209GEORDIE

A.‘Geordie,’ Johnson’s Musical Museum, No. 346, p. 357, 1792.

B.“Scotch Ballads, Materials for Border Minstrelsy,” Abbotsford, 1802.

C. a.‘The Laird of Geight, or Gae.’b.‘The Laird of Geight.’ “Scotch Ballads, Materials for Border Minstrelsy,” Abbotsford, 1813–15.

D.‘The Laird of Gigh, or Gae,’ “Scotch Ballads, Materials for Border Minstrelsy,” Abbotsford, 1813–15.

E. a.Kinloch MSS, V, 130.b.‘Geordie,’ Kinloch’s Ancient Scottish Ballads, p. 192.

F.‘Geordie Lukely,’ Motherwell’s MS., p. 367.

G.‘Geordie,’ ‘Geordie Lukelie,’ Motherwell’s Note-Book, p. 17, p. 10.

H.‘Will ye go to the Hielans, Geordie?’ Christie, Traditional Ballad Airs, II, 44.

I. a.‘Gight’s Lady,’ Buchan’s MSS, II, 143.b.‘Laird (Lord?) of Gight,’ Kinloch MSS, VI, 1.

J.‘Gight’s Lady,’ Buchan’s Ballads of the North of Scotland, I, 133.

K.Motherwell’s MS., p. 400, two stanzas.

L.‘Geordie,’ Cunningham’s Songs of Scotland, II, 186, two stanzas.

M.‘Geordie,’ ‘Geordie Lukely,’ Motherwell’s Note-Book, p. 2, one stanza.

N.‘Geordie,’ Motherwell’s Note-Book, p. 20, one stanza.

“Of this,” says Motherwell, “many variations exist among reciters,” and his remark is borne out by what is here given.

The copy in Cunningham’s Songs of Scotland, II, 186, isAretouched, with st. 5 dropped and two stanzas (L) inserted from recitation. The texts of Christie,I, 52, 84, areJabridged andE b. OfJChristie says that he heard in 1848 a version sung by a native of Buchan, Aberdeenshire, who had it through her grandmother and great-grandmother, which differed only in being more condensed and wanting the catastrophe, and in having Badenoch’s lady for Bignet’s, and Keith-Hall and Gartly for Black Riggs and Kincraigie.

Geordie Gordon,A, of Gight (Gigh),B b,C,D,I, of the Bog o Gight,H, is in prison, on a charge endangering his life. He sends a message to his wife to come to Edinburgh. She rides thither with the utmost haste, and finds Geordie in extremity. She is told that his life may be redeemed by the payment of a large sum of money. She raises a contribution on the spot, pays the ransom, and rides off with her husband.

Kinloch and others incline to take Geordie to be George Gordon, fourth earl of Huntly, who incurred the Queen Regent’s displeasure for failing to execute a commission against a Highland robber in 1554. Huntly was committed to Edinburgh Castle, and some of his many enemies urged that he should be banished to France, others that he should be put to death. The Earl of Cassilis, though a foe to Huntly, resisted these measures on grounds of patriotism, and proposed that he should be deprived of certain honors and offices and fined. A fine was exacted, and the places which had been taken from him were restored.[88]With regard to this hypothesis, it may at least be said that, if it should be accepted, the ballad would be quite as faithful to history as many others.

A-Eare the purer forms of the ballad;F-Jare corrupted by admixture.

Geordie is Geordie Lukely of Stirling inF. InG, he is the Earl of Cassilis, ‘of Hye,’ as if some singer of the Gordons had turned the tables on Huntly’s enemy. InH, Geordie lives at the Bog o Gight, and should be the Earl, or Marquis, of Huntly; but writers of peerages will consult st. 17.

There has been a battle in the North inA-E. Sir Charles Hay[89]has been killed, and Geordie is in custody for this,A,B. Geordie has killed a man and is to die,C; the man is his wife’s brother,D. InE, Geordie is a rebel.

Fbegins with two stanzas from a vulgar last-dying-speech, of which more by and by: otherwise the story is not essentially injured, though the style is lowered. Geordie (in the first two stanzas) has done many an ill deed, but no murder or slaughter; he has stolen fifteen of the king’s horse and sold them in Bohemia. Earl Cassilis, likewise, inG, could not keep his hand off horses; he has stolen three geldings out of a park and sold them to Balleny (Balveny). Huntly, if it be he, inH, has only made free with the king’s deer. InI,J, Geordie has had an intrigue with Bignet’s (Pilbagnet’s, Badenoch’s) lady, for which the husband has thrown him into prison, and he is to die. But he owns to more than this inJ. Beginning with an acknowledgment of one of the king’s best steeds stolenand sold in ‘Bevany,’ upon being pressed, he confesses to a woman abused and five orphan babes killed for their money.

Geordie points his message to his wife inC2,D4, by begging her to sew him or bring him his linen shirt (shirts), a good side shirt, which will be the last he shall need, and a lang side sark is equally prominent in the lady’s thoughts inI8.

The lady stops for nothing in her ride to Edinburgh. She will not, and does not, eat or drink all the way,A4, 5. When she comes to the water-side, finding no boat ready, she swims the Queen’s Ferry,B7,C5,D9,J13,L1; or pays a boatman prodigally to take her over,H9,I9,J14.

When the lady gaes oer the pier of Leith, comes to Edinburgh, to the West Port, the Canongate, the Parliament Close, the tolbooth-stair, the prison-door, she deals out crowns and ducatoons, makes the handfus o red gold fly, among the numerous poor, and bids them pray for Geordie. She has the prudence, inG5, to do the same among the nobles many at the tolbooth-gate, that they may plead for Geordie.

The block and axe are in sight, and Geordie, in chains, is coming down the stair,A; the napkin is laid over his face, and the gallows is making ready,B(soF, but put further on), his head is to go,C; the rest of the nobles sit (stand) hat on head, but hat in hand stands Geordie,D,E,H,I,J,L.

The lady makes a plea for her husband’s life. She is the mother of many children (the tale ranges from six to eleven) and is going with yet another,B,C,K,N. She would bear them all over again for the life of Geordie,C,D, or see them all streekit before her eyes,B; and for his life she will part with all that she owns,A10,B11, 16,D14.

The king inAis moved by neither of these appeals. The number of her children is so far from affecting him that he orders the heading-man to make haste. But the Gordons collect and pass the word to be ready. There would have been bloody bouks upon the green.[90]

The lady is told that by paying a good round sum, 5,000 (500) pounds, 10,000 (1000) crowns, she can redeem Geordie’s life. An aged lord prompts the king to offer these terms inA; in the other versions, they are proposed directly; by the king himself,F,G,I; by the queen,B,I; by the good Argyle,D; by an English lord,H. The bystanders contribute handsomely; she pays the ransom down, and wins the life of Geordie,A-D,G-J.

InE, which is a mere fragment, there is no fine or collection: a bold baron says, such true lovers shall not be parted, and she gets her Geordie forthwith. InF, no contribution is required, because the lady, after scattering the red gold among the poor, is still in a condition to produce the five thousand pound from her own pocket. For this she receives a ‘remit,’ with which she hies to the gallows and stops the impending execution. InI b, which is defective, the money collected is to pay the jailer’s fee. After the discharge has been secured (in two or three copies earlier), Lord Corstorph,B a, the Laird o Logie,B b, an Irish lord,C,H, an English lord,D, thegleidArgyle,I, Lord Montague,J, expresses a wish that Geordie’s head were off, because he might have succeeded to the lady. The lady checks this aspiration, sometimes in very abusive language.

