#A. a.# ‘Earl Crawford,’ Christie’s Traditional Ballad Airs, I, 290,
from recitation. #b.# From recitation.
#B.# ‘Earl Crawford,’ Buchan’s Ballads of the North of Scotland, I,
61. Abridged, in Christie’s Traditional Ballad Airs, I, 68.
#A.# One of seven handsome sisters makes a great match with the Earl of
Crawford. In a fit of jealousy at the fondness which he shows his young
son, Ladie Lillie addresses to her husband a quip on that head, to which
the earl replies in the same tone. But the matter does not end there.
The earl sets his wife on a horse, with her son, and sends her home to
her father at Stobhall, never to enter his gates again. Her father is
surprised that she should come without notice or attendants; she tells
him that a word from her merry mouth has parted her and her lord. The
father offers to make a better match for her; she would not give a kiss
of Crawford’s for all her father’s gold. She sends a messenger to the
earl to see whether he retains affection for her; word is brought back
that she is to stay with her father and never enter Crawford’s gates
again. Her heart breaks. Her father puts on black, rides to Crawford’s,
and finds the earl just setting forth with a party to bring Lady Lillie
home. Upon learning that his wife is dead, the earl declares that the
sun shall nevermore shine on him.
#B.# Lady Crawford rides to her husband’s castle in person to see if the
earl will pity her. He shuts his gates and steeks his doors, and will
neither come down to speak with her himself nor send his man. She
retires weeping. The earl in turn now goes to the castle where his lady
is lying, to see if she will pity him. She shuts the gates and steeks
the doors, and will neither come down to speak with him nor send her
waiting-maid. Not the less she takes to her bed, both she and Crawford
die before morning, and both are buried in one tomb.
The late Earl of Crawford recognized an agreement with fact in some of
the details of this story: Christie, I, 289. David, eleventh earl of
Crawford, who succeeded his father in 1574, married Lilias Drummond,
daughter of David, second Lord Drummond, the Laird of Stobhall. This was
considered so great a match for the lady that a tocher was given with
her “far beyond what was customary in those times, to wit, ten thousand
merks.” Although the peerages mention no children by this marriage,
there is evidence that Earl David had by Lilias “an only child, David,
who died in infancy.” “These collateral verities” seemed to Earl
Crawford “to found a presumption in favor of the truth of the main
incident of the ballad.” Crawford did not live at Crawford Castle, as
the ballad has it. “That place had ceased to be the family residence for
a long while. Earl David lived at Finhaven Castle, in Angus; not too far
from Stobhall to be in keeping with the riding to and fro recorded in
the ballad.”
The first lines of the ballad are probably borrowed from ‘Gil Brenton:’
see No 5, #A# 43, #B# 34, #C# 1, #D# 1, #H# 1, 2. #A# 11, 12, #B# 15,
16, is a commonplace: see most of the versions of ‘Jamie Douglas,’ No
204, and of ‘The Braes o Yarrow,’ No 214, and ‘Clerk Saunders,’ No 69,
#E# 15, #G# 27.
#B# is translated by Gerhard, p. 108.
* * * * *
A
#a.# Christie’s Traditional Ballad Airs, I, 290, as taken down
1867–73, from the recitation of Mrs Mary Robertson, wife of James
Robertson, shoemaker, Bogmoor, near Fochabers. #b.# Obtained by Mr
Macmath, March 25, 1890, from the daughter of Mrs Robertson, Mrs
Mary Thomson, wife of James Thomson, gardener at Gordon Castle
gardens, Fochabers.
1
O we were sisters, sisters seven,
We were a comely crew to see,
And some got lairds, and some got lords,
And some got knichts o hie degree;
And I mysel got the Earl o Crawford,
And wasna that a great match for me!
2
It was at fifteen that I was married,
And at sixteen I had a son;
And wasna that an age ower tender
For a lady to hae her first-born!
And wasna, etc.
3
But it fell ance upon a day
I gaed into the garden green,
And naebody was therein walking
But Earl Crawford and his young son.
