[The beautiful river Yarrow has few rivals as an inspirer of song. These verses of Hamilton's are copied from the old ballad—The Dowie Dens (melancholy downs) of Yarrow, a collated version of which was first printed by Scott in his Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border. Scott was of opinion that with many readers the greatest recommendation of the old ballad will be that it suggested to Hamilton his modern one. We may say that the greatest recommendation of Hamilton's poem to us is the fact that it inspired Wordsworth to write his three lovely little poems, Yarrow Unvisited, Visited, and Revisited.
There are two old ballads which have been much mixed up by reciters, viz. The Dowie Dens and Willie's drowned in Yarrow. The Rev. John Logan's Braes of Yarrow is founded on the latter.
William Hamilton of Bangour was born in 1704 and died at Lyons in 1754, from which place his remains were brought to Scotland, and interred in Holyrood Abbey. He was a Jacobite, and after the battle of Culloden was forced to skulk about the Highlands in disguise until he was able to escape to France. He returned to Scotland after the country had quieted down in 1749.]
A. Busk[875] ye, busk ye, my bonny bonny bride,
Busk ye, busk ye, my winsome marrow,[876]
Busk ye, busk ye, my bonny bonny bride,
And think nae mair on the Braes[877] of Yarrow.
B. Where gat ye that bonny bonny bride? 5
Where gat ye that winsome marrow?
A. I gat her where I dare na weil be seen,
Puing the birks[878] on the Braes of Yarrow.
Weep not, weep not, my bonny bonny bride,
Weep not, weep not, my winsome marrow; 10
Nor let thy heart lament to leive
Puing the birks on the Braes of Yarrow.