The cruel sister

There were two sisters sat in a bour,

Binnorie, О Binnorie;

There came a knight to be their wooer,

By the bonny milldams of Binnorie.

He courted the eldest with glove and ring

But he lo'ed the youngest aboon a' thing.

He courted the eldest with broach and knife,

But he lo'ed the youngest abune his life.

The eldest she was vexed sair,

And sore envied her sister fair.

The eldest said to the youngest ane,

Will ye go and see our father's ships come in?

She's ta'en her by the lilly hand

And led her down to the river strand.

The youngest stude upon a stane,

The eldest came and pushed her in.

She took her by the middle sma,

And dashed her bonnie back to the jaw.

О sister, sister reach your hand,

And I'll be heir of half my land.

О sister, I'll not reach my hand,

And I'll be heir of all your land.

Shame fa' the hand that should take,

It's twid'd me and my word's make.

О sister, reach me but your glove,

And sweet William shall be your love.

Sink on, nor hope for hand or glove,

And sweet William shall better be my love.

Your cherry cheeks and your yellow hair

Garr'd me gang maiden evermair.

Sometimes she sunk and sometimes she swam,

Until she came to the miller's dam.

О father, father, draw your dam,

There's either a mermaid or a milk-white swan.

The miller hasten and drew his dam,

And there he found a drown'd woman.

You could not see her yellow hair,

For gowd and pearls that were sae rare.

You could na see her middle sma'

Her gowden girdle was sae bra'

A famous harper passing by,

The sweet pale face he chanced to spy.

And when he looked that ladye on,

He sighed and made a heavy moan.

He made a harp of her breast bone,

Whose sounds would melt a heart of stone.

The strings he framed of her yellow hair,

Whose notes made sad the listening ear.

He brought it to her father's hall,

And there was the court assembled all.

He laid this harp upon a stone,

And straight it began to play alone.

О yonder sits my father the king,

And yonder sits my mother the queen.

And yonder stands my brother Hugh,

And by him my William sweet and true.

But the last tune that the harp play ‘d then,

Binnorie, О Binnorie

Was, Woe to my sister, false Helen,

By the bonny milldams of Binnorie.

6. THE WIFE OF USHER’S WELL

GLOSSARY: Carline- peasant, fashes- troubles, storms, birk- birch, syke- rivulet, sheugh-trench, channerin'- fretting, gnawing, gin- if, byre- cowhouse.

A

¹ There lived a wife at Usher's Well,

And a wealthy wife was she;

She had three stout and stalwart sons,

And sent them o'er the sea.

² They hadna been a week from her,

A week but barely ane,

Whan word came to the carline wife

That her three sons were gane.

³ They hadna been a week from her,

A week but barely three,

Whan word came to the carlin wife

That her sons she'd never see.

⁴ "I wish the wind may never cease,

Nor [fashes] in the flood,

Till my three sons come hame to me,

In earthly flesh and blood."

⁵ It fell about the Martinmass,

When nights are lang and mirk,

The carlin wife's three sons came hame,

And their hats were o' the birk.

⁶ It neither grew in syke nor ditch,

Nor yet in ony sheugh;

But at the gates о Paradise,

That birk grew fair eneugh.

⁷ "Blow up the fire, my maidens!

Bring water from the well!

For a' my house shall feast this night,

Since my three sons are well."

⁸ And she has made to them a bed,

She's made it large and wide,

And she's ta'en her mantle her about,

Sat down at the bed-side.

⁹ Up then crew the red, red cock,

And up and crew the gray;

The eldest to the youngest said,

" 'Tis time we were away."

¹⁰ The cock he hadna craw'd but once,

And clapp'd his wings at a',

When the youngest to the eldest said,

"Brother, we must awa’.

¹¹ "The cock doth craw,

the day doth daw,

The channerin' worm doth chide;

Gin we be mist out o' our place,

A sair pain we maun bide.

¹² "Fare ye weel, my mother dear!

Fareweel to barn and byre!

And fare ye weel, the bonny lass

That kindles my mother's fire!"

^B

¹ There was a widow-woman lived in far Scotland,

And in far Scotland she did live,

And all her cry was upon sweet Jesus,

Sweet Jesus so meek and mild.

² Then Jesus arose one morning quite soon,

And arose one morning betime,

And away He went to far Scotland,

And to see what the good woman want.

³ And when He came to far Scotland,

………………………………………..

Crying, "What, О what, does the good woman want,

That is calling so much on Me?"

⁴ "It's You go rise up my three sons,

Their names, Joe, Peter, and John,

⁵ And put breath in their breast,

And clothing on their backs,

And immediately send them to far Scotland,

That their mother may take some rest."

⁶ Then He went and rose up her three sons,

Their names, Joe, Peter, and John,

And did immediately send them to far Scotland,

That their mother may take some rest.

⁷ Then she made up a supper so neat,

As small, as small, as a yew-tree leaf,

But never one bit they could eat.

⁸ Then she made up a bed so soft,

The softest that ever was seen,

And the widow-woman and her three sons

They went to bed to sleep.

⁹ There they lay. About the middle of the night,

Bespeaks the youngest son:

"The white cock he has crowed once,

The second has, so has the red."

¹⁰ And then bespeaks the eldest son:

"I think, I think it is high time

For the wicked to part from their dead."

¹¹ Then they [led] her along a green road,

The greenest that ever was seen,

Until they came to some far chaperine,

Which was builded of lime and sand;

Until they came to some far chaperine,

Which was builded with lime and stone.

¹² And then He opened the door so big,

And the door so very wide;

Said He to her three sons, "Walk in!"

But told her to stay outside.

¹³ "Go back, go back!" sweet Jesus replied,

"Go back, go back!" says He;

"For thou hast nine days to repent

For the wickedness that thou hast done."

¹⁴ Nine days then was past and gone,

And nine days then was spent,

Sweet Jesus called her once again,

And took her to Heaven with Him

.

C

There was a lady fair and gay,

And children she had three;

She sent them away to some northern land,

For to learn their grammaree.

² They hadn't been gone but a very short time,

About three months to a day,

When sickness came to that land,

And swept those babes away.

⁸ There is a king in the heavens above,

That wears a golden crown;

She prayed that he would send her babies home

To-night or in the morning soon.

⁴ It was about one Christmas time,

When the nights was long and cool,

She dreamed of her three little [lonely] babes,

Come running in their mother's room.

⁵ The table was fixed and the cloth was spread,

And on it put bread and wine:

"Come sit you down, my three little babes,

And eat and drink of mine."

⁶ "We'll neither eat your bread, dear mother,

Nor we'll neither drink your wine;

For to our Saviour we must return

To-night or in the morning soon."

⁷ The bed was fixed in the back room;

On it were some clean white sheet,

And on the top was a golden cloth,

To make those little babies sleep.

⁸ "Wake up! wake up!" says the oldest one,

"Wake up! it's almost day.

And to our Saviour we must return

To-night or in the morning soon.

⁹ "Green grass grows at our head, dear mother,

Green [moss] grows at our feet;

The tears you shed for us three babes,

[They] wet our winding sheet."

Дата добавления: 2015-08-13