THE KELPIE OF CORRIEVRECKAN
Hemounted his steed of the water clear,And sat on his saddle of sea-weed sere;He held his bridle of strings of pearl,Dug out of the depths where the sea-snakes curl.He put on his vest of the whirlpool froth,Soft and dainty as velvet cloth,And donned his mantle of sand so white,And grasped his sword of the coral bright.And away he galloped, a horseman free,Spurring his steed through the stormy sea,Clearing the billows with bound and leap—Away, away, o’er the foaming deep!By Scarba’s rock, by Lunga’s shore,By Garveloch isles where the breakers roar,With his horse’s hoofs he dashed the spray,And on to Loch Buy, away, away!On to Loch Buy all day he rode,And reached the shore as sunset glowed,And stopped to hear the sounds of joyThat rose from the hills and glens of Moy.The morrow was May, and on the greenThey’d lit the fire of Beltan E’en,And danced around, and piled it highWith peat and heather and pine-logs dry.A piper played a lightsome reel,And timed the dance with toe and heel;While wives looked on, as lad and lassTrod it merrily o’er the grass.And Jessie (fickle and fair was she)Sat with Evan beneath a tree,And smiled with mingled love and pride,And half agreed to be his bride.The Kelpie galloped o’er the green—He seemed a Knight of noble mien,And old and young stood up to see,And wondered who the Knight could be.His flowing locks were auburn bright,His cheeks were ruddy, his eyes flashed light;And as he sprang from his good grey steed,He looked a gallant youth indeed.And Jessie’s fickle heart beat high,As she caught the stranger’s glancing eye:And when he smiled, “Ah, well,” thought she,“I wish this Knight came courting me!”He took two steps towards her seat—“Wilt thou be mine, O Maiden sweet?”He took her lily-white hand, and sighed,“Maiden, Maiden, be my bride!”And Jessie blushed, and whispered soft—“Meet me to-night when the moon’s aloft;I’ve dreamed, fair Knight, long time of thee—I thought thou earnest courting me.”
Hemounted his steed of the water clear,And sat on his saddle of sea-weed sere;He held his bridle of strings of pearl,Dug out of the depths where the sea-snakes curl.He put on his vest of the whirlpool froth,Soft and dainty as velvet cloth,And donned his mantle of sand so white,And grasped his sword of the coral bright.And away he galloped, a horseman free,Spurring his steed through the stormy sea,Clearing the billows with bound and leap—Away, away, o’er the foaming deep!By Scarba’s rock, by Lunga’s shore,By Garveloch isles where the breakers roar,With his horse’s hoofs he dashed the spray,And on to Loch Buy, away, away!On to Loch Buy all day he rode,And reached the shore as sunset glowed,And stopped to hear the sounds of joyThat rose from the hills and glens of Moy.The morrow was May, and on the greenThey’d lit the fire of Beltan E’en,And danced around, and piled it highWith peat and heather and pine-logs dry.A piper played a lightsome reel,And timed the dance with toe and heel;While wives looked on, as lad and lassTrod it merrily o’er the grass.And Jessie (fickle and fair was she)Sat with Evan beneath a tree,And smiled with mingled love and pride,And half agreed to be his bride.The Kelpie galloped o’er the green—He seemed a Knight of noble mien,And old and young stood up to see,And wondered who the Knight could be.His flowing locks were auburn bright,His cheeks were ruddy, his eyes flashed light;And as he sprang from his good grey steed,He looked a gallant youth indeed.And Jessie’s fickle heart beat high,As she caught the stranger’s glancing eye:And when he smiled, “Ah, well,” thought she,“I wish this Knight came courting me!”He took two steps towards her seat—“Wilt thou be mine, O Maiden sweet?”He took her lily-white hand, and sighed,“Maiden, Maiden, be my bride!”And Jessie blushed, and whispered soft—“Meet me to-night when the moon’s aloft;I’ve dreamed, fair Knight, long time of thee—I thought thou earnest courting me.”
Hemounted his steed of the water clear,And sat on his saddle of sea-weed sere;He held his bridle of strings of pearl,Dug out of the depths where the sea-snakes curl.
