Sharpe's Ballad Book, ed. by D. Laing, p. 159:
Sir Walter Scott, from his recollection of a nursery-maid's singing.
| 1 |
Ae lady has whispered the other,
The broom grows bonnie, the broom grows fair
Lady Margaret's wi bairn to Sir Richard, her brother.
And we daur na gae doun to the broom nae mair
* * * * * |
| 2 |
'And when ye hear me loud, loud cry,
The broom grows bonnie, the broom grows fair
O bend your bow, let your arrow fly.
And I daur na gae doun to the broom nae mair |
| 3 |
'But when ye see me lying still,
The broom grows bonnie, the broom grows fair
O then you may come and greet your fill.'
And I daur na gae doun to the broom nae mair
* * * * * |
| 4 |
'It's I hae broken my little pen-knife
The broom grows bonnie, the broom grows fair
That I loed dearer than my life.'
And I daur na gae doun to the broom nae mair
* * * * * |
| 5 |
'It's no for the knife that my tears doun run,
The broom grows bonnie, the broom grows fair
But it's a' for the case that my knife was kept in.'
And I daur na gae doun to the broom nae mair |
