Glen Collection of printed music > Printed text > Scottish ballads

291
This nicht I'll neither eat nor drink,
But gae alang wi' thee."
<< O hold your tongue, Lady Margaret," he said,
" Again I hear you lie I
For yeVe unwashen hands, and yeVe unwashen feet,*
To gae to the clay wi' me.
For the wee worms are my bedfellows.
And the cauld clay is my sheets ;
And when the stormy winds do blow.
My body lies and sleeps.
My body's buriet in Dunfermline,
Sae far ayont the sea ;
But day nor nicht nae rest can I get,
A' for the pride of thee.
Leave aff your pride, Lady Margaret/' he said;
" Use it not ony mair.
Or, when ye come where I hae been,
You will repent it sair.
*' Cast oflF, cast off, sister," he says,
" The gowd band frae your croun ;
For if you gang where I hae been.
You'll wear it laigher doun.
When you are in the gude kirk set.
The gowd pins in your hair.
Ye tak mair delyte in your feckless dress,
Than in your morning prayer.
And when ye walk in the kirk-yard,
And in your dress are seen,
» An allusion to the custom of washing and dressing dead bodies, which
was formerly supposed to be indispensable.