Hemounted his steed of the water clear,
And sat on his saddle of sea-weed sere;
He held his bridle of strings of pearl,
Dug out of the depths where the sea-snakes curl.
He put on his vest of the whirlpool froth,Soft and dainty as velvet cloth,And donned his mantle of sand so white,And grasped his sword of the coral bright.
He put on his vest of the whirlpool froth,
Soft and dainty as velvet cloth,
And donned his mantle of sand so white,
And grasped his sword of the coral bright.
And away he galloped, a horseman free,Spurring his steed through the stormy sea,Clearing the billows with bound and leap—Away, away, o’er the foaming deep!
And away he galloped, a horseman free,
Spurring his steed through the stormy sea,
Clearing the billows with bound and leap—
Away, away, o’er the foaming deep!
By Scarba’s rock, by Lunga’s shore,By Garveloch isles where the breakers roar,With his horse’s hoofs he dashed the spray,And on to Loch Buy, away, away!
By Scarba’s rock, by Lunga’s shore,
By Garveloch isles where the breakers roar,
With his horse’s hoofs he dashed the spray,
And on to Loch Buy, away, away!
On to Loch Buy all day he rode,And reached the shore as sunset glowed,And stopped to hear the sounds of joyThat rose from the hills and glens of Moy.
On to Loch Buy all day he rode,
And reached the shore as sunset glowed,
And stopped to hear the sounds of joy
That rose from the hills and glens of Moy.
The morrow was May, and on the greenThey’d lit the fire of Beltan E’en,And danced around, and piled it highWith peat and heather and pine-logs dry.
The morrow was May, and on the green
They’d lit the fire of Beltan E’en,
And danced around, and piled it high
With peat and heather and pine-logs dry.
A piper played a lightsome reel,And timed the dance with toe and heel;While wives looked on, as lad and lassTrod it merrily o’er the grass.
A piper played a lightsome reel,
And timed the dance with toe and heel;
While wives looked on, as lad and lass
Trod it merrily o’er the grass.
And Jessie (fickle and fair was she)Sat with Evan beneath a tree,And smiled with mingled love and pride,And half agreed to be his bride.
And Jessie (fickle and fair was she)
Sat with Evan beneath a tree,
And smiled with mingled love and pride,
And half agreed to be his bride.
The Kelpie galloped o’er the green—He seemed a Knight of noble mien,And old and young stood up to see,And wondered who the Knight could be.
The Kelpie galloped o’er the green—
He seemed a Knight of noble mien,
And old and young stood up to see,
And wondered who the Knight could be.
His flowing locks were auburn bright,His cheeks were ruddy, his eyes flashed light;And as he sprang from his good grey steed,He looked a gallant youth indeed.
His flowing locks were auburn bright,
His cheeks were ruddy, his eyes flashed light;
And as he sprang from his good grey steed,
He looked a gallant youth indeed.
And Jessie’s fickle heart beat high,As she caught the stranger’s glancing eye:And when he smiled, “Ah, well,” thought she,“I wish this Knight came courting me!”
And Jessie’s fickle heart beat high,
As she caught the stranger’s glancing eye:
And when he smiled, “Ah, well,” thought she,
“I wish this Knight came courting me!”
He took two steps towards her seat—“Wilt thou be mine, O Maiden sweet?”He took her lily-white hand, and sighed,“Maiden, Maiden, be my bride!”
He took two steps towards her seat—
“Wilt thou be mine, O Maiden sweet?”
He took her lily-white hand, and sighed,
“Maiden, Maiden, be my bride!”
And Jessie blushed, and whispered soft—“Meet me to-night when the moon’s aloft;I’ve dreamed, fair Knight, long time of thee—I thought thou earnest courting me.”
And Jessie blushed, and whispered soft—
“Meet me to-night when the moon’s aloft;
I’ve dreamed, fair Knight, long time of thee—
I thought thou earnest courting me.”
