Sir James the Rose (Steeleye Version)
Oh have you heard Sir James the Rose,
The young heir of Buleighen?
For he has killed a gallant squire
And his friends are out to take him.
And he's gone to the house of Mar,
The nurse there did befriend him,
And he has gone upon his knee,
He's begged to her to hide him.
"Where're you're going, Sir James?", she said,
"Where now are you riding?"
- "Oh I am bound to a foreign land,
For now I'm on the hiding."
Ch.: Where shall I go, where shall I run,
Where shall I go for to hide me?
For I have killed a gallant squire
And they're seeking for to slay me.
Then he's turned him right and round about,
Rolled him in the bracken.
And he has gone to take a sleep
In the lowlands of Buleighen.
He had not well gone out of sight,
Nor was he passed Milstrethen,
When four and twenty belted knights
Came riding o'er the Leathen.
"Oh have you seen Sir James the Rose,
The young heir of Buleighen?
For he has killed a gallant squire
And we're sent out to take him"
Ch.:
"You'll see the bank above the mill
In the lowlands of Buleighen.
There you'll find Sir James the Rose,
Sleeping in his brechan.
You must not wake him out of sleep,
Nor yet must you affright him,
Just run a dart right through his heart
And through the body piece him."
They sought the bank above the mill
In the lowlands of Buleighan
And there they found Sir James the Rose,
Sleeping in his brechan.
Ch.:
Then up and spake Sir John the Graeme,
Who had the charge of keeping:
"It'll never be said, dear gentlemen,
We killed him while he's sleeping."
They seized his broadsword and his targe
And closely him surrounded
And when he woke out of his sleep
His senses were confounded.
Now they have taken out his heart
And stuck in on a spear.
They took it to the house of Mar
And gave it to his dear.
Ch.:
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Child #213
recorded by Steeleye Span on "Rocket Cottage" (1976)
This version is obviously quite distinct from the other one
(JAMEROSE). This version is a subset of Child's version (there
is only one).
The chorus is Child's verse 4.
MJ
Thanks to Mudcat for the Digital Tradition!