"He bids me tell that bloody warden,
"Oppressor of low and high,
"If ever again his lieges complain,
"The cruel Soulis shall die."
By traitorous slight they seized the knight,
Before he rode or ran,
And through the key-stone of the vault,
They plunged him, horse and man.
O May she came, and May she gaed,
By Goranberry green;
And May she was the fairest maid,
That ever yet was seen.
O May she came, and May she gaed,
By Goranberry tower;
And who was it but cruel Lord Soulis,
That carried her from her bower?
He brought her to his castle gray,
By Hermitage's side;
Says—"Be content, my lovely May,
"For thou shalt be my bride."
With her yellow hair, that glittered fair,
She dried the trickling tear;
She sighed the name of Branxholm's heir,
The youth that loved her dear.
"Now, be content, my bonny May,
"And take it for your hame;
"Or ever and ay shall ye rue the day,
"You heard young Branxholm's name.
"O'er Branxholm tower, ere the morning hour,
"When the lift[70] is like lead so blue;
"The smoke shall roll white on the weary night,
"And the flame shine dimly through."
Syne he's ca'd on him Ringan Red,
A sturdy kemp was he;
From friend or foe, in border feid,
Who never a foot would flee.