Whenthe moon her yellow horn displayed,Alone to the trysting went the maid;When all the stars were shining bright,Alone to the trysting went the Knight.“I have loved thee long, I have loved thee well,Maiden, oh more than words can tell!Maiden, thine eyes like diamonds shine;Maiden, Maiden, be thou mine!”“Fair Sir, thy suit I’ll ne’er deny—Though poor my lot, my hopes are high;I scorn a lover of low degree—None but a Knight shall marry me.”He took her by the hand so white,And gave her a ring of the gold so bright;“Maiden, whose eyes like diamonds shine—Maiden, Maiden, now thou’rt mine!”He lifted her up on his steed of grey,And they rode till morning away, away—Over the mountain and over the moor,And over the rocks, to the dark sea-shore.“We have ridden East, we have ridden West—I’m weary, fair Knight, and I fain would rest,Say, is thy dwelling beyond the sea?Hast thou a good ship waiting for me?”“I have no dwelling beyond the sea,I have no good ship waiting for thee;Thou shalt sleep with me on a couch of foam,And the depths of the ocean shall be thy home.”The grey steed plunged in the billows clear,And the maiden’s shrieks were sad to hear.“Maiden, whose eyes like diamonds shine—Maiden, Maiden, now thou’rt mine!”Loud the cold sea-blast did blow,As they sank ’mid the angry waves below—Down to the rocks where the serpents creep,Twice five hundred fathoms deep.At morn a fisherman, sailing by,Saw her pale corse floating high;He knew the maid by her yellow hairAnd her lily skin so soft and fair.Under a rock on Scarba’s shore,Where the wild winds sigh and the breakers roar,They dug her a grave by the water clear,Among the sea-weed salt and seer.And every year at Beltan E’en,The Kelpie gallops across the green,On a steed as fleet as the wintry wind,With Jessie’s mournful ghost behind.I warn you, maids, whoever you be,Beware of pride and vanity;And ere on change of love you reckon,Beware the Kelpie of Corrievreckan.
Whenthe moon her yellow horn displayed,Alone to the trysting went the maid;When all the stars were shining bright,Alone to the trysting went the Knight.“I have loved thee long, I have loved thee well,Maiden, oh more than words can tell!Maiden, thine eyes like diamonds shine;Maiden, Maiden, be thou mine!”“Fair Sir, thy suit I’ll ne’er deny—Though poor my lot, my hopes are high;I scorn a lover of low degree—None but a Knight shall marry me.”He took her by the hand so white,And gave her a ring of the gold so bright;“Maiden, whose eyes like diamonds shine—Maiden, Maiden, now thou’rt mine!”He lifted her up on his steed of grey,And they rode till morning away, away—Over the mountain and over the moor,And over the rocks, to the dark sea-shore.“We have ridden East, we have ridden West—I’m weary, fair Knight, and I fain would rest,Say, is thy dwelling beyond the sea?Hast thou a good ship waiting for me?”“I have no dwelling beyond the sea,I have no good ship waiting for thee;Thou shalt sleep with me on a couch of foam,And the depths of the ocean shall be thy home.”The grey steed plunged in the billows clear,And the maiden’s shrieks were sad to hear.“Maiden, whose eyes like diamonds shine—Maiden, Maiden, now thou’rt mine!”Loud the cold sea-blast did blow,As they sank ’mid the angry waves below—Down to the rocks where the serpents creep,Twice five hundred fathoms deep.At morn a fisherman, sailing by,Saw her pale corse floating high;He knew the maid by her yellow hairAnd her lily skin so soft and fair.Under a rock on Scarba’s shore,Where the wild winds sigh and the breakers roar,They dug her a grave by the water clear,Among the sea-weed salt and seer.And every year at Beltan E’en,The Kelpie gallops across the green,On a steed as fleet as the wintry wind,With Jessie’s mournful ghost behind.I warn you, maids, whoever you be,Beware of pride and vanity;And ere on change of love you reckon,Beware the Kelpie of Corrievreckan.
Whenthe moon her yellow horn displayed,Alone to the trysting went the maid;When all the stars were shining bright,Alone to the trysting went the Knight.
