Chapter XXIV The Lament of the Border Widow
How King James V. of Scotland, in 1529, set forth to strike terror into the Border freebooters, has been already told in the account of Johnie Armstrong. A less celebrated moss-trooper, Cockburne of Henderland, was hanged by the pitiless King over the gate of his own tower. The wife of Cockburne loved him most dearly, and when she found the King would show no mercy, fled away to the rocks behind the castle whilst the cruel sentence was carried out. She sat by a roaring torrent of the Henderland burn, the noise of which in her ears drowned the savage shouts of the King’s soldiers. The beautiful song which describes the grief of this loving woman is one of the gems of ancient poetry, and is here printed entire.
THE LAMENT OF THE BORDER WIDOW
My love he built me a bonny bower,
And clad it a’ wi’ lilye flower,
A brawer bower ye ne’er did see,
Than my true love he built for me.
There came a man by middle day,
He spied his sport, and went away;
And brought the King that very night,
Who brake my bower, and slew my knight.
He slew my knight to me sae dear;
He slew my knight, and took his gear;
My servants all for life did flee,
And left me in extremitie.
I sew’d his sheet, making my moan;
I watch’d the corpse, myself alone;
I watch’d his body, night and day;
No living creature came that way.
I took his body on my back,
And whiles I gaed, and whiles I sat;
I digg’d a grave, and laid him in,
And happ’d him with the sod sae green.
But think na ye my heart was sair,
When I laid the moul’ on his yellow hair;
O think na ye my heart was wae,
When I turn’d about, away to gae?
Nae living man I’ll love again,
Since that my lovely knight was slain,
Wi’ ae lock of his yellow hair,
I’ll chain my heart for evermair.