YOUNG TAM LIN.
O I forbid ye, maidens a',
That wear gowd on your hair,
To come or gae by Carterhaugh,
For young Tam Lin is there.
"There's nane that gaes by Carterhaugh,
But they leave him a wad,
Either their rings, or green mantles,
Or else their maidenhead.
Janet has kilted her green kirtle,
A little aboon her knee;
And she has braided her yellow hair,
A little aboon her bree,
And she's awa to Carterhaugh,
As fast as she can hie.
wad, wager, forfeit. bree, brow.
When she came to Carterhaugh,
Tam Lin was at the well;
And there she found his steed standing,
But away was himsel'.
[Original Size]
She hadna pu'd a double rose,
A rose but only twa;
Till up then started Young Tam Lin,
Says, "Lady, thou's pu* nae mae."
—"Why pu's thou the rose, Janet?
And why breaks thou the wand?
Or why comes thou to Carterhaugh,
Withouten my command?"—
—"Carterhaugh it is my ain;
My daddy gave it me;
I'll come and gang by Carterhaugh,
And ask nae leave at thee."
Janet has kilted her green kirtle,
A little aboon her knee;
And she has snooded her yellow hair,
A little aboon her bree,
And she is to her fathers ha'
As fast as she can hie.
Four and twenty ladies fair
Were playing at the ba';
And out then came fair Janet,
Ance the flower among them a'.
Four and twenty ladies fair
Were playing at the chess;
And out then came the fair Janet,
As green as any grass.
Out then spak an auld gray knight,
Lay o'er the castle wa,—
And says, "Alas! fair Janet, for thee,
But we'll be blamed a'!"—
"Haud your tongue, ye auld faced knight!
Some ill death may ye die;
Father my bairn on whom I will,
I'll father nane on thee."—
Out then spak her father dear,
And he spak meek and mild—
"And ever, alas! sweet Janet," he says,
"I think thou gaes with child."—
"And if I gae with child, father,
Mysel' maun bear the blame;
There's ne'er a laird about your ha'
Shall get the bairnie's name.
[Original Size]
"If my love were an earthly knight,
As he's an elfin grey,
I wadna gie my ain true love
For nae lord that ye hae.—
"The steed that my true love rides on,
Is lighter than the wind;
Wi' siller he is shod before,
Wi' burning gowd behind."
Janet has kilted her green kirtle,
A little aboon her knee,
And she has snooded her yellow hair,
A little aboon her bree.
And she's awa to Carterhaugh,
As fast as she can hie.
And when she came to Carterhaugh,
Tam Lin was at the well;
And there she found his steed standing,
But away was himsel'.
[Original Size]
She hadna pu'd a double rose,
A rose but only twa,
Till up then started young Tam Lin,
Says—"Lady, thou pu's nae mae!
"Why pu' ye the rose, Janet,
Amang the groves sae green,
And a' to kill the bonny babe,
That we gat us between?"
"O tell me, tell me, Tam Lin," she says,
"For's sake that died on tree,
If e'er ye was in holy chapel,
Or Christendom did see?"—
["The truth I'll tell to thee, Janet,
A word I winna lie;
A knight me got, and a lady me bore,
As well as they did thee.]
"Roxburgh, he was my grandfather,
Took me with him to bide,
And ance it fell upon a day
That wae did me betide.
And ance it fell upon a day,
A cauld day and a snell,
That we were frae the hunting come,
That frae my horse I fell -,
The Queen of Fairies she caught me,
In yon green hill to dwell;
"And pleasant is the fairy land, Janet,
But, an eerie tale to tell,
Aye, at the end of seven years,
We pay a teind to hell;
And I am sae fair and fu o' flesh,
I fear 'twill be mysel'.
snell, keen. teind, tithe.
"But the night is Hallowe'en, lady,
The morn is Hallowday;
Then win me, win me, an ye will,
For well I wot ye may.
"Just at the mirk and midnight hour
The fairy folk will ride;
And they that wad their true-love win,
At Miles Cross they maun bide."
"But how shall I thee ken, Tam Lin?
Or how my true love knaw,
Amang so many unco knights,
The like I never saw?"
"O first let pass the black, lady,
And syne let pass the brown;
But quickly run to the milk-white steed,
Pu' ye his rider down.
"For I'll ride on the milk-white steed,
And ay nearest the town;
Because I was an earthly knight,
They gie me that renown.
"My right hand will be gloved, lady,
My left hand will be bare;
Cocked up shall my bonnet be,
And kaimed down shall my hair,
And thae's the tokens I gie thee,
Nae doubt I will be there.
unco, strange.
"They'll turn me in your arms, Janet,
Into an esk and adder;
But hold me fast, and fear me not,
I am your bairn's father.
"They'll turn me to a bear sae grim,
And then a lion bold;
But hold me fast, and fear me not,
As ye shall love your child.
"Again they'll turn me in your arms,
To a red-hot gaud of airn;
But haud me fast, and fear me not,
I'll do to you nae harm.
"And last they'll turn me in your arms
Into the burning gleed;
Then throw me into will-water,
O throw me in wi' speed.
"And then I'll be your ain true-love,
I'll turn a naked knight;
Then cover me wi' your green mantle,
And cover me out o' sight."
Gloomy, gloomy, was the night,
And eerie was the way,
As fair Jenny, in her green mantle,
To Miles Cross she did gae.
esk, newt. gaud of airn, bar of iron. gleed,coal.
About the midle o' the night,
She heard the bridles ring;
This lady was as glad at that
As any earthly thing.
[Original Size]
First she let the black pass by,
And syne she let the brown;
But quickly she ran to the milk-white steed,
And pu'd the rider down.
Sae weel she minded what he did say,
And young Tam Lin did win;
Syne covered him wi' her green mantle,
As blithe's a bird in spring.
Out then spake the Queen o' Fairies,
Out of a bush o' broom—
"Them that has gotten young Tam Lin,
Has gotten a stately groom."—
Out then spake the Queen o' Fairies,
And an angry women was she,
"Shame betide her ill-fared face,
And an ill death may she die,
For she's taen awa' the bonniest knight
In a my company.
"But had I kenn'd, Tam Lin," she says,
"What now this night I see,
I wad hae taen out thy twa grey een,
Put in twa een o' tree."
tree, wood.