'The Earl o Bran,' "Scotch Ballads, Materials
for Border Minstrelsy," No. 22 b, Abbotsford;
in the handwriting of Richard Heber.
| 1 |
Did ye ever hear o guid Earl o Bran
An the queen's daughter o the southlan? |
| 2 |
She was na fifteen years o age
Till she came to the Earl's bed-side. |
| 3 |
'O guid Earl o Bran, I fain wad see
My grey hounds run over the lea.' |
| 4 |
'O kind lady, I have no steeds but one,
But ye shall ride, an I shall run.' |
| 5 |
'O guid Earl o Bran, but I have tua,
An ye shall hae yere wael o those.' |
| 6 |
The're ovr moss an the're over muir,
An they saw neither rich nor poor. |
| 7 |
Till they came to ald Carl Hood,
He's ay for ill, but he's never for good. |
| 8 |
'O guid Earl o Bran, if ye loe me,
Kill Carl Hood an gar him die.' |
| 9 |
'O kind lady, we had better spare;
I never killd ane that wore grey hair. |
| 10 |
'We'll gie him a penny-fie an let him gae,
An then he'll carry nae tiddings away.' |
| 11 |
'Where hae been riding this lang simmer-day?
Or where hae stolen this lady away?' |
| 12 |
'O I hae not riden this lang simmer-day,
Nor hae I stolen this lady away. |
| 13 |
'For she is my sick sister
I got at the Wamshester.' |
| 14 |
If she were sick an like to die,
She wad na be wearing the gold sae high.' |
| 15 |
Ald Carl Hood is over the know,
Where they rode one mile, he ran four. |
| 16 |
Till he came to her mother's yetts,
An I wat he rapped rudely at. |
| 17 |
'Where is the lady o this ha?'
'She 's out wie her maidens, playing at the ba.' |
| 18 |
'O na! fy na!
For I met her fifteen miles awa. |
| 19 |
'She's over moss, an she's over muir,
An a' to be the Earl o Bran's whore.' |
| 20 |
Some rode wie sticks, an some wie rungs,
An a' to get the Earl o Bran slain. |
| 21 |
That lady lookd over her left shoudder-bane:
'O guid Earl o Bran, we'll a' be taen!
For yond'r a' my father's men. |
| 22 |
'But if ye'll take my claiths, I'll take thine,
An I'll fight a' my father's men.' |
| 23 |
'It's no the custom in our land
For ladies to fight an knights to stand. |
| 24 |
'If they come on me ane by ane,
I'll smash them a' doun bane by bane. |
| 25 |
'If they come on me ane and a',
Ye soon will see my body fa.' |
| 26 |
He has luppen from his steed,
An he has gein her that to had. |
| 27 |
An bad her never change her cheer
Untill she saw his body bleed. |
| 28 |
They came on him ane by ane,
An he smashed them doun a' bane by bane. |
| 29 |
He sat him doun on the green grass,
For I wat a wearit man he was. |
| 30 |
But ald Carl Hood came him behind,
An I wat he gae him a deadly wound. |
| 31 |
He's awa to his lady then,
He kissed her, and set her on her steed again. |
| 32 |
He rode whistlin out the way.
An a' to hearten his lady gay. |
| 33 |
'Till he came to the water-flood:
'O guid Earl o Bran, I see blood!' |
| 34 |
'O it is but my scarlet hood,
That shines upon the water-flood.' |
| 35 |
They came on 'till his mother's yett,
An I wat he rappit poorly at. |
| 36 |
His mother she 's come to the door:
'O son, ye 've gotten yere dead wie an English whore!' |
| 37 |
'She was never a whore to me;
Sae let my brother her husband be.' |
| 38 |
Sae ald Carl Hood was not the dead o ane,
But he was the dead o hale seeventeen. |
