|
Word is to the kitchen gone, and word is to the hall |
|
And word is up to madam the queen, and that's the worst of all |
|
That Mary Hamilton has borne a babe |
|
To the highest stuart of all |
|
Oh rise, arise Mary Hamilton |
|
Arise and tell to me |
|
What thou hast done with thy wee babe |
|
I saw and heard weep by thee |
|
I put him in a tiny boat |
|
And cast him out to sea |
|
That he might sink or he might swim |
|
But he'd never come back to me |
|
Oh rise arise Mary Hamilton |
|
Arise and come with me |
|
There is a wedding in Glasgow town |
|
This night we'll go and see |
|
She put not on her robes of black |
|
Nor her robes of brown |
|
But she put on her robes of white |
|
To ride into Glasgow town |
|
And as she rode into Glasgow town |
|
The city for to see |
|
The bailiff's wife and the provost's wife |
|
Cried alack and alas for thee |
|
Oh you need not weep for me she cried |
|
You need not week for me |
|
For had I not slain my own wee babe |
|
This death I would not dee |
|
Oh little did my mother think |
|
When first she cradled me |
|
The lands I was to travel in |
|
And the death I was to dee |
|
Last night I washed the queen's feet |
|
Put the gold in her hair |
|
And the only reward I find for this |
|
The gallows to be my share |
|
Cast off, cast off my gown, she cried |
|
But let my petticoat be |
|
And tie a napkin round my face |
|
The gallows, I would not see |
|
Then by them come the king himself |
|
Looked up with a pitiful eye |
|
Come down, come down Mary Hamilton |
|
Tonight you will dine with me |
|
Oh hold your tongue, my sovereign liege |
|
And let your folly be |
|
For if you'd a mind to save my life |
|
You'd never have shamed me here |
|
Last night there were four Marys |
|
Tonight there'll be but three |
|
It was Mary Beaton and Mary Seton |
|
And Mary Carmichael and me |
