Classic Poem

‘O waly, waly up yon bank!
And waly, waly down yon brae!
And waly, waly by yon burn-bank,
Where me and my lord wont to gae!

‘A gentleman of good account,
A friend of mine, came to visit me,
And Blackly whispered in my lord's ears
He was too long in chamber with me.

‘When my father came to hear 't,
I wot an angry man was he;
He sent five score of his soldiers bright
To take me safe to my own countrie.

‘Up in the mornin when I arose,
My bonnie palace for to lea,
And when I came to my lord's door,
The neer a word he would speak to me.

‘Come down, come down, O Jamie Douglas,
And drink the Orange wine with me;
I 'll set thee in a chair of gold,
That neer a penny it cost thee.’

‘When sea and sand turns foreign land,
And mussels grow on every tree,
When cockle-shells turn silver bells,
I 'll drink the Orange wine with thee.’

‘Wae be to you, Blackly,’ she said,
‘Aye and an ill death may you die!
You are the first, and I hope the last,
That eer made my lord lichtly me.’

‘Fare ye weel then, Jamie Douglas!
I value you as little as you do me;
The Earl of Mar is my father dear,
And I soon will see my own countrie.

‘Ye thought that I was like yoursell,
And loving each ane I did see;
But here I swear, by the day I die,
I never loved a man but thee.

‘Fare ye weel, my servants all!
And you, my bonny children three!
God grant your father grace to be kind
Till I see you safe in my own countrie.’

‘As I came into Edinburgh toune,
With trumpets sounding my father met me:
But no mirth nor musick sounds in my ear,
Since the Earl of March has forsaken me.’

‘O hold your tongue, my daughter dear,
And of your weeping let abee;
I 'll send a bill of divorce to the Earl of March,
And get a better lord for thee.’

‘Hold your tongue, my father dear,
And of your folly let abee;
No other lord shall lye in my arms,
Since the Earl of March has forsaken me.

‘An I had known what I know now,
I 'd never crossed the water o Tay,
But stayed still at Atholl's gates;
He would have made me his lady gay.’

When she came to her father's lands,
The tenants a' came her to see;
Never a word she could speak to them,
But the buttons off her clothes did flee.

‘The linnet is a bonnie bird,
And aften flees far frae its nest;
So all the warld may plainly see
They 're far awa that I luve best.’