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Babylon or The Bonnie Banks o Fordie

No: 14; variant: 14C

  1. THERE were three sisters on a road, Gilly flower gentle rosemary And there they met a banished lord. And the dew it hings over the mulberry tree
  2. The eldest sister was on the road, And there she met with the banished lord.
  3. 'O will ye consent to lose your life, Or will ye be a banished lord's wife?'
  4. 'I'll rather consent to lose my life Before I'll be a banished lord's wife.'
  5. 'It's lean your head upon my staff,' And with his pen-knife he has cutted it aff.
  6. He flang her in amang the broom, Saying, 'Lye ye there till another ane come.'
  7. The second sister was on the road, And there she met with the banished lord.
  8. 'O will ye consent to lose your life, Or will ye be a banished lord's wife?'
  9. 'I'll rather consent to lose my life Before I'll be a banished lord's wife.'
  10. 'It's lean your head upon my staff,' And with his pen-knife he has cutted it aff.
  11. He flang her in amang the broom, Saying, 'Lie ye there till another ane come.'
  12. The youngest sister was on the road, And there she met with the banished lord.
  13. 'O will ye consent to lose your life, Or will ye be a banished lord's wife?'
  14. 'O if my three brothers were here, Ye durstna put me in such a fear.'
  15. 'What are your three brothers, altho they were here, That I durstna put you in such a fear?'
  16. 'My eldest brother's a belted knight, The second, he's a . . .
  17. 'My youngest brother's a banished lord, And oftentimes he walks on this road.'