Swan Swam Sae Bonnie- Betsy Whyte (Aber) 1975
[Taken from Johnny White, from brother-in-law. Betsy Whyte of Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire, sang The Twa Sisters to Hamish Henderson c. 1954. This recording was included in the anthology The Muckle Sangs (Scottish Tradition Volume 5; Tangent 1975; Greentrax 1992).
R. Matteson 2018]
Swan Swam Sae Bonnie- sung by Betsy Whyte, adapted in part from her brother-in-law Johnny Whtye. Missing the ending.
Dear sister, dear sister, wad ye take my hand
Hee ho an sae bonnie, oh,
An put your foot on that marble stone?
An the swan swam so bonnie oh.
Dear sister, dear sister, wad ye go a walk with me,
Hae ho an sae bonnie oh,
And I will show you wonders before you return
And the swan swam so bonnie oh.
For thae was two sisters lived in a mill,
Hae ho and so bonnie oh,
For the younger sister pushed the older sister in
An was drowned in the dams o' Binnorie-oh.
Oh miller, oh miller, come stop your dam,
Hae ho an sae bonnie oh,
For I do see a maiden or a white-milk swan,
An the swan swam in Binnorie oh.
For the miller hastened, he stopped up his dam
Hae ho an so bonnie oh,
And it's then they took her and hung her up tae dry,
An the swan swam in Binnorie oh.
For thae was three fiddlers passing this way
Hae ho and so bonnie oh,
There was one of them taen her fore-finger
For to make a fiddle-pin,
And anither of them taen three links of her yellow hair
For to make some fiddle strings,
And the ither of them taen her breast-bone
For to make a fiddle that wad play a tune its lone,
And the swan swam in Binnorie oh.