by Robert Burns
The flesh to him the broo to me, broth
An’ the horns become your brow, gudeman. —
Chorus for the final verse
Sing round about the fire wi’ a rung she ran, cudgel
An round about the fire wi’ a rung she ran:
15 Your horns shall tie you to the staw, stall
An I shall bang your hide, gudeman.—
This is the poet’s revision of a song in the Herd Collection (1769). It is printed unsigned, which suggests that the changes by Burns were minimal to this song of violent female sexual aggression.
Tam Lin
First printed by Johnson, 1796.
O I forbid you, maiden’s a’ all
That wear gowd on your hair, gold
To come, or gae by Carterhaugh, go
For young Tom-lin is there.
5 There’s nane that gaes by Carterhaugh none, goes
But they leave him in a wad; pledge/bargain
Either their rings, or green mantles,
Or else their maidenhead.
Janet has kilted her green kirtle, petticoat
10 A little aboon her knee; above
And she has broded her yellow hair braided
A little aboon her bree; above, brow
And she’s awa to Carterhaugh, away
As fast as she can hie. run
15 When she cam to Carterhaugh
Tom-lin was at the well,
And there she fand his steed standing found
But away was himsel.
She had na pu’d a double rose, not pulled
20 A rose but only tway, two
Till up then started young Tom-lin,
Says, Lady, thou’s pu’ nae me. pull not
Why pu’s thou the rose, Janet, pulls
And why breaks thou the wand?
25 Or why thou comes to Carterhaugh
Withoutten my command? without
Carterhaugh is my ain, own
Ma daddie gave it me; my
I’ll come and gang by Carterhaugh go
30 And ask nae leave at thee. no
Janet has kilted her green kirtle petticoat
A little aboon her knee, above
And she has snooded her yellow hair, put in a band
A little aboon her bree, above, brow
35 And she is to her father’s ha, hall
As fast as she can hie. run
Four and twenty ladies fair
Were playing at the ba, ball
And out them cam the fair Janet,
40 Ance the flower amang them a’. once, among, all
Four and twenty ladies fair
Were playing at the chess,
And out then cam the fair Janet,
As green as onie glass. any
45 Out then spak an auld grey knight, spoke, old
Lay o’er the castle-wa, -wall
And says, Alas, fair Janet for thee
But we’ll be blamed a’.
Haud your tongue ye auld-fac’d knight, hold, old-
50 Some ill death may ye die,
Father my bairn on whom I will, child
I’ll father nane on thee. none
Out then spak her father dear, spoke
And he spak meek and mild,
55 And ever alas, sweet Janet, he says,
I think thou gaes wi’ child. goes
If that I gae wi’ child, father, go
Myself maun bear the blame; shall
There’s ne’er a laird about your ha, hall
60 Shall get the bairn’s name. child’s
If my Love were an earthly knight,
As he’s an elfin grey;
A wad na gie my ain true-love would not give, own
For nae lord that ye hae. no, have
65 The steed that my true-love rides on,
Is lighter than the wind;
Wi’ siller he is shod before, silver
Wi’ burning gowd behind. gold
Janet has kilted her green kirtle petticoat
70 A little aboon the knee; above
And has snooded her yellow hair braided
A little aboon her bree; brow
And she’s awa to Carterhaugh away
As fast as she can hie. go
75 When she cam to Carterhaugh
Tom-lin was at the well;
And there she fand his steed standing, found
But away was himsel.
She had na pu’d a double rose had not pulled
80 A rose but only tway, two
Till up then started young Tom-lin,
Say’s Lady thou pu’s nae mae. pulls not more
Why pu’s thou the rose Janet,
Amang the groves sae green, among, so
85 And a’ to kill the bonie babe
That we gat us between. begot
O tell me, tell me, Tom-lin she says,
For ’s sake that died on tree,
If e’er ye was in holy chapel,
90 Or Christendom did see.
Roxbrugh he was my grandfather,
Took me with him to bide,
And ance it fell upon a day once
That wae did me betide. woe
95 Ance it fell upon a day, once
A cauld day and a snell, cold, bitter
When we were frae the hunting come from
That frae my horse I fell. from
The queen o’ Fairies she caught me,
100 In yon green hill to dwell,
And pleasant is the fairy-land;
But, an eerie tale to tell! strange
Ay at the end of seven years
We pay a tiend to hell; tithe/fee
105 I am sae fair and fu’ o flesh so, full
I’m fear’d it be mysel. afraid
But the night is Halloween, lady,
The morn is Hallowday;
Then win me, win me, an ye will,
110 For weel I want ye may. well
Just at the mirk and midnight hour darkest
The fairy folk will ride;
And they that wad their truelove win, would
At Milescross they maun bide. must stay
115 But how shall I thee ken, Tom-lin, know
O how my truelove know,
Amang sae mony unco knights so, strange
The like I never saw.