4
‘I wonder at you, ye Earl Crawford,
I wonder at you wi your young son;
Ye daut your young son mair than your Lillie;
[I’m sure you got na him your lane.’]
5
[He turned about upon his heel,
I wite an angry man was he;
Says, If I got nae my young son my lane,
Bring me here the one that helpet me.]
6
[‘O hold your tongue, my Earl Crawford,
And a’ my folly lat it be;
There was nane at the gettin o oor son,
Nae body only but you and me.’]
7
He set her on a milk-white steed,
Her little young son her before;
Says, Ye maun gae to bonny Stobha,
For ye will enter my yates no more.
8
When she cam to her father’s bowers,
She lichtit low down on the stane,
And wha sae ready as her auld father
To welcome Lady Lillie in?
9
‘O how’s a’ wi you, my daughter Lillie,
That ye come here sae hastilie?
And how’s a’ wi’ the Earl o Crawford,
That he didna send a boy wi thee?’
10
‘O haud your tongue now, my old father,
And ye’ll lat a’ your folly be;
For ae word that my merry mou spak
Has parted my good lord and me.’
11
‘O haud your tongue, my daughter Lillie,
And a’ your follies lat them be;
I’ll double your portion ten times ower,
And a better match I’ll get for thee.’
12
‘O haud your tongue now, my old father,
And a’ your folly lat it be;
I wouldna gie ae kiss o Crawford
For a’ the goud that ye can gie.
13
‘Whare will I get a bonny boy,
That’s willin to win meat and fee,
Wha will gae on to Earl Crawford
An see an’s heart be fawn to me?’
14
When he cam to the yates o Crawford,
They were a’ sitting down to dine:
‘How comes it now, ye Earl Crawford,
Ye arena takin Lady Lillie hame?’
15
‘Ye may gae tell her Lady Lillie,
And ye maun neither lee nor len,
She may stay in her father’s bowers,
For she’ll not enter my yates again.’
16
When he cam back to her father’s yates,
He lichtit low down on his knee:
‘What news, what news, my bonny boy?
What news, what news hae ye to me ?’
17
‘I’m bidden tell you, Lady Lillie—
I’m bidden neither to lee nor len—
She may stay in her father’s bowers,
For she’ll not enter my yates again.’
18
She stretched out her lily hand,
Says, ‘Adieu, adieu to ane and a!
Adieu, adieu to Earl Crawford!’
Wi that her sair heart brak in twa.
19
Then dowie, dowie her father raise up,
And dowie, dowie the black put on,
And dowie, dowie he mounted the brown,
And dowie, dowie sat thereon.
20
And dowie rade to the yates o Crawford,
And when to Crawford’s yates he came,
They were a’ dressd in the robes o scarlet,
Just gaun to tak Lady Lillie hame.
21
‘Ye may cast aff your robes o scarlet—
I wyte they set you wondrous weel—
And now put on the black sae dowie,
And come and bury your Lady Lill.’
22
He took his hat into his hand,
And laid it low down by his knee:
‘An it be true that Lillie’s dead,
The sun shall nae mair shine on me.’
* * * * *
B
Buchan’s Ballads of the North of Scotland, I, 61.
1
O we were seven bonny sisters,
As fair women as fair could be,
And some got lairds, and some got lords,
And some got knights o high degree:
When I was married to Earl Crawford,
This was the fate befell to me.
2
When we had been married for some time,
We walked in our garden green,
And aye he clappd his young son’s head,
And aye he made sae much o him.
3
I turnd me right and round about,
And aye the blythe blink in my ee:
‘Ye think as much o your young son
As ye do o my fair body.
4
‘What need ye clap your young son’s head?
What need ye make so much o him?
What need ye clap your young son’s head?
I’m sure ye gotna him your lane.’
5
‘O if I gotna him my lane,
Show here the man that helpëd me;
And for these words your ain mouth spoke
Heir o my land he neer shall be.’