The pair now ride off together, and when she is set in her saddle, no bird in bush or on briar ever sang so sweet as she,B,C,E,F,H,I. If we were to trust some of those who recite her story, the lady who has shown so much spirit and devotion was not one of those who blush to find good deeds fame. ‘Gar print me ballants that I am a worthy lady,’B30 makes her say; ‘Hae me to some writer’s house, that I may write down Gight’s lament and how I borrowed Geordie,’I a25; ‘Call for one of the best clerks, that he may write all this I’ve done for Geordie,’J36. What she really did say is perhaps faithfully given inD18: ‘Where is there a writer’s house, that I may write to the north that I have won the life of Geordie?’

IandJare probably from stall-prints, and it has not been thought necessary to notice some things which may have been put into these to eke them out to a convenient length.Jhas an entirely spurious supplement. When the pair are riding away, and even as the wife is protesting her affection, Geordie turns round and says, A finger of Bignet’s lady’s hand is worth a’ your fair body. A dispute ensues, and Geordie pulls out a dagger and stabs his lady; he then takes to flight, and never is found. Another set, mentioned by Motherwell, makes Geordie drown his deliverer in the sea, in a fit of jealousy (Minstrelsy, p. lxxvi, 46).

There is an English broadside ballad, on the death of “George Stoole” which seemed to Motherwell “evidently imitated from the Scottish song.” This was printed by H. Gosson, whose time is put at 1607–41.[91]This ballad was to be sung “to a delicate Scottish tune;” Georgy comes in as a rhyme at the end of stanzas not seldom; Georgy writes to his lady, bewailing his folly; he never stole no oxe nor cow, nor ever murdered any, but fifty horse he did receive of a merchant’s man of Gory, for which he was condemned to die, and did die. These are the data for determining the question of imitation.

There is a later ‘Georgy’ ballad, of the same general cast, on the life and death of “George of Oxford,” a professed and confessed highwayman, a broadside printed in the last quarter of the seventeenth century. In this, Lady Gray hastens to Newcastle to beg Georgy’s life of the judge, and offers gold and land to save him, after the fashion of Lady Ward in ‘Hughie Graham;’ to no purpose, as in ‘Hughie Graham.’ This Georgy owns and boasts himself a thief, but with limitations much the same as those which are made a point of by the other; he never stole horse, mare, or cloven-foot, with one exception—the king’s white steeds, which he sold to Bohemia.

Both of these ballads are given in an appendix.

Whether the writers of these English ballads knew of the Scottish ‘Geordie,’ I would not undertake to affirm or deny; it is clear that some far-back reciter of the Scottish ballad had knowledge of the later English broadside. The English ballads, however, are mere “goodnights.” The Scottish ballads have a proper story, with a beginning, middle, and end, and (save one late copy), a good end, and they are most certainly original and substantially independent of the English. The Scottish Geordie is no thief, nor even a Johnie Armstrong. There are certain passages in certain versions which give that impression, it is true, but these are incongruous with the story, and have been adopted from some copy of the broadside, the later rather than the earlier. These are, the first two stanzas ofF, utterly out of place, where we have the king’s horses stolen and sold in Bohemia, almost exactly as in the ballad of ‘George of Oxford,’ 15;G7, where the Earl of Cassilis is made to steal geldings and sell them in Balleny; andJ23, in which the Laird of Gight steals one of the king’s steeds (precisely as in ‘George of Oxford’) and sells it in Bevany. That is to say, we have the very familiar case of the introduction (generally accidental and often infelicitous) of a portion of one ballad into another; which, if accidental in the present instance, would easily be accounted for by a George beingthe hero in each. Further; the burden ofE, embodied in the ballad in two versions,I27,J35, has a general resemblance to that of ‘George Stoole,’ and could hardly have been original with the Scottish ballad. There was probably a ‘Geordie Luklie,’ a Scottish variety of one of the English broadsides.

Gis translated by Gerhard, p. 56;A, in part, by Knortz, Schottische Balladen, p. 101.

Johnson’s Museum, No 346, p. 357, 1792; communicated by Robert Burns.

1There was a battle in the north,And nobles there was many,And they hae killd Sir Charlie Hay,And they laid the wyte on Geordie.2O he has written a lang letter,He sent it to his lady:‘Ye maun cum up to Enbrugh town,To see what word’s o Geordie.’3When first she lookd the letter on,She was baith red and rosy;But she had na read a word but twaTill she wallowt like a lily.4‘Gar get to me my gude grey steed,My menyie a’ gae wi me,For I shall neither eat nor drinkTill Enbrugh town shall see me.’5And she has mountit her gude grey steed,Her menyie a’ gaed wi her,And she did neither eat nor drinkTill Enbrugh town did see her.6And first appeard the fatal block,And syne the aix to head him,And Geordie cumin down the stair,And bands o airn upon him.7But tho he was chaind in fetters strang,O airn and steel sae heavy,There was na ane in a’ the courtSae bra a man as Geordie.8O she’s down on her bended knee,I wat she’s pale and weary:‘O pardon, pardon, noble king,And gie me back my dearie!9‘I hae born seven sons to my Geordie dear,The seventh neer saw his daddie;O pardon, pardon, noble king,Pity a waefu lady!’10‘Gar bid the headin-man mak haste,’Our king reply’d fu lordly:‘O noble king, tak a’ that’s mine,But gie me back my Geordie!’11The Gordons cam, and the Gordons ran,And they were stark and steady,And ay the word amang them a’Was, Gordons, keep you ready!12An aged lord at the king’s right handSays, Noble king, but hear me;Gar her tell down five thousand pound,And gie her back her dearie.13Some gae her marks, some gae her crowns,Some gae her dollars many,And she’s telld down five thousand pound,And she’s gotten again her dearie.14She blinkit blythe in her Geordie’s face,Says, Dear I’ve bought thee, Geordie;But there sud been bluidy bouks on the greenOr I had tint my laddie.15He claspit her by the middle sma,And he kist her lips sae rosy:‘The fairest flower o woman-kindIs my sweet, bonie lady!’

1There was a battle in the north,And nobles there was many,And they hae killd Sir Charlie Hay,And they laid the wyte on Geordie.

There was a battle in the north,

And nobles there was many,

And they hae killd Sir Charlie Hay,

And they laid the wyte on Geordie.

2O he has written a lang letter,He sent it to his lady:‘Ye maun cum up to Enbrugh town,To see what word’s o Geordie.’

O he has written a lang letter,

He sent it to his lady:

‘Ye maun cum up to Enbrugh town,

To see what word’s o Geordie.’

3When first she lookd the letter on,She was baith red and rosy;But she had na read a word but twaTill she wallowt like a lily.

When first she lookd the letter on,

She was baith red and rosy;

But she had na read a word but twa

Till she wallowt like a lily.

4‘Gar get to me my gude grey steed,My menyie a’ gae wi me,For I shall neither eat nor drinkTill Enbrugh town shall see me.’

‘Gar get to me my gude grey steed,

My menyie a’ gae wi me,

For I shall neither eat nor drink

Till Enbrugh town shall see me.’

