"I wadna marry your sister,
For a' your gowd so gay;10
But I'll keep her for my leman,
When I come by the way."
Young Johnstone had a nut-brown sword,
Hung low down by his gair,
And he [ritted] it through the young Col'nel,15
That word he ne'er spak mair.
But he's awa' to his sister's bower,
He's tirled at the pin:
"Whare hae ye been, my dear brither,
Sae late a coming in?"20
"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,25
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."30
"If ye hae killed the young Col'nel,
O dule and wae is me;
But I wish ye may be hanged on a hie gallows,
And hae nae power to flee."
And he's awa' to his true love's bower,35
He's tirled at the pin:
"Whar 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."40
"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."