"O fathers, O fathers, I'm very, very sick,
I'm sick, and like to dee;30
Some ghostly comfort to my poor soul
O tell if ye can gie!"
"Confess, confess," Earl Marshall cried,
"And ye shall pardoned be:"
"Confess, confess," the King replied,35
"And we shall comfort gie."
"O how shall I tell the sorry, sorry tale!
How can the tale be told!
I play'd the harlot wi' the Earl Marshall
Beneath yon cloth of gold.40
"O wasna that a sin, and a very great sin!
But I hope it will pardoned be:"
"Amen! Amen!" quoth the Earl Marshall,
And a very fear't heart had he.
"O down i' the forest, in a bower,45
Beyond yon dark oak tree,
I drew a penknife frae my pocket
To kill King Henerie.
"O wasna that a sin, and a very great sin!
But I hope it will pardoned be:"50
"Amen! Amen!" quoth the Earl Marshall,
And a very fear't heart had he.
"O do you see yon pretty little boy,
That's playing at the ba'?
He is the Earl Marshall's only son,55
And I loved him best of a'.
"O wasna that a sin, and a very great sin!
But I hope it will pardoned be:"
"Amen! Amen!" quoth the Earl Marshall,