Willie Doo- (N. Scot) Buchan 1828; Child L
[From Buchan's Manuscripts, ii, 322, and Ballads, II, 179. Version L,
R. Matteson 2011, 2018]
WILLIE DOO- Child 12 Lord Randal; Version L
Buchan's Manuscripts, II, 322; Ballads of the North of Scotland, n, 179. 1828
1 'Whar hae ye been a' the day, Willie doo, Willie doo?
Whar hae ye been a' the day, Willie, my doo?'
2 'I've been to see my step-mother; make my bed, lay me down;
Make my bed, lay me down, die shall I now!'
3 'What got ye frae your step-mother, Willie doo, Willie doo?
What got ye frae your step-mother, Willie, my doo?'
4 'She gae me a speckled trout; make my bed, lay me down;
She gae me a speckled trout, die shall I now!'
5 'Whar got she the speckled trout,Willie doo, Willie doo?'
'She got it amang the heather hills; die shall I now.'
6 'What did she boil it in, Willie doo, Willie doo?'
'She boild it in the billy-pot; die shall I now!'
7 'What gaed she you for to drink, Willie doo, Willie doo?
What gaed she you for to drink, Willie, my doo?'
8 'She gaed me hemlock stocks; make my bed, lay me down;
Made in the brewing pot; die shall I now!'
9 They made his bed, laid him down, poor Willie doo, Willie doo;
He turnd his face to the wa; he's dead now!
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From: Ancient Ballads and Songs of the North of Scotland, Volume 2 edited by Peter Buchan 1828
WILLIE DOO. Page 179. In the Minstrelsy of the Border, vol. ii. p. 261, there is a ballad to be found, entitled "Lord Randal," which is somewhat similar in its catastrophe. The editor of that valuable work says,
"There is a very similar song, in which, apparently to excite greater interest in the nursery, the handsome young hunter is exchanged for a little child, poisoned by a false step-mother." I have every reason to believe this is the beautiful nursery song to which Sir Walter alludes, now for the first time printed.
Willie Doo
Whare hae ye been a' the day,
Willie Doo, Willie Doo?
Whare hae ye been a' the day,
Willie, my doo?
I've been to see my step-mother,
Make my bed, lay me down;
Make my bed, lay me down,—
Die shall I now!
What got ye frae your step-mother,
Willie Doo, Willie Doo!
What got ye frae your step-mother,
Willie, my doo?
She gaed me a speckled trout,
Make my bed, lay me down;
She gaed me a speckled trout,—
Die shall I now!
Whare got she the speckled trout,
Willie Doo, Willie, Doo? }
She got it amang the heather hills,—
Die shall I now!
What did she boil it in,
Willie Doo, Willie Doo?
She boil'd it in the billy-pot,—
Die shall I now!
What gaed she you for to drink,
Willie Doo, Willie Doo?
What gaed she you for to drink,
Willie, my doo!
She gaed me hemlock stocks,
Make my bed; lay me down;
Made in the brewing pot,—
Die shall I now!
They made his bed, laid him down,
Poor Willie Doo, Willie Doo;
He turn'd his face to the wa',—
He is dead now!