23
'O tell me, tell me, Tam-a-Line,
O tell, an tell me true,
Tell me this night, an mak nae lie,
What pedigree are you?'
24
'O I hae been at gude church-door,
An I've got Christendom;
I'm the Earl o' Forbes' eldest son,
An heir ower a' his land.
25
'When I was young, o three years old,
Muckle was made o me;
My step-mother put on my claithes,
An ill, ill sained she me.
26
'Ae fatal morning I went out,
Dreading nae injury,
And thinking lang, fell soun asleep,
Beneath an apple tree.
27
'Then by it came the Elfin Queen,
And laid her hand on me;
And from that time since ever I mind,
I've been in her companie.
28
'O Elfin it's a bonny place,
In it fain woud I dwell;
But ay at ilka seven years' end
They pay a tiend to hell,
And I'm sae fou o flesh an blude,
I'm sair feard for mysell.'
29
'O tell me, tell me, Tam-a-Line,
O tell, an tell me true;
Tell me this night, an mak nae lie,
What way I'll borrow you?'
30
'The morn is Halloweven night,
The elfin court will ride,
Through England, and thro a' Scotland,
And through the world wide.
31
'O they begin at sky setting,
Rides a' the evening tide;
And she that will her true-love borrow,
[At] Miles-corse will him bide.
32
'Ye'll do you down to Miles-corse,
Between twall hours and ane,
And full your hands o holy water,
And cast your compass roun.