6
He calld upon his stable-groom
To come to him right speedilie:
‘Gae saddle a steed to Lady Crawford,
Be sure ye do it hastilie.
7
‘His bridle gilt wi gude red gowd,
That it may glitter in her ee;
And send her on to bonny Stobha,
All her relations for to see.’
8
Her mother lay oer the castle wa,
And she beheld baith dale and down,
And she beheld her Lady Crawford,
As she came riding to the town.
9
‘Come here, come here, my husband dear,
This day ye see not what I see;
For here there comes her Lady Crawford,
Riding alane upon the lee.’
10
When she came to her father’s yates,
She tirled gently at the pin:
‘If ye sleep, awake, my mother dear,
Ye’ll rise lat Lady Crawford in.’
11
‘What news, what news, ye Lady Crawford,
That ye come here so hastilie?’
‘Bad news, bad news, my mother dear,
For my gude lord’s forsaken me.’
12
‘O wae’s me for you, Lady Crawford,
This is a dowie tale to me;
Alas! you were too young married
To thole sic cross and misery.’
13
‘O had your tongue, my mother dear,
And ye’ll lat a’ your folly be;
It was a word my merry mouth spake
That sinderd my gude lord and me.’
14
Out it spake her brither then,
Aye as he stept ben the floor:
‘My sister Lillie was but eighteen years
When Earl Crawford ca’ed her a whore.
15
‘But had your tongue, my sister dear,
And ye’ll lat a’ your mourning bee;
I’ll wed you to as fine a knight,
That is nine times as rich as hee.’
16
‘O had your tongue, my brither dear,
And ye’ll lat a’ your folly bee;
I’d rather yae kiss o Crawford’s mouth
Than a’ his gowd and white monie.
17
‘But saddle to me my riding-steed,
And see him saddled speedilie,
And I will on to Earl Crawford’s,
And see if he will pity me.’
18
Earl Crawford lay o’er castle wa,
And he beheld baith dale and down,
And he beheld her Lady Crawford,
As she came riding to the town.
19
He called ane o his livery men
To come to him right speedilie:
‘Gae shut my yates, gae steek my doors,
Keep Lady Crawford out frae me.’
20
When she came to Earl Crawford’s yates,
She tirled gently at the pin:
‘O sleep ye, wake ye, Earl Crawford,
Ye’ll open, lat Lady Crawford in.
21
‘Come down, come down, O Earl Crawford,
And speak some comfort unto me;
And if ye winna come yoursell,
Ye’ll send your gentleman to me.’
22
‘Indeed I winna come mysell,
Nor send my gentleman to thee;
For I tauld you when we did part
Nae mair my spouse ye’d ever bee.’
23
She laid her mouth then to the yates,
And aye the tears drapt frae her ee;
Says, Fare ye well, Earl Crawford’s yates,
You again I’ll nae mair see.
24
Earl Crawford calld on his stable-groom
To come to him right speedilie,
And sae did he his waiting-man,
That did attend his fair bodie.
25
‘Ye will gae saddle for me my steed,
And see and saddle him speedilie,
And I’ll gang to the Lady Crawford,
And see if she will pity me.’
26
Lady Crawford lay oer castle-wa,
And she beheld baith dale and down,
And she beheld him Earl Crawford,
As he came riding to the town.
27
Then she has calld ane o her maids
To come to her right speedilie:
‘Gae shut my yates, gae steek my doors,
Keep Earl Crawford out frae me.’
28
When he came to Lady Crawford’s yates,
He tirled gently at the pin:
‘Sleep ye, wake ye, Lady Crawford,
Ye’ll rise and lat Earl Crawford in.
29
‘Come down, come down, O Lady Crawford,
Come down, come down, and speak wi me;
And gin ye winna come yoursell,
Ye’ll send your waiting-maid to me.’
30
‘Indeed I winna come mysell,
Nor send my waiting-maid to thee;
Sae take your ain words hame again
At Crawford castle ye tauld me.
