Uploaded May 2021 | Updated September 2026, 3 days ago

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Four Maries / The Four Marys / Mary Mild / Mary Hamilton (Child No. 173) (Fragment) - Recited by Charlotte Higgins of Blairgowrie, Perthshire. Recorded by Hamish Henderson in 1958.

Song transcription:

A knock came tae the kitchen door,
It soonded through aa the room,
That Marie Hamilton had a ween
Tae the highest man in the toon,

Whaur is the ween ye had last nicht?
Whaur is the ween, I say?
They looked high and they looked low,
And they looked below the bed,
And there they found the dear wee ween,
Laying in a pool o' blood.

...
Sink ye, or swim ye, ye'll get nae mair frae me.

Oh rise, Mary Hamilton, and come alang wi me.
This day ye're gaun tae Edinborough toon,
A rich weddin for tae see.
...

...
She went up the tall booth stair,
And the heels did click o' her sheen,
[And she was smiling,]
When she came doon again,
The tears did blind her ee,
For she was condemned tae dee.