Sacred Texts  Sagas & Legends  England  Index  Previous  Next 

p. 126

Waly, Waly, Love be Bonny

A SCOTTISH SONG

O WALY, waly up the bank,
  And waly, waly down the brae,
And waly, waly yon burn side,
  Where I and my love were wont to gae.
I leant my back unto an aik,
  I thought it was a trusty tree;
But first it bow'd, and syne it brak,
  Sae my true love did lichtly me.

O waly, waly, but gin love be bonny,
  A little time while it is new;
But when its auld, it waxeth cauld,
  And fades awa' like morning dew. p. 127
O wherfore shuld I busk my head?
  Or wherfore shuld I kame my hair?
For my true love has me forsook,
  And says he'll never loe me mair.

Now Arthur-Seat sall be my bed,
  The sheets shall neir be prest by me:
Saint Anton's well sall be my drink,
  Since my true love has forsaken me.
Marti'mas wind, when wilt thou blaw,
  And shake the green leaves aff the tree?
O gentle death, when wilt thou cum?
  For of my life I am wearìe.

'Tis not the frost that freezes fell,
  Nor blawing snaws inclemencìe;
'Tis not sic cauld that makes me cry,
  But my love's heart grown cauld to me.
Whan we came in by Glasgow town,
  We were a comely sight to see;
My love was clad in black velvet,
  And I myself in cramasìe.

But had I wist, before I kist,
  That love had been sae ill to win, p. 128
I had lockt my heart in a case of gowd,
  And pinnd it with a siller pin.
And, oh! that my young babe were born,
  And set upon the nurse's knee,
And I myself were dead and gane!
  And the green grass growing over me.

 


Next: The Nut-brown Maid