Camerin Sark- Peter Christie (Aber) c.1880 Carpenter
[My title, my date (probably much earlier. From James Madison Carpenter Collection, JMC/1/8/1/C, pp. 11583-11584.
R. Matteson 2018]
Camerin Sark (The Elfin Knight)- sung by Peter Christie of 21 Shorehead, Stonehave, Scotland from his mother Margaret Leiper of Pinnon who was 93 when she died in 1919.
[He:]
"Ye maun mak' to me a camerin sark,
An' every rose maun smell o yon thyme,
Without any stitch o' yer sin needle waurk,
Before ye can be a truelover o' mine.
"Ye maun wash it in yonder well,
Where the sun never shone nor the dew never fell,
"Ye maun bleach it on yonder tree,
Where there hisna been blosson sin Adam wis born,"
[She:]
"Questions three ye hae given tee me,
An' as mony mair I will gie unto thee,
"Ye maun ploo me an acre o' land.
Between the sea saut, an' the sand,
"Ye maun ploo it wi' a ram's horn,
An' sew it all along wi' a leepie o' corn,
"An' when yer waurk is finished an' done,
An' every rose maun smell o yon thyme,
Ye'll call upon me for yer camerin sark,
Before ye can be a truelover o' mine.