5And she has mountit her gude grey steed,Her menyie a’ gaed wi her,And she did neither eat nor drinkTill Enbrugh town did see her.

And she has mountit her gude grey steed,

Her menyie a’ gaed wi her,

And she did neither eat nor drink

Till Enbrugh town did see her.

6And first appeard the fatal block,And syne the aix to head him,And Geordie cumin down the stair,And bands o airn upon him.

And first appeard the fatal block,

And syne the aix to head him,

And Geordie cumin down the stair,

And bands o airn upon him.

7But tho he was chaind in fetters strang,O airn and steel sae heavy,There was na ane in a’ the courtSae bra a man as Geordie.

But tho he was chaind in fetters strang,

O airn and steel sae heavy,

There was na ane in a’ the court

Sae bra a man as Geordie.

8O she’s down on her bended knee,I wat she’s pale and weary:‘O pardon, pardon, noble king,And gie me back my dearie!

O she’s down on her bended knee,

I wat she’s pale and weary:

‘O pardon, pardon, noble king,

And gie me back my dearie!

9‘I hae born seven sons to my Geordie dear,The seventh neer saw his daddie;O pardon, pardon, noble king,Pity a waefu lady!’

‘I hae born seven sons to my Geordie dear,

The seventh neer saw his daddie;

O pardon, pardon, noble king,

Pity a waefu lady!’

10‘Gar bid the headin-man mak haste,’Our king reply’d fu lordly:‘O noble king, tak a’ that’s mine,But gie me back my Geordie!’

‘Gar bid the headin-man mak haste,’

Our king reply’d fu lordly:

‘O noble king, tak a’ that’s mine,

But gie me back my Geordie!’

11The Gordons cam, and the Gordons ran,And they were stark and steady,And ay the word amang them a’Was, Gordons, keep you ready!

The Gordons cam, and the Gordons ran,

And they were stark and steady,

And ay the word amang them a’

Was, Gordons, keep you ready!

12An aged lord at the king’s right handSays, Noble king, but hear me;Gar her tell down five thousand pound,And gie her back her dearie.

An aged lord at the king’s right hand

Says, Noble king, but hear me;

Gar her tell down five thousand pound,

And gie her back her dearie.

13Some gae her marks, some gae her crowns,Some gae her dollars many,And she’s telld down five thousand pound,And she’s gotten again her dearie.

Some gae her marks, some gae her crowns,

Some gae her dollars many,

And she’s telld down five thousand pound,

And she’s gotten again her dearie.

14She blinkit blythe in her Geordie’s face,Says, Dear I’ve bought thee, Geordie;But there sud been bluidy bouks on the greenOr I had tint my laddie.

She blinkit blythe in her Geordie’s face,

Says, Dear I’ve bought thee, Geordie;

But there sud been bluidy bouks on the green

Or I had tint my laddie.

15He claspit her by the middle sma,And he kist her lips sae rosy:‘The fairest flower o woman-kindIs my sweet, bonie lady!’

He claspit her by the middle sma,

And he kist her lips sae rosy:

‘The fairest flower o woman-kind

Is my sweet, bonie lady!’

a.“Scotch Ballads, Materials for Border Minstrelsy,” No 13, Abbotsford. Sent to Scott by William Laidlaw, September 11, 1802 (Letters, vol. i, No 73), as written down by Laidlaw from the recitation of Mr Bartram of Biggar.b.Variations received by Laidlaw from J. Scott.

1‘There was a battle i the northAmang our nobles many,And they have killed Sir Charles Hay,And they’ve taen thrae me my Geordie.’2‘O where’ll I gett a wi bit boy,A bonnie boy that’s ready,That will gae in to my bigginWith a letter to my ladie?’3Then up and startit a wi bit boy,An a bonnie boy was ready:‘It’s I’ll gae in to your bigginWi a letter to your ladie.’4When the day was fair an the way was clear,An the wi bit boy was ready,An he’s gane in to his biggin,Wi a letter to his ladie.5When she lookd the letter on,She was no a wearit ladie;But when she lookit the other side,She mourned for her Geordie.6‘Gar sadle to me the black,’ she says,‘For the brown rade neer sey bonnie,An I’ll gae down to Enbro town,An see my true-love Geordie.’7When she cam to the water-side,The cobles war na ready;She’s turnd her horse’s head about,An in by the Queen’s Ferry.8When she cam to the West Port,There war poor folks many;She dealt crowns an the ducatdowns,And bade them pray for Geordie.9When she cam to the Parliament Closs,There amang our nobles many,Cravats an caps war standing there,But low, low lay her Geordie.10When she gaed up the tolbooth-stairs,Amang our nobles manie,The napkin’s tyed oer Geordie’s face,And the gallows makin ready.11‘O wad ye hae his lands or rents?Or wad ye hae his monie?Take a’, a’ frae him but his sark alone,Leave me my true-love Geordie.’12The captain pu’d her on his knee,An ca’d her heart an honey:‘An ye wad wait se’en years for me,Ye wad never jump for Geordie.’13‘O hold your tongue, you foolish man,Your speech it’s a’ but folly;For an ye wad wait till the day ye die,I wad neer take John for Geordie.’14’Twas up an spak the Lord Corstarph,The ill gae wi his body!‘O Geordie’s neck it war on a block,Gif I had his fair ladie!’15‘O haud yer tongue, ye foolish man,Yer speech is a’ but folly;For if Geordie’s neck war on a block,Ye sould neer enjoy his ladie.16‘It’s I hae se’en weel gawn mills,I wait they a’ gang daily;I’ll gie them a’ an amang ye a’For the sparin o my Geordie.17‘I hae ele’en bairns i the wast,I wait the’re a’ to Geordie;I’d see them a’ streekit afore mine eyesAfore I lose my Geordie.18‘I hae ele’en bairns i the wast,The twalt bears up my body;The youngest’s on his nurse’s knee,An he never saw his dadie.19‘I hae se’en uncles in the north,They gang baith proud an lordly;I’d see them a’ tread down afore my eyesAfore I lose my Geordie.’20Then out an spak an English lord,The ill gae wi his bodie!‘It’s I gard hang Sir Francie Grey,An I’ll soon gar hang your Geordie.’21It’s out an spak than a Scottish lord,May the weel gae wi his body!‘It’s I’ll cast of my coat an feghtAfore ye lose your Geordie.’22It’s out then spak an English lord,May the ill gae wi his bodie!‘Before the morn at ten o’clock,I’s hae the head o Geordie.’23Out then spak the Scottish lord,May the weel gae wi his body!‘I’ll fight i bluid up to the kneesAfore ye lose your Geordie.’24But out an spak the royal king,May the weel gae wi his body!‘There’s be bluidie heads among us a’Afore ye lose your Geordie.’25’Twas up than spak the royal queen,‘May the weel gae wi his body!Tell down, tell down five hunder pound,An ye’s get wi you yer Geordie.’26Some gae her gold, some gae her crowns,Some gae her ducats many,An she’s telld down five hundred pound,An she’s taen away her Geordie.27An ay she praisd the powers above,An a’ the royal family,An ay she blessed the royal queen,For sparin o her Geordie.28. . . . . . .. . . . . . .Nae bird sang sweeter in the bushThan she did wi her Geordie.29‘It’s wo be to my Lord Costorph,It’s wo be to him daily!For if Geordie’s neck had been on the blockHe had neer enjoyd his ladie.30‘Gar print me ballants weel,’ she said,‘Gar print me ballants many,Gar print me ballants weel,’ she said,‘That I am a worthy ladie.’

