantle
To Mile's Cross she did go.
14. With the holy water in her hand
She cast the compass round;
At twelve o'clock the fairy court
Came riding o'er the bound.
15. First came by the black steed
And then came by the brown,
Then Tam Lin on a milk-white steed
With a gold star in his crown.
16. She's pulled him down into her arms
And let the bridle fall;
The Queen of Fairies she cried out,
“Young Tam Lin is awa.”
17. They've shaped him in her arms,
An adder or a snake;
She's held him fast and feared him not
To be her earthly mate.
18. They've shaped him in her arms again
To fire burning bold;
She's held him fast and feared him not
Till he was iron cold.
19. They've shaped him in her arms
To a wood black dog so wild;
She's held him fast and feared him not,
The father of her child.
20. They've shaped him in her arms at last
Into a naked man;
She's wrapped him in the green mantle
And knew that she had him won.
21. The Queen of Fairies she cried out,
“Young Tam Lin is awa.
22. Had I known, had I known, Tam Lin,
Long before, long before you came from home,
Had I known, I would have taken out your heart
And put in a heart of stone.
23. Had I known, had I known, Tam Lin,
That a lady, a lady would steal thee,
Had I known, I would have taken out your eyes
And put in two from a tree.
24. Had I known, had I known, Tam Lin,
That I would lose, that I would lose the day,
Had I known, I would have paid my tithe to hell
Before you'd been won away.”
Jon Boden sings Tam Lin
1. Lady Margaret, Lady Margaret, was sewing of her seam
And she's all dressed in black.
When a thought came to her head to go into the wood
To pull flowers to flower her hat, my boys,
To pull flowers to flower her hat.
2. And she hoisted up her petticoat a bit above her knee
And so nimbly she's tripped o'er the plain.
Until when she came in the merry greenwood,
And she pulled those branches down,
She has pulled those branches down.
3. And suddenly she spied a fine young man,
Stood underneath a tree.
Saying, “How dare you pull those branches down
Without the leave of me, lady,
Without the leave of me?”
4. Well, she says, “This little wood, it is my very own,
My father gave it me.
And I can pull those branches down
Without the leave of thee, young man,
Without the leave of thee.”
5. Well, he's taken her by the lily-white hand
And by the grass-green sleeve,
And he has laid her down at the foot of an oak,
And he's never once asked her leave, my boys,
He has never once asked her leave.
6. And when it was done she has turned herself about
For to ask her true-love's name.
But she nothing saw and nothing heard
And all the woods grew dim, my boys,
And all the woods grew dim.
7. Well there's four and twenty ladies all playing at the ball
Grown red as any rose.
Excepting for Lady Margaret,
As green as glass she goes, she goes,
As green as glass she goes.
8. Oh up and then spoke the first serving maid,
She lifted her head and smiled,
She said, “I think our lady has loved too long
And now she goes with child, with child,
And now she goes with child.”
9. Oh up and then spoke the second serving maid,
“Oh, ever and alas,” cried she,
“But I think I know a herb in the merry greenwood,
That'll twine thy babe from thee, lady,
That will twine thy babe from thee.”
10. Lady Margaret's taken out her silver comb,
She's made haste to comb her hair,
And then she's away to the merry greenwood
As fast as she could tear, my boys,
As fast as she could tear.
11. But she hadn't pulled a herb in the merry greenwood
A herb but barely one
When up and spoke Young Tambling,
He says, “Margaret, leave it alone, alone,”
He says, “Margaret, leave it alone.”
12. “Oh how can you pull that bitter little herb,
That herb that grows so grey,
For to take away that young baby
That we got in our play, lady,
That we got in our play?”
13. “Oh, tell me true, young Tambling,” she said,
“If a mortal man you be.”
“Well, I'll tell you no lies, Lady Margaret,
I was christened as same as thee, lady,
I was christened as same as thee.”
14. “But as I rode out on a cold and bitter night,
From off my horse I fell,
And the Queen of Elfland she took me
Into yonder hill to dwell, to dwell,
Into yonder hill to dwell.”
15. “And this night it is the Hallowe'en
And the Elven Court shall ride.
And if you would your true love gain,
By the old mill bridge you must bide, my love,
By the old mill bridge you must bide.”
16. “And first will run the black horse and then will run the brown,
And then chase by the white.
You must hold them fast and fear them not,
And they will not you afright, my love,
They will not you afright.”
17. “And they will change me all in your arms
Into many a beast so wild.
You must hold me fast and fear me not,
I'm the father of your child, you know,
I am the father of your child.”
18. Lady Margaret's taken out her silver comb,
She's made haste to comb her hair.
And then she's away to the old mill bridge
As fast as she could tear, my boys,
As fast as she could tear.
19. And in the dead hour of the night
She's heard the harness ring.
And oh, my boys, it chilled her heart
More than any a mortal thing it did,
More than any a mortal thing.
20. And first rode by the black horse and then rode by the brown,
And then chased by the white.
And she hold them fast and she feared them not,
They did not her afright, my boys,
They did not her afright.
21. And the thunder rolled across the sky
And the stars shone bright as day.
And the Queen of Elfland she gave a thrilling cry,
“Young Tam Lin is away, away!
Young Tam Lin is away!”
22. And then they have changed him all in her arms
Into a lion that roars so wild.
And she held him fast and she feared him not,
He was the father of her child, she knew,
He was the father of her child.
23. And next they've changed him all in her arms
Into a poisonous snake.
But she held him fast and she feared him not,
He was one of God's own make, she knew,
He was one of God's own make.
24. And next they have changed him all in her arms
To a red hot bar of iron.
But she held him fast and she feared him not,
And he did to her no harm, my boys,
He did to her no harm.
25. And last they have changed him all in her arms
'Twas into a naked man.
And she threw her mantle over him,
Crying, “Oh, my love I've won, I've won,”
Crying, “Oh, my love I've won.”
26. And up and then spoke the Queen of Elfin Land
From the bush wherein she stood,
Saying, “I should have taken out your eyes, Tam Lin,
And put in two eyes of wood, of wood,
And put in two eyes of wood.”