Whenthe moon her yellow horn displayed,
Alone to the trysting went the maid;
When all the stars were shining bright,
Alone to the trysting went the Knight.
“I have loved thee long, I have loved thee well,Maiden, oh more than words can tell!Maiden, thine eyes like diamonds shine;Maiden, Maiden, be thou mine!”
“I have loved thee long, I have loved thee well,
Maiden, oh more than words can tell!
Maiden, thine eyes like diamonds shine;
Maiden, Maiden, be thou mine!”
“Fair Sir, thy suit I’ll ne’er deny—Though poor my lot, my hopes are high;I scorn a lover of low degree—None but a Knight shall marry me.”
“Fair Sir, thy suit I’ll ne’er deny—
Though poor my lot, my hopes are high;
I scorn a lover of low degree—
None but a Knight shall marry me.”
He took her by the hand so white,And gave her a ring of the gold so bright;“Maiden, whose eyes like diamonds shine—Maiden, Maiden, now thou’rt mine!”
He took her by the hand so white,
And gave her a ring of the gold so bright;
“Maiden, whose eyes like diamonds shine—
Maiden, Maiden, now thou’rt mine!”
He lifted her up on his steed of grey,And they rode till morning away, away—Over the mountain and over the moor,And over the rocks, to the dark sea-shore.
He lifted her up on his steed of grey,
And they rode till morning away, away—
Over the mountain and over the moor,
And over the rocks, to the dark sea-shore.
“We have ridden East, we have ridden West—I’m weary, fair Knight, and I fain would rest,Say, is thy dwelling beyond the sea?Hast thou a good ship waiting for me?”
“We have ridden East, we have ridden West—
I’m weary, fair Knight, and I fain would rest,
Say, is thy dwelling beyond the sea?
Hast thou a good ship waiting for me?”
“I have no dwelling beyond the sea,I have no good ship waiting for thee;Thou shalt sleep with me on a couch of foam,And the depths of the ocean shall be thy home.”
“I have no dwelling beyond the sea,
I have no good ship waiting for thee;
Thou shalt sleep with me on a couch of foam,
And the depths of the ocean shall be thy home.”
The grey steed plunged in the billows clear,And the maiden’s shrieks were sad to hear.“Maiden, whose eyes like diamonds shine—Maiden, Maiden, now thou’rt mine!”
The grey steed plunged in the billows clear,
And the maiden’s shrieks were sad to hear.
“Maiden, whose eyes like diamonds shine—
Maiden, Maiden, now thou’rt mine!”
Loud the cold sea-blast did blow,As they sank ’mid the angry waves below—Down to the rocks where the serpents creep,Twice five hundred fathoms deep.
Loud the cold sea-blast did blow,
As they sank ’mid the angry waves below—
Down to the rocks where the serpents creep,
Twice five hundred fathoms deep.
At morn a fisherman, sailing by,Saw her pale corse floating high;He knew the maid by her yellow hairAnd her lily skin so soft and fair.
At morn a fisherman, sailing by,
Saw her pale corse floating high;
He knew the maid by her yellow hair
And her lily skin so soft and fair.
Under a rock on Scarba’s shore,Where the wild winds sigh and the breakers roar,They dug her a grave by the water clear,Among the sea-weed salt and seer.
Under a rock on Scarba’s shore,
Where the wild winds sigh and the breakers roar,
They dug her a grave by the water clear,
Among the sea-weed salt and seer.
And every year at Beltan E’en,The Kelpie gallops across the green,On a steed as fleet as the wintry wind,With Jessie’s mournful ghost behind.
And every year at Beltan E’en,
The Kelpie gallops across the green,
On a steed as fleet as the wintry wind,
With Jessie’s mournful ghost behind.
I warn you, maids, whoever you be,Beware of pride and vanity;And ere on change of love you reckon,Beware the Kelpie of Corrievreckan.
I warn you, maids, whoever you be,
Beware of pride and vanity;
And ere on change of love you reckon,
Beware the Kelpie of Corrievreckan.
Charles Mackay