1‘There was a battle i the northAmang our nobles many,And they have killed Sir Charles Hay,And they’ve taen thrae me my Geordie.’

‘There was a battle i the north

Amang our nobles many,

And they have killed Sir Charles Hay,

And they’ve taen thrae me my Geordie.’

2‘O where’ll I gett a wi bit boy,A bonnie boy that’s ready,That will gae in to my bigginWith a letter to my ladie?’

‘O where’ll I gett a wi bit boy,

A bonnie boy that’s ready,

That will gae in to my biggin

With a letter to my ladie?’

3Then up and startit a wi bit boy,An a bonnie boy was ready:‘It’s I’ll gae in to your bigginWi a letter to your ladie.’

Then up and startit a wi bit boy,

An a bonnie boy was ready:

‘It’s I’ll gae in to your biggin

Wi a letter to your ladie.’

4When the day was fair an the way was clear,An the wi bit boy was ready,An he’s gane in to his biggin,Wi a letter to his ladie.

When the day was fair an the way was clear,

An the wi bit boy was ready,

An he’s gane in to his biggin,

Wi a letter to his ladie.

5When she lookd the letter on,She was no a wearit ladie;But when she lookit the other side,She mourned for her Geordie.

When she lookd the letter on,

She was no a wearit ladie;

But when she lookit the other side,

She mourned for her Geordie.

6‘Gar sadle to me the black,’ she says,‘For the brown rade neer sey bonnie,An I’ll gae down to Enbro town,An see my true-love Geordie.’

‘Gar sadle to me the black,’ she says,

‘For the brown rade neer sey bonnie,

An I’ll gae down to Enbro town,

An see my true-love Geordie.’

7When she cam to the water-side,The cobles war na ready;She’s turnd her horse’s head about,An in by the Queen’s Ferry.

When she cam to the water-side,

The cobles war na ready;

She’s turnd her horse’s head about,

An in by the Queen’s Ferry.

8When she cam to the West Port,There war poor folks many;She dealt crowns an the ducatdowns,And bade them pray for Geordie.

When she cam to the West Port,

There war poor folks many;

She dealt crowns an the ducatdowns,

And bade them pray for Geordie.

9When she cam to the Parliament Closs,There amang our nobles many,Cravats an caps war standing there,But low, low lay her Geordie.

When she cam to the Parliament Closs,

There amang our nobles many,

Cravats an caps war standing there,

But low, low lay her Geordie.

10When she gaed up the tolbooth-stairs,Amang our nobles manie,The napkin’s tyed oer Geordie’s face,And the gallows makin ready.

When she gaed up the tolbooth-stairs,

Amang our nobles manie,

The napkin’s tyed oer Geordie’s face,

And the gallows makin ready.

11‘O wad ye hae his lands or rents?Or wad ye hae his monie?Take a’, a’ frae him but his sark alone,Leave me my true-love Geordie.’

‘O wad ye hae his lands or rents?

Or wad ye hae his monie?

Take a’, a’ frae him but his sark alone,

Leave me my true-love Geordie.’

12The captain pu’d her on his knee,An ca’d her heart an honey:‘An ye wad wait se’en years for me,Ye wad never jump for Geordie.’

The captain pu’d her on his knee,

An ca’d her heart an honey:

‘An ye wad wait se’en years for me,

Ye wad never jump for Geordie.’

13‘O hold your tongue, you foolish man,Your speech it’s a’ but folly;For an ye wad wait till the day ye die,I wad neer take John for Geordie.’

‘O hold your tongue, you foolish man,

Your speech it’s a’ but folly;

For an ye wad wait till the day ye die,

I wad neer take John for Geordie.’

14’Twas up an spak the Lord Corstarph,The ill gae wi his body!‘O Geordie’s neck it war on a block,Gif I had his fair ladie!’

’Twas up an spak the Lord Corstarph,

The ill gae wi his body!

‘O Geordie’s neck it war on a block,

Gif I had his fair ladie!’

15‘O haud yer tongue, ye foolish man,Yer speech is a’ but folly;For if Geordie’s neck war on a block,Ye sould neer enjoy his ladie.

‘O haud yer tongue, ye foolish man,

Yer speech is a’ but folly;

For if Geordie’s neck war on a block,

Ye sould neer enjoy his ladie.

16‘It’s I hae se’en weel gawn mills,I wait they a’ gang daily;I’ll gie them a’ an amang ye a’For the sparin o my Geordie.

‘It’s I hae se’en weel gawn mills,

I wait they a’ gang daily;

I’ll gie them a’ an amang ye a’

For the sparin o my Geordie.

17‘I hae ele’en bairns i the wast,I wait the’re a’ to Geordie;I’d see them a’ streekit afore mine eyesAfore I lose my Geordie.

‘I hae ele’en bairns i the wast,

I wait the’re a’ to Geordie;

I’d see them a’ streekit afore mine eyes

Afore I lose my Geordie.

18‘I hae ele’en bairns i the wast,The twalt bears up my body;The youngest’s on his nurse’s knee,An he never saw his dadie.

‘I hae ele’en bairns i the wast,

The twalt bears up my body;

The youngest’s on his nurse’s knee,

An he never saw his dadie.

19‘I hae se’en uncles in the north,They gang baith proud an lordly;I’d see them a’ tread down afore my eyesAfore I lose my Geordie.’

‘I hae se’en uncles in the north,

They gang baith proud an lordly;

I’d see them a’ tread down afore my eyes

Afore I lose my Geordie.’

20Then out an spak an English lord,The ill gae wi his bodie!‘It’s I gard hang Sir Francie Grey,An I’ll soon gar hang your Geordie.’

Then out an spak an English lord,

The ill gae wi his bodie!

‘It’s I gard hang Sir Francie Grey,

An I’ll soon gar hang your Geordie.’

21It’s out an spak than a Scottish lord,May the weel gae wi his body!‘It’s I’ll cast of my coat an feghtAfore ye lose your Geordie.’

It’s out an spak than a Scottish lord,

May the weel gae wi his body!

‘It’s I’ll cast of my coat an feght

Afore ye lose your Geordie.’

22It’s out then spak an English lord,May the ill gae wi his bodie!‘Before the morn at ten o’clock,I’s hae the head o Geordie.’

It’s out then spak an English lord,

May the ill gae wi his bodie!

‘Before the morn at ten o’clock,

I’s hae the head o Geordie.’

23Out then spak the Scottish lord,May the weel gae wi his body!‘I’ll fight i bluid up to the kneesAfore ye lose your Geordie.’

Out then spak the Scottish lord,

May the weel gae wi his body!

‘I’ll fight i bluid up to the knees

Afore ye lose your Geordie.’

24But out an spak the royal king,May the weel gae wi his body!‘There’s be bluidie heads among us a’Afore ye lose your Geordie.’

But out an spak the royal king,

May the weel gae wi his body!

‘There’s be bluidie heads among us a’

Afore ye lose your Geordie.’

25’Twas up than spak the royal queen,‘May the weel gae wi his body!Tell down, tell down five hunder pound,An ye’s get wi you yer Geordie.’

