Earl Bichet- Greenwood (London) 1806 Child O
[This version is found in Additions and Corrections. I've designated it version O]
Earl Bichet- Greenwood (London) 1806 Child O (my designation)
'Earl Bichet,' "Scotch Ballads, Materials for Border Minstrelsy," No 83, Abbotsford. Communicated to Scott by Mrs. Christiana Greenwood, London, May 27, 1806 (Letters, I, No 189), as heard by her in her youth at Longnewton, near Jedburgh, "where most of the old women could sing it."
1 Earl Bichet's sworn a mighty aith,
And a solemn vow made he,
That he wad to the Holy Land,
To the Holy Land wad he gae.
2 When he came to the Holy Land,
Amang the Infidels sae black,
They hae consulted them amang
The Earl Bichet for to take.
3 And when they basely him betrayd
They put him into fetters strang,
And threw him in a dungeon dark,
To spend the weary night sae lang.
4 Then in ilka shoulder they bored a hole,
In his right shoulder they bored three,
And they gard him draw the coops o wine,
Till he was sick and like to dee.
5 Then they took him out o their carts and wains,
And put him in a castle of stone;
When the stars shone bright, and the moon gave light,
The sad Earl Bichet he saw none.
6 The king had only ae daughter,
And it was orderd sae to be
That, as she walked up and down,
By the strong-prison-door cam she.
7 Then she heard Earl Bichet sad
Making his pityful mane,
In doolfu sounds and moving sighs
Wad melt a heart o stane.
8 'When I was in my ain countrie,
I drank the wine sae clear;
But now I canna get bare bread;
I wis I had neer come here!
9 'When I was in my ain countrie,
I drank the wine sae red;
But now I canna get a bite o bare bread;
O I wis that I were dead!'
* * *
10 'Gae bring to me the good leaven [bread],
To eat when I do need;
Gae bring to me the good red wine,
To drink when I do dread.'
11 'Gae ask my father for bis leave
To bring them unto me,
And for the keys o the prison-door,
To set Earl Bichet free.'
* * *
12 Then she went into her ain chamber
And prayd most heartilie,
And when that she rose up again
The keys fell at her knee.
* * *
13 Then they hae made a solemn vow
Between themselves alone,
That he was to marry no other woman,
And she no other man.
14 And Earl Bichet's to sail to fair Scotland,
Far oer the roaring faem,
And till seven years were past and gone
This vow was to remain.
15 Then she built him a stately ship,
And set it on the sea,
Wi four-and-twenty mariners,
To bear him companie.
16 'My blessing gae wi ye, Earl Bichet,
My blessing gae wi thee;
My blessing be wi a' the mariners
That are to sail wi thee.'
17 Then they saild east, and they saild wast,
Till they saild to Earl Bichet's yett,
When nane was sae ready as his mother dear
To welcome her ain son back.
18 'Ye 're welcome, welcome, Earl Bichet,
Ye're dearly welcome hame to me!
And ye 're as welcome to Lady Jean,
For she has lang looked for thee.'
19 'What haste, what haste, O mother dear,
To wale a wife for me?
For what will I do wi the bonny bride
That I hae left ayont the sea?'
20 When seven years were past and gone,
Seven years but and a day,
The Saracen lady took a crying in her sleep,
And she has cried sair till day.
21 'O daughter, is it for a man o might?
Or is it for a man o mine?'
'It's neither for a man o might,
Nor is it for a man o thine.
22 'Bat if ye'll build me a ship, father,
And set it on the sea,
I will away to some other land,
To seek a true-love free.'
23 Then he built her a gallant ship,
And set it on the sea,
Wi a hunder and fifty mariners,
To bear her companie.
24 At every corner o the ship
A siller bell did hing,
And at ilka jawing o the faem
The siller bells did ring.
25 Then they saild east, and they saild wast,
Till they cam to Earl Bichet's yett;
Nane was sae ready as the porter
To open and let her in thereat.
26 'O is this Earl Bichet's castle-yett?
Or is that noble knight within?
For I am weary, sad and wet,
And far I've come ayont the faem.'
27 'He's up the stair at supper set,
And mony a noble knight wi him;
He's up the stair wi his bonny bride,
And mony a lady gay wi them.'
28 She's put her hand into her purse
And taen out fifty merks and three:
'If this be the Earl Bichet's castle,
Tell him to speak three words wi me.
29 'Tell him to send me a bit o his bread
But an a bottle o his wine,
And no forget the lady's love
That freed him out o prison strong.'
30 The porter he gaed up the stair,
And mony bow and binge gae he;
'What means, what means,' cried Earl Bichet,
'O what means a' this courtesie?'
31 'O I hae been porter at yere yett
These four-and-twenty years and three;
But the fairest lady now stands thereat
That ever my two eyes did see.
32 'She has a ring on her foremost finger,
And on her middle-finger three;
She has as much gowd about her waist
As wad buy earldoms o land for thee.
33 'She wants to speak three words wi thee,
And a little o yere bread and wine,
And not to forget the lady's love
That freed ye out o prison strong.'
34 'I'll lay my life,' cried Earl Bichet,
'It's my true love come oer the sea!'
Then up and spake the bride's mother,
'It's a bonny time to speak wi thee!'
35 'O your doughter came here on a horse's back,
But I'll set her hame in a chariot free;
For, except a kiss o her bonny mouth,
Of her fair body I am free.'
36 There war thirty cups on the table set,
He gard them a' in flinders flee;
There war thirty steps into the stair,
And he has louped them a' but three.
37 Then he took her saftly in his arms,
And kissed her right tenderlie:
'Ye 're welcome here, my ain true love,
Sae dearly welcome ye 're to me!'