THE BROOMFIELD HILL
There was a knight and a lady bright,
Had a true tryst at the broom;
The ane gaed early in the morning,
The other in the afternoon.
And aye she sat in her mothers bower door,
And aye she made her mane,
"O whether should I gang to the Broomfield hill,
Or should I stay at hame?
"For if I gang to the Broomfield hill,
My maidenhead is gone;
And if I chance to stay at hame,
My love will ca' me mansworn."—
Up then spake a witch-woman,
Ay from the room aboon;
"O, ye may gang to Broomfield hill,
And yet come maiden hame.
"For when ye come to the Broomfield hill,
Yell find your love asleep,
With a silver belt about his head,
And a broom-cow at his feet.
mansworn, perjured. broom-cow, bush of broom.
"Take ye the blossom of the broom,
The blossom it smells sweet,
And strew it at your true love's head,
And likewise at his feet.
"Take ye the rings off your fingers,
Put them on his right hand,
To let him know, when he doth awake,
His love was at his command."—
She pu'd the broom flower on Hive-hill,
And strew'd on's white hals-bane,
And that was to be wittering true,
That maiden she had gane.
"O where were ye, my milk-white steed,
That I hae coft sae dear,
That wadna watch and waken me,
When there was maiden here?"—
"I stamped wi' my foot, master,
And gar'd my bridle ring -,
But nae kin thing wad waken ye,
Till she was past and gane."—
"And wae betide ye, my gay gosshawk,
That I did love sae dear,
That wadna watch and waken me,
When there was maiden here."—
hals neck. wittering, witness. coft, bought. gar'd, made. kin kind of.
"I clapped wi' my wings, master,
And aye my bells I rang,
And aye cry'd, Waken, waken, master,
Before the lady gang."—
"But haste and haste, my gude white steed,
To come the maiden till,
Or a' the birds of gude green wood
Of your flesh shall have their fill."—
"Ye needna burst your gude white steed,
Wi' racing oer the howm;
Nae bird flies faster through the wood,
Than she fled through the broom."
Young Johnstone
Young Johnstone and the young Col'nel
Sat drinking at the wine:
"O gin ye wad marry my sister,
It's I wad marry thine."
"I wadna marry your sister,
For a' your houses and land;
But I'll keep her for my leman,
When I come o'er the strand.
howm, flats.
"I wadna marry your sister,
For a' your gowd so gay;
But I'll keep her for my leman,
When I come by the way."
Young Johnstone had a little small sword,
Hung low down by his gair,
And he stabbed it through the young Col'nel
That word he ne'er spak mair.
But he's awa' to his sister's bower,
He's tirled at the pin:
"Where hae ye been, my dear brither,
Sae late a coming in?"
"I hae been at the school, sister,
Learning young clerks to sing."
"I've dreamed a dreary dream this night,
I wish it may be for good;
They were seeking you with hawks and hounds,
And the young Col'nel was dead."
"Hawks and hounds they may seek me,
As I trow well they be;
For I have killed the young Col'nel,
And thy own true love was he."
gair, skirt.
'If ye hae killed the young Col'nel,
O dule and wae is me;
But I wish ye may be hanged on a high gallows,
And hae nae power to flee."
And he's awa' to his true love's bower,
He's tirled at the pin:
"Where hae ye been, my dear Johnstone,
Sae late a coming in?"
"It's I hae been at the school," he says,
"Learning young clerks to sing."
"I have dreamed a dreary dream," she says,
"I wish it may be for good;
They were seeking you with hawks and hounds,
And the young Col'nel was dead."
"Hawks and hounds they may seek me,
As I trow well they be;
For I hae killed the young Col'nel,
And thy ae brother was he."
"If ye hae killed the young Col'nel,
O dule and wae is me;
But I care the less for the young Col'nel,
If thy ain body be free.
"Come in, come in, my dear Johnstone,
Come in and take a sleep;
And I will go to my casement,
And carefully I will thee keep."
dule, sad.
He had not weel been in her bower-door,
No not for half an hour,
When four-and-twenty belted knights
Came riding to the bower.
"Well may you sit and see, Lady,
Well may you sit and say;
Did you not see a bloody squire
Come riding by this way?"
"What colour were his hawks?" she says,
"What colour were his hounds?
What colour was the gallant steed
That bore him from the bounds!"
"Bloody, bloody were his hawks,
And bloody were his hounds;
But milk-white was the gallant steed
That bore him from the bounds."
"Yes, bloody, bloody were his hawks,
And bloody were his hounds;
And milk-white was the gallant steed
That bore him from the bounds.
"Light down, light down now, gentlemen,
And take some bread and wine;
An the steed be swift that he rides on,
He's past the brig o' Lyne."
An, if.
"We thank you for your bread, fair Lady,
We thank you for your wine;
But I wad gie thrice three thousand pound,
That bloody knight was ta en."
"Lie still, lie still, my dear Johnstone,
Lie still and take a sleep;
For thy enemies are past and gone,
And carefully I will thee keep."
But young Johnstone had a little wee sword,
Hung low down by his gair,
And he stabbed it in fair Annet's breast,
A deep wound and a sair.
"What aileth thee now, dear Johnstone?
What aileth thee at me?
Hast thou not got my father's gold,
But and my mither's fee?"
"Now live, now live, my dear Lady,
Now live but half an hour,
And there's no a leech in a' Scotland
But what shall be in thy bower."
"How can I live, how shall I live?
Young Johnstone, do not you see
The red, red drops o' my bonny heart's blood
Rin trinkling down my knee?
trinkling, trickling.
"But take thy harp into thy hand,
And harp out ower yon plain,
And ne'er think mair on thy true love
Than if she had never been."
He hadna weel been out o' the stable,
And on his saddle set,
Till four-and-twenty broad arrows
Were thrilling in his heart.