’Twas up than spak the royal queen,

‘May the weel gae wi his body!

Tell down, tell down five hunder pound,

An ye’s get wi you yer Geordie.’

26Some gae her gold, some gae her crowns,Some gae her ducats many,An she’s telld down five hundred pound,An she’s taen away her Geordie.

Some gae her gold, some gae her crowns,

Some gae her ducats many,

An she’s telld down five hundred pound,

An she’s taen away her Geordie.

27An ay she praisd the powers above,An a’ the royal family,An ay she blessed the royal queen,For sparin o her Geordie.

An ay she praisd the powers above,

An a’ the royal family,

An ay she blessed the royal queen,

For sparin o her Geordie.

28. . . . . . .. . . . . . .Nae bird sang sweeter in the bushThan she did wi her Geordie.

. . . . . . .

Nae bird sang sweeter in the bush

Than she did wi her Geordie.

29‘It’s wo be to my Lord Costorph,It’s wo be to him daily!For if Geordie’s neck had been on the blockHe had neer enjoyd his ladie.

‘It’s wo be to my Lord Costorph,

It’s wo be to him daily!

For if Geordie’s neck had been on the block

He had neer enjoyd his ladie.

30‘Gar print me ballants weel,’ she said,‘Gar print me ballants many,Gar print me ballants weel,’ she said,‘That I am a worthy ladie.’

‘Gar print me ballants weel,’ she said,

‘Gar print me ballants many,

Gar print me ballants weel,’ she said,

‘That I am a worthy ladie.’

a.“Scotch Ballads, Materials for Border Minstrelsy,” Abbotsford, No 38, MS. of Thomas Wilkie, 1813–15, p. 16; taken down from the singing of Miss Christy Robertson, Dunse.b.“Scotch Ballads,” etc., No 108, in a lady’s hand, and perhaps obtained directly from Miss Robertson.

1There was a battle in the north,Among the nobles many;The Laird of Geight he’s killd a man,And there’s nane to die but Geordie.* * * * * *2‘What news? what news, my bonny boy?What news hae ye frae Geordie?’‘He bids ye sew his linen shirts,For he’s sure he’ll no need many.’3‘Go saddle the black, go saddle the brown,Go saddle to me the bonny;For I will neither eat nor drinkUntil I see my Geordie.’4They’ve saddled the black, they’ve saddled the brown,They’ve saddled her the bonny,And she is away to Edinborough town,Straight away to see her Geordie.5When she came to the sea-side,The boats they were nae ready;She turned her horse’s head about,And swimd at the Queen’s Ferry.6And when she came to the prison-door,There poor folks they stood many;She dealt the red guineas them among,And bade them pray weel for Geordie.7And when she came into the hall,Amang the nobles many,The napkin’s tied on Geordie’s face,And the head’s to gae frae Geordie.8‘I have born ten bonny sons,And the eleventh neer sa his dadie,And I will bear them all oer againFor the life o bonny Geordie.9‘I have born the Laird of Gight,And the Laird of bonny Pernonnie;And I will gie them all to theeFor the life of my bonny Geordie.’10Up then spoke [a kind-hearted man],Wha said, He’s done good to many;If ye’ll tell down ten hundred crownsAway ye shall hae yer Geordie.11Some telld shillings, and some telld crowns,But she telld the red guineas many,Till they’ve telld down ten hundred crowns,And away she’s got her Geordie.12[It’s up then spoke an Irish lord,And O but he spoke bauldly!]‘I wish his head had been on the block,That I might hae got his fair lady.’13She turned about . . . .And O but she spoke boldly!‘A pox upon your nasty face!Will ye eer be compared to my Geordie?’14She set him on a milk-white steed,Herself upon another;The thrush on the briar neer sang so clearAs she sang behind her Geordie.

1There was a battle in the north,Among the nobles many;The Laird of Geight he’s killd a man,And there’s nane to die but Geordie.

There was a battle in the north,

Among the nobles many;

The Laird of Geight he’s killd a man,

And there’s nane to die but Geordie.

* * * * * *

2‘What news? what news, my bonny boy?What news hae ye frae Geordie?’‘He bids ye sew his linen shirts,For he’s sure he’ll no need many.’

‘What news? what news, my bonny boy?

What news hae ye frae Geordie?’

‘He bids ye sew his linen shirts,

For he’s sure he’ll no need many.’

3‘Go saddle the black, go saddle the brown,Go saddle to me the bonny;For I will neither eat nor drinkUntil I see my Geordie.’

‘Go saddle the black, go saddle the brown,

Go saddle to me the bonny;

For I will neither eat nor drink

Until I see my Geordie.’

4They’ve saddled the black, they’ve saddled the brown,They’ve saddled her the bonny,And she is away to Edinborough town,Straight away to see her Geordie.

They’ve saddled the black, they’ve saddled the brown,

They’ve saddled her the bonny,

And she is away to Edinborough town,

Straight away to see her Geordie.

5When she came to the sea-side,The boats they were nae ready;She turned her horse’s head about,And swimd at the Queen’s Ferry.

When she came to the sea-side,

The boats they were nae ready;

She turned her horse’s head about,

And swimd at the Queen’s Ferry.

6And when she came to the prison-door,There poor folks they stood many;She dealt the red guineas them among,And bade them pray weel for Geordie.

And when she came to the prison-door,

There poor folks they stood many;

She dealt the red guineas them among,

And bade them pray weel for Geordie.

7And when she came into the hall,Amang the nobles many,The napkin’s tied on Geordie’s face,And the head’s to gae frae Geordie.

And when she came into the hall,

Amang the nobles many,

The napkin’s tied on Geordie’s face,

And the head’s to gae frae Geordie.

8‘I have born ten bonny sons,And the eleventh neer sa his dadie,And I will bear them all oer againFor the life o bonny Geordie.

‘I have born ten bonny sons,

And the eleventh neer sa his dadie,

And I will bear them all oer again

For the life o bonny Geordie.

9‘I have born the Laird of Gight,And the Laird of bonny Pernonnie;And I will gie them all to theeFor the life of my bonny Geordie.’

‘I have born the Laird of Gight,

And the Laird of bonny Pernonnie;

And I will gie them all to thee

For the life of my bonny Geordie.’

10Up then spoke [a kind-hearted man],Wha said, He’s done good to many;If ye’ll tell down ten hundred crownsAway ye shall hae yer Geordie.

Up then spoke [a kind-hearted man],

Wha said, He’s done good to many;

If ye’ll tell down ten hundred crowns

Away ye shall hae yer Geordie.

11Some telld shillings, and some telld crowns,But she telld the red guineas many,Till they’ve telld down ten hundred crowns,And away she’s got her Geordie.

Some telld shillings, and some telld crowns,

But she telld the red guineas many,

Till they’ve telld down ten hundred crowns,

And away she’s got her Geordie.

12[It’s up then spoke an Irish lord,And O but he spoke bauldly!]‘I wish his head had been on the block,That I might hae got his fair lady.’

[It’s up then spoke an Irish lord,

And O but he spoke bauldly!]

‘I wish his head had been on the block,

That I might hae got his fair lady.’

13She turned about . . . .And O but she spoke boldly!‘A pox upon your nasty face!Will ye eer be compared to my Geordie?’

She turned about . . . .

And O but she spoke boldly!

