English and Scottish Ballads Volume II Part 29

Intill her bower she coudna rest, _Binnorie, O Binnorie_!

Wi' grief and spite she maistly brast, _By the bonny mill-dams o' Binnorie_. 20

Upon a morning fair and clear, _Binnorie, O Binnorie_!

She cried upon her sister dear, _By the bonny mill-dams o' Binnorie_.

"O sister, come to yon sea strand, 25 _Binnorie, O Binnorie_!

And see our father's s.h.i.+ps come to land,"

_By the bonny mill-dams o' Binnorie_.

She's ta'en her by the milk-white hand, _Binnorie, O Binnorie_! 30 And led her down to yon sea strand, _By the bonny mill-dams o' Binnorie_.

The youngest stood upon a stane, _Binnorie, O Binnorie_!

The eldest came and threw her in, 35 _By the bonny mill-dams o' Binnorie_.

She took her by the middle sma'

_Binnorie, O Binnorie_!

And dashed her bonny back to the jaw, _By the bonny mill-dams o' Binnorie_. 40

"O sister, sister, tak my hand, _Binnorie, O Binnorie_!

And I'se mak ye heir to a' my land, _By the bonny mill-dams o' Binnorie_.

"O sister, sister, tak my middle, 45 _Binnorie, O Binnorie_!

And ye's get my goud and my gouden girdle, _By the bonny mill-dams o' Binnorie_.

"O sister, sister, save my life, _Binnorie, O Binnorie_! 50 And I swear I'se never be nae man's wife,"

_By the bonny mill-dams o' Binnorie_.

"Foul fa' the hand that I should tak, _Binnorie, O Binnorie_!

It twin'd me o' my warldes mak, 55 _By the bonny mill-dams o' Binnorie_.

"Your cherry cheeks and yellow hair _Binnorie, O Binnorie_!

Gars me gang maiden for evermair,"

_By the bonny mill-dams o' Binnorie_. 60

Sometimes she sank, sometimes she swam, _Binnorie, O Binnorie_!

Till she came to the mouth o' yon mill-dam, _By the bonny mill-dams o' Binnorie_.

O out it came the miller's son, 65 _Binnorie, O Binnorie_!

And saw the fair maid soummin in, _By the bonny mill-dams o' Binnorie_.

"O father, father, draw your dam, _Binnorie, O Binnorie_! 70 There's either a mermaid or a swan,"

_By the bonny mill-dams o' Binnorie_.

[The miller quickly drew the dam, _Binnorie, O Binnorie_!

And there he found a drown'd woman, 75 _By the bonny mill-dams o' Binnorie_.]

"And sair and lang mat their teen last, _Binnorie, O Binnorie_!

That wrought thee sic a dowie cast,"

_By the bonny mill-dams o' Binnorie_! 80

You coudna see her yellow hair _Binnorie, O Binnorie_!

For goud and pearl that was sae rare, _By the bonny mill-dams o' Binnorie_.

You coudna see her middle sma' 85 _Binnorie, O Binnorie_!

For gouden girdle that was sae braw, _By the bonny mill-dams o' Binnorie_.

You coudna see her fingers white, _Binnorie, O Binnorie_! 90 For gouden rings that were sae gryte, _By the bonny mill-dams o' Binnorie_.

And by there came a harper fine, _Binnorie, O Binnorie_!

That harped to the king at dine, 95 _By the bonny mill-dams o' Binnorie_.

Whan he did look that lady upon, _Binnorie, O Binnorie_!

He sigh'd and made a heavy moan, _By the bonny mill-dams o' Binnorie_. 100

He's ta'en three locks o' her yellow hair, _Binnorie, O Binnorie_!

And wi' them strung his harp sae fair, _By the bonny mill-dams o' Binnorie_.

The first tune it did play and sing, 105 _Binnorie, O Binnorie_!

Was, "Fareweel to my father the king,"

_By the bonny mill-dams o' Binnorie_.

The nexten tune that it play'd seen, _Binnorie, O Binnorie_! 110 Was, "Fareweel to my mither the queen,"

_By the bonny mill-dams o' Binnorie_.

The thirden tune that it play'd then, _Binnorie, O Binnorie_!

Was, "Wae to my sister, fair Ellen," 115 _By the bonny mill-dams o' Binnorie_!

LORD DONALD.

Kinloch's _Ancient Scottish Ballads_, p. 110.

Like the two which preceded it, this ballad is common to the Gothic nations. It exists in a great variety of forms. Two stanzas, recovered by Burns, were printed in Johnson's _Museum_, i. 337; two others were inserted by Jamieson, in his _Ill.u.s.trations_, p. 319.

The _Border Minstrelsy_ furnished five stanzas, giving the _story_, without the bequests. Allan Cunningham's alteration of Scott's version, (_Scottish Songs_, i. 285,) has one stanza more. Kinloch procured from the North of Scotland the following complete copy.

In the Appendix, we have placed a nursery song on the same subject, still familiar in Scotland, and translations of the corresponding German and Swedish ballads--both most remarkable cases of parallelism in popular romance.

Lord Donald, as Kinloch remarks, would seem to have been poisoned by eating toads prepared as fishes. Scott, in his introduction to _Lord Randal_, has quoted from an old chronicle, a fabulous account of the poisoning of King John by means of a cup of ale, in which the venom of this reptile had been infused.

"O whare hae ye been a' day, Lord Donald, my son?

O whare hae ye been a' day, my jollie young man?"

"I've been awa courtin':--mither, mak my bed sune, For I'm sick at the heart, and I fain wad lie doun."

"What wad ye hae for your supper, Lord Donald, my son? 5 What wad ye hae for your supper, my jollie young man?"

"I've gotten my supper:--mither, mak my bed sune, For I'm sick at the heart, and I fain wad lie doun."