Sheath and Knife 2
There was a sister and her brother
The sun gaes tae your tower there with
Wha maist and tightly loved each other
God give we had never been sib
O sister we'll gang tae the broom
Where dear sister I would lay thee doon
Brother alas would ye dae sae
Sooner would my deith gang tae
Oh the folk they talk through ither
The lassie's wi' bairn tae her brother
Oh brother ye hae done me ill
We will both burn on yon hill
We'll gang tae my feither's stable
And tak twa horses stood and evil
She's up on the white horse he's on the black
With his yew tree bow slung fast his neck
They had nae rode a mile but ain
When her pains they did come on
I would gi' all my feither's land
If I had a midwife at my command
We'll gang tae yon hill sae hi'
And tak your bow and arrows wi'
When you hear me lood lood cry
Then bend your bow and let me die
When he heard her lood lood cry
He bent his bow and let her die
When he came to her beside
The babe was born, the lady died
Then he's ta'en up his young young son
And bore him tae a milk-woman
He's git himself ae wonderful si'er
We'll never gand tae the broom nae mair
Oh mether I hae tint my knife
I lo'ed it better than my life
But I hae tint a better thing
That bonnie sheath my knife was in
Is there nae a cutler an tae Fife
That could mak tae thee a better knife
There's nae a cutler in all the land
That could mak sac a knife tae my command
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Child #16
recorded by Ewan MacColl on "Black And White" (1984)
"This spectacular incest ballad, with its hair-raising denouement and
its dramatic poetic devices, is an outstanding example of the genre.
Ewan loved the traditional ballads above all forms of folksong - the
economy of language, the stark dramatic form, the presentation of the
conflicts in society as seen through the eyes of individuals who are
at the mercy of social pressures."
Glossary: gaes tae goes to
wha maist who most
gif if
sib siblings
gang tae the broom make love
dae sae do so
my deith gang tae go to my death
through ither together
wi' bairn with child
ain one
gang go
nae mair no more
tint lost
lo'ed loved
sic such
MJ
Thanks to Mudcat for the Digital Tradition!