‘A pox upon your nasty face!

Will ye eer be compared to my Geordie?’

14She set him on a milk-white steed,Herself upon another;The thrush on the briar neer sang so clearAs she sang behind her Geordie.

She set him on a milk-white steed,

Herself upon another;

The thrush on the briar neer sang so clear

As she sang behind her Geordie.

“Scotch Ballads, Materials for Border Minstrelsy,” No 64, MS. of Thomas Wilkie, 1813–15, p. 50, Abbotsford. “I took this down from the recitation of Janet Scott, Bowden, who sung it to a beautiful plaintive old air.”

1There was a battle i the northAmong the nobles many,The Laird of Gigh he’s killd a man,The brother of his lady.2‘Where will I get a man or boy,That will win both goud and money,That will run into the north,And fetch to me my lady?’3Up then spake a bonny boy,He was both blythe and merry;‘O I will run into the north,And fetch to you your lady.’4‘You may tell her to sew me a gude side shirt,She’ll no need to sew me mony;Tell her to bring me a gude side shirt,It will be the last of any.’5He has written a broad letter.And he’s seald it sad and sorry;He’s gaen it to that bonny boy,To take to his fair lady.6Away the bonny boy he’s gaen,He was both blythe and merrie;He’s to that fair lady gane,And taen her word frae Geordie.7When she looked the letter on,She was both sad and sorrie:‘O I’ll away to fair Edinburgh townMyself and see my Geordie.8‘Gar saddle to me the black,’ she says,‘The brown was neer sae bonny;And I’ll straight to EdinburghMyself and see my Geordie.’9When she came to that wan water,The boats was not yet ready;She wheeld her horse’s head around,And swimd at the Queen’s Ferry.10When she came to the Parliament Close,Amang the poor folks many,She dealt the crowns with duckatoons,And bade them pray for Geordy.11When she came to the Parliament House,Among the nobles many,The rest sat all wi hat on head,But hat in hand sat Geordie.12Up bespake an English lord,And he spake blythe and merrie;‘Was Geordie’s head upon the block,I am sure I would have his lady.’13Up bespake that lady fair,And O but she was sorrie!‘If Geordie’s head were on the block,There’s never a man gain his lady.14‘I have land into the north,And I have white rigs many,And I could gie them a’ to youTo save the life of Geordie.15‘I have seven children in the north,And they seem very bonnie,And I could bear them a’ over againFor to win the life o Geordie.’16Up bespake the gude Argyle;He has befriended many;‘If ye’ll tell down ten hundred crowns,Ye’s win the life o Geordie.’17Some gaed her shillings, and some her crowns,And some gaed her guineas many,And she’s telld down ten hundred crowns,And she’s wone the life o Geordie.18When she came down through Edinborough,And Geordie in her hand, O,‘Where will I get a writer’s [house],A writer’s house so ready,That I may write into the northI have wone the life o Geordie’?

1There was a battle i the northAmong the nobles many,The Laird of Gigh he’s killd a man,The brother of his lady.

There was a battle i the north

Among the nobles many,

The Laird of Gigh he’s killd a man,

The brother of his lady.

2‘Where will I get a man or boy,That will win both goud and money,That will run into the north,And fetch to me my lady?’

‘Where will I get a man or boy,

That will win both goud and money,

That will run into the north,

And fetch to me my lady?’

3Up then spake a bonny boy,He was both blythe and merry;‘O I will run into the north,And fetch to you your lady.’

Up then spake a bonny boy,

He was both blythe and merry;

‘O I will run into the north,

And fetch to you your lady.’

4‘You may tell her to sew me a gude side shirt,She’ll no need to sew me mony;Tell her to bring me a gude side shirt,It will be the last of any.’

‘You may tell her to sew me a gude side shirt,

She’ll no need to sew me mony;

Tell her to bring me a gude side shirt,

It will be the last of any.’

5He has written a broad letter.And he’s seald it sad and sorry;He’s gaen it to that bonny boy,To take to his fair lady.

He has written a broad letter.

And he’s seald it sad and sorry;

He’s gaen it to that bonny boy,

To take to his fair lady.

6Away the bonny boy he’s gaen,He was both blythe and merrie;He’s to that fair lady gane,And taen her word frae Geordie.

Away the bonny boy he’s gaen,

He was both blythe and merrie;

He’s to that fair lady gane,

And taen her word frae Geordie.

7When she looked the letter on,She was both sad and sorrie:‘O I’ll away to fair Edinburgh townMyself and see my Geordie.

When she looked the letter on,

She was both sad and sorrie:

‘O I’ll away to fair Edinburgh town

Myself and see my Geordie.

8‘Gar saddle to me the black,’ she says,‘The brown was neer sae bonny;And I’ll straight to EdinburghMyself and see my Geordie.’

‘Gar saddle to me the black,’ she says,

‘The brown was neer sae bonny;

And I’ll straight to Edinburgh

Myself and see my Geordie.’

9When she came to that wan water,The boats was not yet ready;She wheeld her horse’s head around,And swimd at the Queen’s Ferry.

When she came to that wan water,

The boats was not yet ready;

She wheeld her horse’s head around,

And swimd at the Queen’s Ferry.

10When she came to the Parliament Close,Amang the poor folks many,She dealt the crowns with duckatoons,And bade them pray for Geordy.

When she came to the Parliament Close,

Amang the poor folks many,

She dealt the crowns with duckatoons,

And bade them pray for Geordy.

11When she came to the Parliament House,Among the nobles many,The rest sat all wi hat on head,But hat in hand sat Geordie.

When she came to the Parliament House,

Among the nobles many,

The rest sat all wi hat on head,

But hat in hand sat Geordie.

12Up bespake an English lord,And he spake blythe and merrie;‘Was Geordie’s head upon the block,I am sure I would have his lady.’

Up bespake an English lord,

And he spake blythe and merrie;

‘Was Geordie’s head upon the block,

I am sure I would have his lady.’

13Up bespake that lady fair,And O but she was sorrie!‘If Geordie’s head were on the block,There’s never a man gain his lady.

Up bespake that lady fair,

And O but she was sorrie!

‘If Geordie’s head were on the block,

There’s never a man gain his lady.

14‘I have land into the north,And I have white rigs many,And I could gie them a’ to youTo save the life of Geordie.

‘I have land into the north,

And I have white rigs many,

And I could gie them a’ to you

To save the life of Geordie.

15‘I have seven children in the north,And they seem very bonnie,And I could bear them a’ over againFor to win the life o Geordie.’

‘I have seven children in the north,

And they seem very bonnie,

And I could bear them a’ over again

For to win the life o Geordie.’

16Up bespake the gude Argyle;He has befriended many;‘If ye’ll tell down ten hundred crowns,Ye’s win the life o Geordie.’

Up bespake the gude Argyle;

He has befriended many;

‘If ye’ll tell down ten hundred crowns,

Ye’s win the life o Geordie.’

17Some gaed her shillings, and some her crowns,And some gaed her guineas many,And she’s telld down ten hundred crowns,And she’s wone the life o Geordie.

Some gaed her shillings, and some her crowns,

And some gaed her guineas many,

And she’s telld down ten hundred crowns,

And she’s wone the life o Geordie.

18When she came down through Edinborough,And Geordie in her hand, O,‘Where will I get a writer’s [house],A writer’s house so ready,That I may write into the northI have wone the life o Geordie’?

