26 Proud Lady Margaret
I
Fair Margret was a proud ladye,
The King’s cousin was she;
Fair Margret was a rich ladye,
An’ vain as vain cou’d be.
II
Ae night she sat in her stately ha’
Kaimin’ her yellow hair,
When in there cam’ a gentle Knight,
An’ a white scarf he did wear.
III
‘O what’s your will wi’ me, Sir Knight?
O what’s your will wi’ me?
You’re the likest to my ae brither
That ever I did see.
IV
‘You’re the likest to my ae brither
That ever I hae seen;
But he’s buried in Dunfermline kirk
A month an’ mair bygane.’—
V
‘I’m the likest to your ae brither
That ever ye did see;
But I canna get rest in my grave,
A’ for the pride o’ thee.
VI
‘Leave pride, Margret, leave pride, Margret,
Leave pride an’ vanity;
Cou’d ye see the sights that I hae seen
Sair warnèd ye wou’d be.
VII
‘For the wee worms are my bedfellows,
An’ cauld clay is my sheets,
An’ when the stormy winds do blow
My body lies and sleeps.
VIII
‘O ye come in at the kirk-door
Wi’ the red gowd on your crown;
But when you come where I have been,
You’ll wear it laigher217 down.
IX
‘O ye come in at the kirk door
Wi’ the gowd prins218 i’ your sleeve,
But when you come where I have been
Ye maun gie them a’ their leave.
X
‘Leave pride, Margret, leave pride, Margret,
Leave pride an’ vanity;
Ere ye see the sights that I hae seen,
Sair alter’d ye maun be.’
XI
He got her in her stately ha’,
Kaimin’ her yellow hair;
He left her on her sick, sick bed
Mournin’ her sins sae sair.
Footnotes
217 laigher = lower.
218 prins = pins.