O wae be unto thee, Blackwòod,
And ae an ill death may ye dee!
For ye was the first and foremost man
That parted my gude lord and me.
VIII
I sent a word to my gude lord,
‘Come down, and sit, and dine wi’ me,
And I’ll set thee on a chair of gowd,
And a siller towel on thy knee.’—
IX
‘When cockle-shells turn silver bells,
And mussell grow on every tree,
When frost and snow turns fire to burn,
Then I’ll sit down and dine wi’ thee.’
X
When that my father he had word
That my gude lord had forsaken me,
He sent a fifty brisk dragoons
To fetch me home to my ain countrie.
XI
‘Fare thee well, my Jamie Douglas!
Fare thee well, ever dear to me!
But O, an my young babe were born
And set upon some nourice’ knee!