- It fell upon a Wodensday Brown Robyn's men went to sea, But they saw neither moon nor sun, Nor starlight wi their ee.
- 'We'll cast kevels us amang, See wha the unhappy man may be;' The kevel fell on Brown Robyn, The master-man was he.
- 'It is nae wonder,' said Brown Robyn, 'Altho I dinna thrive, For wi my mither I had twa bairns, And wi my sister five.
- 'But tie me to a plank o wude, And throw me in the sea; And if I sink, ye may bid me sink, But if I swim, just lat me bee.'
- They've tyed him to a plank o wude, And thrown him in the sea; He didna sink, tho they bade him sink; He swimd, and they bade lat him bee.
- He hadna been into the sea An hour but barely three, Till by it came Our Blessed Lady, Her dear young son her wi.
- 'Will ye gang to your men again, Or will ye gang wi me? Will ye gang to the high heavens, Wi my dear son and me?'
- 'I winna gang to my men again, For they would be feared at mee; But I woud gang to the high heavens, Wi thy dear son and thee.'
- 'It's for nae honour ye did to me, Brown Robyn, It's for nae guid ye did to mee; But a' is for your fair confession You've made upon the sea.'
No: 57; variant: 57
Source: Buchan's Ballads of the North of Scotland, I, 110. Motherwell's MS., p. 580.