16
And then bespake the strings all three,
'O yonder is my sister that drowned mee.'
17
'Now pay the miller for his payne,
And let him bee gone in the divel's name.'
B.
a. Jamieson-Brown MS., fol. 39. b. Wm. Tytler's Brown MS., No 15. c. Abbotsford MS., "Scottish Songs," fol. 21. d. Jamieson's Popular Ballads, I, 48.
1
There was twa sisters in a bowr,
Edinburgh, Edinburgh
There was twa sisters in a bowr,
Stirling for ay
There was twa sisters in a bowr,
There came a knight to be their wooer.
Bonny Saint Johnston stands upon Tay
2
He courted the eldest wi glove an ring,
But he lovd the youngest above a' thing.
3
He courted the eldest wi brotch an knife,
But lovd the youngest as his life.
4
The eldest she was vexed sair,
An much envi'd her sister fair.
5
Into her bowr she could not rest,
Wi grief an spite she almos brast.