They search'd the country wide and braid,
|There was a rich lord, and he lived in Forfar,
He had a fair lady, and one only dochter.
A ship's captain courted her to be his honey.
There came a ship's captain out ower the sea sailing,
He courted this young thing till he got her wi' bairn: --
"Ye'll steal your father's gowd, and your mother's money,
And I'll mak ye a lady in Ireland bonny."
She's stown her father's gowd and her mother's money,
But she was never a lady in Ireland bonny.
"There's fey folk in our ship, she winna sail for me,
There's fey folk in our ship, she winna sail for me."
They've casten black bullets twice six and forty,
And ae the black bullet fell on bonny Annie.
"Ye'll tak me in your arms twa, lo, lift me canny,
Throw me out ower board, your ain dear Annie."
He has ta'en her in his arms twa, lo, lifted her canny,
He has laid her on a bed of down, his ain dear Annie.
"What can a woman do, love, I'll do for ye;"
"Muckle can a woman do, ye canna do for me.--
Lay about, steer about, lay our ship canny,
"I've laid about, steer'd about, laid about canny,
Ye'll tak her in your arms twa, lo, lift her canny,
And throw her out ower board, your ain dear Annie."
He has ta'en her in his arms twa, lo, lifted her canny,
He has thrown her out ower board, his ain dear Annie:
As the ship sailed, bonny Annie she swam,
He made his love a coffin of the gowd sae yellow,
And buried his bonny love doun in a sea valley.
"But my dochter can neither read nor write,
"She'll win in your barn at bear-seed time,
She'll saddle your steed in time o' need,
"I'll learn your lassie to read and write,
She wadna hae walk'd to the yetts o' Drum,
"But an' she was ador'd for as much gold,
And in thro' ha's, and in thro' bowers,--
Wha could distan your moulds frae mine, O?"
Your head sail be decked wi' gilly-flower,
"Your stockings sail be o' the broad kail-blade,
(_camovine_, camomile. _kail-blade_, leaf of colewort. _coot_, ankle. _brawn_, calf.)
Your head sail be decked wi' the eastern wind,
An when he came to the green grass growing
(_slaiked,_ loosened, i.e. took off. _sark_, shirt.
An' gin you're catched on English ground,
"I'm seeking nane o' your gold," he says,
Her breath grew strang, her hair grew lang,
Her breath was strang, her hair was lang,