ANONYMOUS

' I wad gie a' my gowd, my bairn,

Sae wad I a' my fee, For ae blast o' the western wind,

To blaw the reek frae thee.'

O then bespake her dochter dear

She was baith jimp and sma' :

• O row me in a pair o' sheets,

And tow me owre the wa' ! '

They row'd her in a pair o' sheets,

And tow'd her owre the wa' ; But on the point o' Gordon's spear

She gat a deadly fa'.

bonnie, bonnie was her mouth, And cherry were her cheiks,

And clear, clear was her yellow hair, Whereon the red blood dreips.

Then wi' his spear he turn'd her owre ;

gin her face was wane !

He said, ' Ye are the first that e'er

1 wish'd alive again.'

He turn'd her owre and owre again;

O gin her skin was white ! 1 1 might hae spared that bonnie face

To hae been some man's delight.

1 Busk and boun, my merry men a',

For ill dooms I do guess; I canna look in that bonnie face As it lies on the grass/

jimp] slender, trim. row] roll, wrap. Busk and boun]

trim up and prepare to go.

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