31
‘O mother dear, gae make my bed,
And ye will make it saft and soun,
And turn my face unto the west,
That I nae mair may see the sun.’
32
Her mother she did make her bed,
And she did make it saft and soun;
True were the words fair Lillie spake,
Her lovely eyes neer saw the sun.
33
The Earl Crawford mounted his steed,
Wi sorrows great he did ride hame;
But ere the morning sun appeard
This fine lord was dead and gane.
34
Then on ae night this couple died,
And baith were buried in ae tomb:
Let this a warning be to all,
Their pride may not bring them low down.
#A. a.#
4^4, 5, 6. _Omitted; supplied from #b#. Dean Christie notes that
the lines omitted will be found in a copy which, with other
things of the kind, he had destined for use in this collection.
Unfortunately, and quite unaccountably, these pieces never came
to hand._
19^2. put on the black.
#b.#
_Of #b#, which was obtained some twenty years after #a# was
written down, Mrs Thomson says_: Enclosed is the whole of the
ballad, as I had it from my mother.... She never sang those two
verses to us [5, 6]. She only repeated them to me when Dean
Christie wanted the ballad. _We may, perhaps, infer from these
last words that the ballad was originally taken down by the
daughter from her mother’s recitation, and not by Dean Christie.
It is to be observed that the mother was still living in 1890,
but when #b# was committed to paper is not said._
#a#
8^{3, 4}, 9^{1, 2}, are wanting in #b#; #b# _has a stanza, an
inevitable one, which #a# lacks, in answer to_ 13.
1^1. It’s we were sisters and.
1^3. Some got dukes.
1^4. got men.
1^5. But I: Earl Crawford.
1^6. a meet.
2^1. Fifteen years that.
2^2. And sixteen years I.
2^3. that a tender age.
3^2. We were walking in yon.
3^3. There was nae body walking there.
3^4. But the earl himself and.
4^1. you, Earl.
4^2. You mak sae much o your.
4^3. I wonder at you, Earl Crawford.
4^4, 5, 6. _Inserted in_ #a#.
7^2. little son he set her.
7^3. gee on to your father’s bowers.
8^2. down on her knee.
8^{3, 4}, 9^{1, 2}, _wanting_.
9^3. Hoo’s a’, hoo’s a.
9^4. thee wi.
10^1. now _wanting_.
10^2. And a’ my folly lat it.
10^3. For one: mouth.
11^1. my Lady.
11^2. And I’ll lat a’ your folly.
11^3. portion oer again.
11^4. I’ll provide for.
12^1. now _wanting_.
12^2. And speak nae mair o this to me.
12^3. For I wad nae.
12^4. ye could.
13^3. That will: Crawford’s.
13^4. see gin’s hairt be faen tae.
_After 13_:
‘O here am I, a bonny boy,
That’s willin to win meat and fee,
That will go on to Earl Crawford’s,
And see an’s hairt be faen to thee.’
14^1. to Earl Crawford’s gates.
14^2. He lighted low down on a stane.
14^3. Says, I wonder at you, E. C.
14^4. You’r nae gaun to tak.
15^1. tell to Lady.
15^2. Ye may neither.
15^3. stay weel in.
15^4. she’ll never.
16^1. came to her father’s bowers.
17^1. tell to Lady.
17^3. You’r bidden stay well in your.
17^4. For yu’ll never enter his.
18^1. lily-white.
18^3. to the Earl himsell.
18^4. And wi that her bonny hairt did brack.
19^1. Dowie, dowie raise up her father.
19^2. And _wanting_: the black put on.
19^3. And _wanting_: his steed he mounted.
20^1. When he came to Earl Crawford’s gates.
20^2. They were all going to dine.
20^3. And were all drest in robes of white.
21^1. He says, You may put aff the robes o white.
21^3. And ye’ll put on the dowie black.
22^1. Earl Crawford took his hat in’s hand.
22^3. Says, If this be true that L[ady] L[illie’s].
22^4. sin shall never shine.
230