1.
King Jamie hath made a vow,
Keep it well if he may!
That he will be at lovely London
Upon Saint James his day.
2.
'Upon Saint James his day at noon,
At fair London will I be,
And all the lords in merry Scotland,
They shall dine there with me.'
3.
Then bespake good Queen Margaret,
The tears fell from her eye:
'Leave off these wars, most noble king,
Keep your fidelity.
4.
'The water runs swift and wondrous deep,
From bottom unto the brim;
My brother Henry hath men good enough;
England is hard to win.'
5.
'Away,' quoth he, 'with this silly fool!
In prison fast let her lie:
For she is come of the English blood,
And for those words she shall die.'
6.
With that bespake Lord Thomas Howard,
The queen's chamberlain that day:
'If that you put Queen Margaret to death,
Scotland shall rue it alway.'
7.
Then in a rage King James did say,
'Away with this foolish mome!
He shall be hanged, and the other be burned,
So soon as I come home.'
8.
At Flodden Field the Scots came in,
Which made our English men fain;
At Bramstone Green this battle was seen,
There was King Jamie slain.
9.
Then presently the Scots did fly,
Their cannons they left behind;
Their ensigns gay were won all away,
Our soldiers did beat them blind.
10.
To tell you plain, twelve thousand were slain
That to the fight did stand,
And many prisoners took that day,
The best in all Scotland.
11.
That day made many [a] fatherless child,
And many a widow poor,
And many a Scottish gay lady
Sat weeping in her bower.
12.
Jack with a feather was lapt all in leather,
His boastings were all in vain;
He had such a chance, with a new morrice dance,
He never went home again.
[Annotations:
7.2: 'Mome,' dolt.]