O first let pass the black, Lady,
120 And syne let past the brown; then
But quickly run to the milk-white steed,
Pu’ ye his rider down: pull
For I’ll ride on the milk-white steed,
And ay nearest the town;
125 Because I was an earthly knight
They gie me that renown. give
My right hand will be glov’d, Lady,
My left hand will be bare;
Cockt up shall my bonnet be,
130 And kaim’d down shall my hair; combed
And thae’s the tokens I gie thee, these are, give
Nae doubt I will be there. no
They’ll turn me in your arms, Lady,
Into an asp and adder, viper
135 But hald me fast and fear me not, hold
I am your bairn’s father. child’s
They’ll turn me to a bear sae grim, so
And then a lion bold;
But hold me fast and fear me not,
140 As ye shall love your child.
Again they’ll turn me in your arms
To a red het gaud of airn; hot bar of iron
But hold me fast and fear me not,
I’ll do to you nae harm. no
145 And last they’ll turn me, in your arms,
Into the burning lead;
Then throw me into well-water,
O throw me in wi’ speed!
And then I’ll be your ain truelove, own
150 I’ll turn a naked knight:
Then cover me wi’ your green mantle,
And cover me out o sight.
Gloomy, gloomy was the night,
&nbs
p; And eerie was the way, strange
155 As fair Jenny in her green mantle
To Milescross she did gae. go
About the middle o’ the night
She heard the bridles ring;
This lady was as glad at that
160 As any earthly thing.
First she let the black pass by,
And syne she let the brown; then
But quickly she ran to the milk-white steed,
And pu’d the rider down pulled
165 Sae weel she minded what he did say so well
And young Tom-lin did win;
Syne cover’d him wi’ her green mantle then
As blythe’s a bird in spring.
Out then spak the queen o’ Fairies, spoke
170 Out of a bush o’ broom;
Them that has gotten young Tom-lin
Has gotten a stately groom.
Out then spak the queen o’ Fairies,
And an angry queen was she;
175 Shame betide her ill-fard face, -farrowed
And an ill death may she die,
For she’s ta’en awa the boniest knight taken away
In a’ my companie.
But had I kend, Tom-lin, she says, known
180 What now this night I see,
I wad hae ta’en out thy twa grey een, would have taken, two, eyes
And put in twa een o’ tree. two eyes, wood
This is based on a traditional ballad from the sixteenth century. Burns probably saw the short version of the original work in Herd’s collection (1769), but it is more likely that he adapted and improved this from one of the longer versions known to have been collected by his close friend Robert Riddell of Glenriddell who was, inter alia, an antiquarian. Burns once used the pen-name Thomas A. Linn in a newspaper edition of his poem, Elegy on the Year 1788. Carterhaugh is near Selkirk.
Had I the Wyte
Tune: Come Kiss with me, Come Clap with me
First printed in Johnson, 1796.
Had I the wyte, had I the wyte, were I to blame
Had I the wyte, she bade me;
She watch’d me by the hie-gate-side, high road
And up the loan she shaw’d me; lane, showed
5 And when I wadna venture in, would not
A coward loon she ca’d me: fool
Had Kirk and State been in the gate, way
I’d lighted when she bade me.—
Sae craftilie she took me ben, so, in
10 And bade me mak nae clatter; make no noise
‘For our ramgunshoch, glum Goodman ill-tempered, surly
Is o’er ayont the water:’ beyond
Whae’er shall say I wanted grace, whoever, lacked
When I did kiss and dawte her, fondle
15 Let him be planted in my place,
Syne, say, I was the fautor.— then, one at fault
Could I for shame, could I for shame,
Could I for shame refus’d her;
And wadna Manhood been to blame, would not
20 Had I unkindly used her:
He claw’d her wi’ the ripplin-kame, wool-comb
And blae and bluidy bruis’d her; blue
When sic a husband was frae hame, such, from
What wife but wad excus’d her? would
25 I dighted ay her een sae blue, wiped, eyes so
An’ bann’d the cruel randy; scoundrel
And weel I wat her willin mou well, know, mouth
Was e’en like succarcandie. sugarcandy
At gloamin-shote it was, I wot, early evening, know
30 I lighted on the Monday;
But I cam thro’ the Tiseday’s dew Tuesday’s
To wanton Willie’s brandy. —
This is adapted by Burns from an old song included in the Herd collection (1769). It was signed ‘Z’ in the S.M.M.A bawdy version was collected by Burns and included in the Merry Muses of Caledonia.
Comin Thro’ the Rye
Tune: Miller’s Wedding
First printed in Johnson, 1796.