When she came down through Edinborough,

And Geordie in her hand, O,

‘Where will I get a writer’s [house],

A writer’s house so ready,

That I may write into the north

I have wone the life o Geordie’?

a.Kinloch MSS, V, 130; in the handwriting of James Beattie.b.Kinloch’s Ancient Scottish Ballads, p. 192.

1There was a battle in the north,And rebels there were many,And they were a’ brought before the king,And taken was my Geordie.My Geordie O, O my Geordie O,O the love I bear to Geordie!For the very ground I walk uponBears witness I love Geordie.2As she went up the tolbooth-stair,The cripples there stood many,And she dealt the red gold them among,For to pray for her love Geordie.3And when she came unto the hallThe nobles there stood many,And every one stood hat on head,But hat in hand stood Geordie.4O up bespoke a baron bold,And O but he spoke bonnie!‘Such lovers true shall not parted be,’And she’s got her true-love Geordie.5When she was mounted on her high horse,And on behind her Geordie,Nae bird on the brier eer sang sae clearAs the young knight and his lady.O my Geordie O, O my Geordie O,O the love I bear to Geordie!The very stars in the firmamentBear tokens I love Geordie.

There was a battle in the north,

And rebels there were many,

And they were a’ brought before the king,

And taken was my Geordie.

My Geordie O, O my Geordie O,

O the love I bear to Geordie!

For the very ground I walk upon

Bears witness I love Geordie.

2As she went up the tolbooth-stair,The cripples there stood many,And she dealt the red gold them among,For to pray for her love Geordie.

As she went up the tolbooth-stair,

The cripples there stood many,

And she dealt the red gold them among,

For to pray for her love Geordie.

3And when she came unto the hallThe nobles there stood many,And every one stood hat on head,But hat in hand stood Geordie.

And when she came unto the hall

The nobles there stood many,

And every one stood hat on head,

But hat in hand stood Geordie.

4O up bespoke a baron bold,And O but he spoke bonnie!‘Such lovers true shall not parted be,’And she’s got her true-love Geordie.

O up bespoke a baron bold,

And O but he spoke bonnie!

‘Such lovers true shall not parted be,’

And she’s got her true-love Geordie.

5When she was mounted on her high horse,And on behind her Geordie,Nae bird on the brier eer sang sae clearAs the young knight and his lady.O my Geordie O, O my Geordie O,O the love I bear to Geordie!The very stars in the firmamentBear tokens I love Geordie.

When she was mounted on her high horse,

And on behind her Geordie,

Nae bird on the brier eer sang sae clear

As the young knight and his lady.

O my Geordie O, O my Geordie O,

O the love I bear to Geordie!

The very stars in the firmament

Bear tokens I love Geordie.

Motherwell’s MS., p. 367; from the recitation of Agnes Lyle, Kilbarchan.

1‘Geordie Lukely is my name,And many a one doth ken me; OMany an ill deed I hae done,But now death will owrecome me. O2‘I neither murdered nor yet have I slain,I never murdered any;But I stole fyfteen o the king’s bay horse,And I sold them in Bohemia.3‘Where would I get a pretty little boy,That would fain win gold and money,That would carry this letter to Stirling town,And give it to my lady?’4‘Here am I, a pretty little boy,That wud fain win gold and money;I’ll carry your letter to Stirling town,And give it to your lady.’5As he came in by Stirling townHe was baith weet and weary;The cloth was spread, and supper set,And the ladies dancing merry.6When she read the first of it,She was baith glad and cheery;But before she had the half o ‘t read,She was baith sad and sorry.7‘Come saddle to me the bonnie dapple gray,Come saddle to me the wee poney;For I’ll awa to the king mysell,And plead for my ain love Geordie.’8She gaed up the Cannogate,Amang the puir folk monie;She made the handfus o red gold fly,And bade them pray for Geordie,And aye she wrang her lily-white hands,Saying, I am a wearyd lady!9Up and spoke the king himsell,And oh, but he spok bonnie!‘It’s ye may see by her countenanceThat she is Geordie’s lady.’10Up and spoke a bold bluidy wretch,And oh, but he spoke boldly!‘Tho [thou] should pay ten thousand pounds,Thou’ll never get thy own love Geordie.11‘For I had but ae brother to mysell,I loved him best of any;They cutted his head from his fair bodie,And so will they thy love Geordie.’12Up and spoke the king again,And oh, but he spak bonnie!‘If thou’ll pay me five thousand pound,I’ll gie thee hame thy love Geordie.’13She put her hand in her pocket,She freely paid the money,And she’s awa to the Gallows Wynd,To get her nain love Geordie.14As she came up the Gallows Wynd,The people was standing many;The psalms was sung, and the bells was rung,And silks and cords hung bonnie.15The napkin was tyed on Geordie’s face,And the hangman was just readie:‘Hold your hand, you bluidy wretch!O hold it from my Geordie!For I’ve got a remit from the king,That I’ll get my ain love Geordie.’16When he heard his lady’s voice,He was baith blythe and merry:‘There’s many ladies in this place;Have not I a worthy ladie?’17She mounted him on the bonnie dapple grey,Herself on the wee poney,And she rode home on his right hand,All for the pride o Geordie.

1‘Geordie Lukely is my name,And many a one doth ken me; OMany an ill deed I hae done,But now death will owrecome me. O

‘Geordie Lukely is my name,

And many a one doth ken me; O

Many an ill deed I hae done,

But now death will owrecome me. O

2‘I neither murdered nor yet have I slain,I never murdered any;But I stole fyfteen o the king’s bay horse,And I sold them in Bohemia.

‘I neither murdered nor yet have I slain,

I never murdered any;

But I stole fyfteen o the king’s bay horse,

And I sold them in Bohemia.

3‘Where would I get a pretty little boy,That would fain win gold and money,That would carry this letter to Stirling town,And give it to my lady?’

‘Where would I get a pretty little boy,

That would fain win gold and money,

That would carry this letter to Stirling town,

And give it to my lady?’

4‘Here am I, a pretty little boy,That wud fain win gold and money;I’ll carry your letter to Stirling town,And give it to your lady.’

‘Here am I, a pretty little boy,

That wud fain win gold and money;

I’ll carry your letter to Stirling town,

And give it to your lady.’

5As he came in by Stirling townHe was baith weet and weary;The cloth was spread, and supper set,And the ladies dancing merry.

As he came in by Stirling town

He was baith weet and weary;

The cloth was spread, and supper set,

And the ladies dancing merry.

6When she read the first of it,She was baith glad and cheery;But before she had the half o ‘t read,She was baith sad and sorry.

When she read the first of it,

She was baith glad and cheery;

But before she had the half o ‘t read,

She was baith sad and sorry.

7‘Come saddle to me the bonnie dapple gray,Come saddle to me the wee poney;For I’ll awa to the king mysell,And plead for my ain love Geordie.’

‘Come saddle to me the bonnie dapple gray,

Come saddle to me the wee poney;

For I’ll awa to the king mysell,

And plead for my ain love Geordie.’

8She gaed up the Cannogate,Amang the puir folk monie;She made the handfus o red gold fly,And bade them pray for Geordie,And aye she wrang her lily-white hands,Saying, I am a wearyd lady!

