| 1 |
There lived a lord into the South,
An he had daughters three;
The youngest o them's gaen to the king's court,
To learn some courtesie. |
| 2 |
She had na been in the king's court
A twelvemonth an a day,
When word is thro the kitchen gaen,
An likewise thro the ha,
That Mary Moil was gane wi child
To the highest steward of a'. |
| 3 |
She rowd it into a basket
An flang 't into the sea,
Saying, Sink ye soon, my bonny babe,
Ye'se neer get mair o me. |
| 4 |
She rowd it into a basket
An flang 't into the faem,
Saying, Sink ye soon, my bonny babe,
I'se gang a maiden hame. |
| 5 |
O whan the news cam to the king
An angry man was he;
He has taen the table wi his foot,
An in flinders gart it flie. |
| 6 |
'O woe be to you, ye ill woman,
An ill death may ye die!
Gin ye had spared the sweet baby's life,
It might have been an honour to thee. |
| 7 |
'O busk ye, busk ye, Mary Moil,
O busk, and gang wi me,
For agen the morn at ten o clock
A rare sight ye sall see.' |
| 8 |
She wadna put on her gown o black,
Nor yet wad she o brown,
But she wad put on her gown o gowd,
To glance thro Embro town. |
| 9 |
O whan she cam to the Netherbow Port
She gied loud laughters three,
But whan she cam to the gallows-foot
The tear blinded her ee. |
| 10 |
Saying, O ye mariners, mariners,
That sail upon the sea,
Let not my father nor mother to wit
The death that I maun die. |
| 11 |
'For little did father or mother wit,
The day they cradled me,
What foreign lands I should travel in,
Or what death I should die. |
| 12 |
'Yestreen the Queen had four Maries,
The night she'll hae but three;
There was Mary Seton, an Mary Beaton,
An Mary Carmichael, an me.' |
