Of a’ the maids o’ fair Scotland,
The fairest was Marjorie;
And young Benjie was her ae true love,
And a dear true love was he.
And wow! but they were lovers dear,
And loved fu’ constantlie;
But ay the mair when they fell out,
The sairer was their plea.[A]
And they hae quarrelled on a day,
Till Marjorie’s heart
grew wae;
And she said she’d chuse another
luve,
And let young Benjie gae.
And he was stout,[B] and proud-hearted,
And thought o’t bitterlie;
And he’s ga’en by the wan
moon-light,
To meet his Marjorie.
“O open, open, my true love,
“O open, and let me
in!”
“I dare na open, young Benjie,
“My three brothers are
within.”
“Ye lied, ye lied, ye bonny burd,
“Sae loud’s I
hear ye lie;
“As I came by the Lowden banks,
“They bade gude e’en
to me.
“But fare ye weel, my ae fause love,
“That I hae loved sae
lang!
“It sets© ye chuse another love,
“And let young Benjie
gang.”
Then Marjorie turned her round about,
The tear blinding her ee,—
“I darena, darena, let thee in,
“But I’ll come
down to thee.”
Then saft she smiled, and said to him,
“O what ill hae I done?”
He took her in his armis twa,
And threw her o’er the
linn.
The stream was strang, the maid was stout,
And laith laith to be dang,[D]
But, ere she wan the Lowden banks,
Her fair colour was wan.
Then up bespak her eldest brother,
“O see na ye what I
see?”
And out then spak her second brother,
“Its our sister Marjorie!”
Out then spak her eldest brother,
“O how shall we her
ken?”
And out then spak her youngest brother,
“There’s a honey
mark on her chin.”
Then they’ve ta’en up the
comely corpse,
And laid it on the ground—
“O wha has killed our ae sister,
“And how can he be found?
“The night it is her low lykewake,
“The morn her burial
day,
“And we maun watch at mirk midnight,
“And hear what she will
say.”
Wi’ doors ajar, and candle light,
And torches burning clear;
The streikit corpse, till still midnight,
They waked, but naething hear.
About the middle o’ the night.
The cocks began to craw;
And at the dead hour o’ the night,
The corpse began to thraw.
“O wha has done the wrang, sister,
“Or dared the deadly
sin?
“Wha was sae stout, and feared nae
dout,
“As thraw ye o’er
the linn?”
“Young Benjie was the first ae man
“I laid my love upon;
“He was sae stout and proud-hearted,
“He threw me o’er
the linn.”
“Sall we young Benjie head, sister,
“Sall we young Benjie
hang,
“Or sall we pike out his twa gray
een,
“And punish him ere
he gang?”
“Ye mauna Benjie head, brothers,
“Ye mauna Benjie hang,
“But ye maun pike out his twa gray
een,
“And punish him ere
he gang.
“Tie a green gravat round his neck,
“And lead him out and
in,
“And the best ae servant about your
house
“To wait young Benjie
on.
“And ay, at every seven year’s
end,
“Ye’ll tak him
to the linn;
“For that’s the penance he
maun drie,
“To scug[E] his deadly
sin.”
[Footnote A: Plea—Used obliquely
for dispute.]
[Footnote B: Stout—Through
this whole ballad, signifies haughty.]
[Footnote C: Sets ye—Becomes
you—ironical.]
[Footnote D: Dang—defeated.]
[Footnote E: Scug—shelter or
expiate.]