She gaed up the Cannogate,

Amang the puir folk monie;

She made the handfus o red gold fly,

And bade them pray for Geordie,

And aye she wrang her lily-white hands,

Saying, I am a wearyd lady!

9Up and spoke the king himsell,And oh, but he spok bonnie!‘It’s ye may see by her countenanceThat she is Geordie’s lady.’

Up and spoke the king himsell,

And oh, but he spok bonnie!

‘It’s ye may see by her countenance

That she is Geordie’s lady.’

10Up and spoke a bold bluidy wretch,And oh, but he spoke boldly!‘Tho [thou] should pay ten thousand pounds,Thou’ll never get thy own love Geordie.

Up and spoke a bold bluidy wretch,

And oh, but he spoke boldly!

‘Tho [thou] should pay ten thousand pounds,

Thou’ll never get thy own love Geordie.

11‘For I had but ae brother to mysell,I loved him best of any;They cutted his head from his fair bodie,And so will they thy love Geordie.’

‘For I had but ae brother to mysell,

I loved him best of any;

They cutted his head from his fair bodie,

And so will they thy love Geordie.’

12Up and spoke the king again,And oh, but he spak bonnie!‘If thou’ll pay me five thousand pound,I’ll gie thee hame thy love Geordie.’

Up and spoke the king again,

And oh, but he spak bonnie!

‘If thou’ll pay me five thousand pound,

I’ll gie thee hame thy love Geordie.’

13She put her hand in her pocket,She freely paid the money,And she’s awa to the Gallows Wynd,To get her nain love Geordie.

She put her hand in her pocket,

She freely paid the money,

And she’s awa to the Gallows Wynd,

To get her nain love Geordie.

14As she came up the Gallows Wynd,The people was standing many;The psalms was sung, and the bells was rung,And silks and cords hung bonnie.

As she came up the Gallows Wynd,

The people was standing many;

The psalms was sung, and the bells was rung,

And silks and cords hung bonnie.

15The napkin was tyed on Geordie’s face,And the hangman was just readie:‘Hold your hand, you bluidy wretch!O hold it from my Geordie!For I’ve got a remit from the king,That I’ll get my ain love Geordie.’

The napkin was tyed on Geordie’s face,

And the hangman was just readie:

‘Hold your hand, you bluidy wretch!

O hold it from my Geordie!

For I’ve got a remit from the king,

That I’ll get my ain love Geordie.’

16When he heard his lady’s voice,He was baith blythe and merry:‘There’s many ladies in this place;Have not I a worthy ladie?’

When he heard his lady’s voice,

He was baith blythe and merry:

‘There’s many ladies in this place;

Have not I a worthy ladie?’

17She mounted him on the bonnie dapple grey,Herself on the wee poney,And she rode home on his right hand,All for the pride o Geordie.

She mounted him on the bonnie dapple grey,

Herself on the wee poney,

And she rode home on his right hand,

All for the pride o Geordie.

Motherwell’s Note-Book, p. 17, p. 10; from Mrs Rule, Paisley, August 16, 1825. Apparently learned from a blind aunt, pp. 1, 3.

1The weather it is clear, and the wind blaws fair,And yonder a boy rins bonnie,And he is awa to the gates of Hye,With a letter to my dear ladie.2The first line that she lookit on,She was baith red and rosy;She droppit down, and she dropt in a swoon,Crys, Och and alace for Geordie!3‘Gar saddle to me the black, black horse;The brown is twice as bonnie;But I will neither eat nor drinkTill I relieve my Geordie.’4When she cam to the canny Cannygate,Amang the puir folk many,She made the dollars flee amang them a’,And she bade them plead for Geordie.5When she came to the tolbooth-gate,Amang the nobles many,She made the red gold flee amang them a’,And she bade them plead for Geordie.6Out and spoke the king himsell,‘Wha’s aught this weary lady?’Out and spoke a pretty little page,‘She’s the Earl o Cassilis lady.’7‘Has he killed? or has he slain?Or has he ravishd any?’‘He stole three geldings out o yon park,And sold them to Balleny.’8‘Pleading is idle,’ said the king,‘Pleading is idle with any;But pay you down five hundred pund,And tak you hame your Geordie.’9Some gave marks, and som gave crowns,Some gave dollars many;She’s paid down the five hundred pund,And she’s relieved her Geordie.10The lady smiled in Geordie’s face:‘Geordie, I have bocht thee;But down in yon green there had been bluidy breeksOr I had parted wi thee.’

1The weather it is clear, and the wind blaws fair,And yonder a boy rins bonnie,And he is awa to the gates of Hye,With a letter to my dear ladie.

The weather it is clear, and the wind blaws fair,

And yonder a boy rins bonnie,

And he is awa to the gates of Hye,

With a letter to my dear ladie.

2The first line that she lookit on,She was baith red and rosy;She droppit down, and she dropt in a swoon,Crys, Och and alace for Geordie!

The first line that she lookit on,

She was baith red and rosy;

She droppit down, and she dropt in a swoon,

Crys, Och and alace for Geordie!

3‘Gar saddle to me the black, black horse;The brown is twice as bonnie;But I will neither eat nor drinkTill I relieve my Geordie.’

‘Gar saddle to me the black, black horse;

The brown is twice as bonnie;

But I will neither eat nor drink

Till I relieve my Geordie.’

4When she cam to the canny Cannygate,Amang the puir folk many,She made the dollars flee amang them a’,And she bade them plead for Geordie.

When she cam to the canny Cannygate,

Amang the puir folk many,

She made the dollars flee amang them a’,

And she bade them plead for Geordie.

5When she came to the tolbooth-gate,Amang the nobles many,She made the red gold flee amang them a’,And she bade them plead for Geordie.

When she came to the tolbooth-gate,

Amang the nobles many,

She made the red gold flee amang them a’,

And she bade them plead for Geordie.

6Out and spoke the king himsell,‘Wha’s aught this weary lady?’Out and spoke a pretty little page,‘She’s the Earl o Cassilis lady.’

Out and spoke the king himsell,

‘Wha’s aught this weary lady?’

Out and spoke a pretty little page,

‘She’s the Earl o Cassilis lady.’

7‘Has he killed? or has he slain?Or has he ravishd any?’‘He stole three geldings out o yon park,And sold them to Balleny.’

‘Has he killed? or has he slain?

Or has he ravishd any?’

‘He stole three geldings out o yon park,

And sold them to Balleny.’

8‘Pleading is idle,’ said the king,‘Pleading is idle with any;But pay you down five hundred pund,And tak you hame your Geordie.’

‘Pleading is idle,’ said the king,

‘Pleading is idle with any;

But pay you down five hundred pund,

And tak you hame your Geordie.’

9Some gave marks, and som gave crowns,Some gave dollars many;She’s paid down the five hundred pund,And she’s relieved her Geordie.

Some gave marks, and som gave crowns,

Some gave dollars many;

She’s paid down the five hundred pund,

And she’s relieved her Geordie.

10The lady smiled in Geordie’s face:‘Geordie, I have bocht thee;But down in yon green there had been bluidy breeksOr I had parted wi thee.’

The lady smiled in Geordie’s face:

‘Geordie, I have bocht thee;

But down in yon green there had been bluidy breeks

Or I had parted wi thee.’

Christie’s Traditional Ballad Airs, II, 44; “long favorite in the counties of Aberdeen and Banff.”

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