There was a lady in the north,
You could scarcely find here morrow,
She was courted by nine noble men,
And here plooman boy O-Yarrow.
As he gae dar yon high high hill,
And doon a path sae narrow,
It was there he spied nine noble men,
Come to fight with him on Yarrow.
Three he slew, and three withdrew,
And three lay dying wounded,
Till here brother John stepped in behind,
And pierced is body through-O.
“Gae hame, gae hame, ye false young man!
and tell your sister sorrow,
For here true love, John,
Lies dead and gone, and a bloody corpse on Yarrow!”
As he gae dar yon high high hill,
And doon a pass sae narrow,
It was there he saw his sister dear,
She was coming fast for Yarrow.
“Oh brother dear, I’ve dreamt a dream,
And I hope it won’t prove sorrow,
For I dreamt that ye were spilling blud,
On the dowie dens O-Yarrow.”
“Well, sister dear I’ll rede your dream,
And I know it will prove sorrow,
For your true love John, lies dead and gone,
And a bloody corpse on Yarrow.”
Well this maid’s hair was three quarters lang,
And the color O it was yellow,
She’s tied it roon his middle so sma,
And she’s carried him hame through Yarrow.
“O dochter dear, dry off your tears,
And dwell nae mair in sorrow,
For I’ll wed you tae a far higher degree,
Than your plooman boy O-Yarrow.”
“Oh faither dear, yeeve siven braw sons,
Ye could wed them all tomorrow,
But a fairer floor there ne’er was born,
Than me ploomen boy of Yarrow.”
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Scottish Dialect Terms
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plooman - plowman
faither - father
yeeve - you have
siven - seven
braw - handwom
mair - more
dochter - daughter
tae - to
hame - home
roon - round
rede - tell, reveal
sma - small
lang - long
doon - down
gae dar - gaze down
---
Lyrics submitted by James Olin Oden.