I
‘I was but seven year auld
When my mither she did dee;
My father married the ae warst woman
The warld did ever see.
II
‘For she has made me the laily[132] worm,
That lies at the fit o’ the tree,
An’ my sister Masery she’s made
The machrel of the sea.
III
‘An’ every Saturday at noon
The machrel comes to me,
An’ she takes my laily head
An’ lays it on her knee,
She kaims it wi’ a siller kaim,
An’ washes ’t in the sea.
IV
‘Seven knights hae I slain,
Sin I lay at the fit of the tree,
An’ ye war na my ain father,
The eighth ane ye should be.’—
V
‘Sing on your song, ye laily worm,
That ye did sing to me.’—
‘I never sung that song but what
I would sing it to thee.