COMIN thro’ the rye, poor body, wheat-like grass
Comin thro’ the rye,
She draigl’t a’ her petticoatie made a mess of
Comin thro’ the rye.
Chorus
5 Oh Jenny’s a’ weet, poor body, wet
Jenny’s seldom dry;
She draigl’t a’ her petticoatie, made a mess of
Comin thro’ the rye.
Gin a body meet a body if
10 Comin thro’ the rye,
Gin a body kiss a body
Need a body cry.
Oh Jenny’s &c
Gin a body meet a body
Comin thro’ the glen;
15 Gin a body kiss a body,
Need the warld ken! world know
Oh Jenny’s &c
On publication, Johnson’s headnote reads: ‘Written for this work by Robert Burns’. It is not, though, a wholly original work. It is partly taken from a folksong in Thomas Mansfield’s collection begun in 1770. An English version, entered in Stationers Hall, London, for June 1796 reads, ‘If a body meet a body, /Going to the Fair’. A further, more crude version exists in the Merry Muses.
The Rowin ’t in Her Apron
First printed in Johnson, 1796.
OUR young lady’s a huntin gane, gone
Sheets nor blanket haes she ta’en, has, taken
But she’s born her auld son or she cam hame, old, before, home
And she’s row’d him in her apron. — rolled/wrapped
5 Her apron was o’ the hollan fine, linen from Holland
Laid about wi’ laces nine;
She though it a pity her babe should tyne, perish
And she’s row’d him in her apron. —
Her apron was o’ the hollan sma,
10 Laid about wi’ laces a’,
She thought it a pity her babe to let fa,
And she row’d him in her apron. —
Her father says within the ha’ hall
Amang the knights and nobles a’ among, all
15 I think I hear a babie ca, call
In the chamber amang our young ladies. — among
O father dear it is a bairn, child
I hope it will do you nae harm., no
For the daddie I lo’ed, and he’ll lo’e me again, loved
20 For the rowin ’t in my apron. — rolling it
O is he a gentleman, or is he a clown,
That has brought thy fair body down,
I would not for a’ this town
The rowin ’t in the apron. —
25 Young Terreagles he’s nae clown,
He is the toss of Edinborrow town, toast, Edinburgh
And he’ll buy me a braw new gown, fine
For the rowin ’t in my apron. —
Its I hae castles, I hae towers, have
30 I hae barns, I hae bowers,
A’ that is mine it shall be thine,
For the rowin ’t in thy apron. —
This song is about the problems of Jacobite families in the wake of the 1715 rebellion. Lord John Maxwell was ‘Young Terreagles’. It was printed anonymously on publication. Burns is supposed to have collected this song from an unidentified person in the vicinity of Dumfries, possibly one of the Highland Fencible soldiers stationed there during the mid-1790s.
Kinsley’s remark implies that he should not have accepted the work to the canon, ‘I am inclined to take it as an alternative collected version, and not Burns’s revision’ (Vol. III, p. 1503). Mackay merely assumes the poet made corrections and includes it. However, given there are two manuscript copies, it is surely unlikely that the bard would have written it out twice without making some ammendments and improvements.
Charlie He’s My Darling
Tune: Charlie, He’s My Darling
First printed in S.M.M. December, 1796.
’TWAS on a Monday morning,
Right early in the year,
That Charlie c
ame to our town,
The Young Chevalier. —
Chorus
5 An’ Charlie he’s my darling, my darling, my darling,
Charlie he’s my darling, the Young Chevalier. —
As he was walking up the street,
The city for to view,
O there he spied a bonie lass
10 The window looking thro’. —
An’ Charlie he’s &c
Sae light’s he jimped up the stair, so, jumped
And tirl’d at the pin; knocked, latch
And wha sae ready as hersel who so
To let the laddie in. —
An’ Charlie he’s &c
15 He set his Jenny on his knee,
All in his Highland dress;
For brawlie weel he kend the way finely well, knew
To please a bonie lass. —
An’ Charlie he’s &c
It’s up yon heathery mountain,
20 And down yon scroggy glen, scrubby
We daurna gang a milking, dare not go
For Charlie and his men. —
An’ Charlie he’s &c
Here, Burns has taken an old street song from the mid-1770s and grafted to it a Jacobite theme. The bard’s success in this fine lyric was adapted after his death by Caroline Oliphant (1766–1845). See Life and Songs of the Baroness Nairne: With a Memoir and Poems of Caroline Oliphant the Younger, ed. Rev. Charles Rogers (1869), pp. 125–6. The first verse and chorus are very similar to Burns’s version. Like all of the poet’s lyrics on the Jacobite theme, this song was unsigned in the S.M.M. The young Chevalier is, of course, Charles Edward Stewart.