PATIE. When corn-riggs waved yellow, and blue heather-bells PEGGY. When thou ran, or wrestled, or putted the stane, PATIE. Our Jenny sings saftly the "Cowden-Broom-Knowes," With "Through the wood, laddie," Bess gars our lugs ring: But when my dear Peggy sings, with better skill, The "Boatman," "Tweedsdale," or the "Lass o' the Mill," 'Tis many times sweeter and pleasing to me ; For though they sing nicely, they cannot like thee. PEGGY. How easy can lasses trow what they desire, THE YELLOW-HAIR'D LADDIE. ALLAN RAMSAY. In April, when primroses paint the sweet plain, The yellow-hair'd laddie would oftentimes go To woods and deep glens where the hawthorn-trees grow. There under the shade of an old sacred thorn With freedom he sung his loves ev'ning and morn: He sung with so soft and enchanting a sound, That silvans and fairies, unseen, danced around. The shepherd thus sung: "Though young Maddie be fair, But Susie was handsome, and sweetly could sing,-- That Maddie, in all the gay bloom of her youth, That mamma's fine daughter, with all her great dower, Then sighing, he wish'd, would but parents agree, The witty sweet Susie his mistress might be. It was Allan Ramsay founded this song upon a much older composition-of itself not devoid of merit, and free from the concetti of its more modern namesake. inserted in his "Tea-Table Miscellany," and is here appended. "The yellow-hair'd laddie sat down on yon brae, Crying, 'Milk the ewes, lassie; let nane o' them gae.' And aye as she milkit she merrily sang, The yellow-hair'd laddie shall be my gudeman. The weather is cauld and my cleadin' is thin, The yowes are new-clipt and they winna bught in; They winna bught in, although I should dee, O yellow-hair'd laddie, be kind unto me! The gudewife cries butt the house, 'Jennie, come ben; DUNT, DUNT, DUNT, PITTIE, PATTIE. Air-"The yellow-hair'd laddie." From the "Tea-Table Miscellany." ON Whitsunday morning I went to the fair; My yellow-hair'd laddie Was selling his ware; He gied me sic a blythe blink And a dear blink and a fair blink It was unto me. I wist not what ail'd me When my laddie cam' in; The little wee sternies Flew aye frae my een; From my very ee-bree; For my heart aye play'd Dunt, dunt, dunt, pittie, pattie. I wist not what ail'd me I toss'd and I tumbled, And sleep frae me fled. Now it's sleeping and waking He's aye in my ee; And my heart aye plays Dunt, dunt, dunt, pittie, pattie. MARY SCOTT, THE FLOWER OF YARROW. ALLAN RAMSAY. From the "Tea-Table Miscellany." HAPPY's the love which meets return, Did you there see me mark'd to marrow Ah, no! her form's too heavenly fair, с Be hush'd, ye fears; I'll not despair; When Mary Scott's become my marrow, The heroine of this song is supposed to have been Mary, daughter of Philip Scott of Dryhope, in Selkirkshire. She was married to Scott of Harden, the notorious border-reiver, or freebooter A different and possibly an earlier version of this song has been discovered by Mr. Peter Buchan. We copy it from a manuscript volume of the Songs of the North of Scotland collected by that gentleman. "Oh, Mary's red, and Mary's white, And Mary she's the king's delight; The king's delight and the prince's marrow, Mary Scott, the flower of Yarrow. When I look east, my heart grows sair; But when I look west, it's mair and mair; And when I look to the banks of Yarrow, There I mind my winsome marrow. Now she's gone to Edinburgh town, To buy braw ribbons to tie her gown; She's bought them broad, and laid them narrow,— BONNIE CHIRSTY. ALLAN RAMSAY. From the "Tea-Table Miscellany." "How sweetly smells the simmer green, But finest colours, fruits and flowers, And wine, though I be thirsty, "When wand'ring o'er the flow'ry park, But if my Chirsty tunes her voice, My thoughts wi' ecstasies rejoice, "Whene'er she smiles a kindly glance, Thus sang blate Edie by a burn, Which left nae room to doubt her: "My Chirsty! witness, bonny stream, I wish this may na be a dream, Oh, love the maist surprising!" But wair'd it a' on kisses. The heroine of this song was Miss Christina or Christian Dundas, daughter of Sir James Dundas of Arnisten, and wife of Sir Charles Erskine, or Areskine, of Alva, Lord Justice Clerk of Scotland in 1763. The song is the first in the "Tea-Table Miscellany," from which it has been conjectured that it was an especial favourite of its author. |