Lamkin
No: 93; variant: 93D
- SAID the lord to his lady,
Beware of Rankin;
For I am going to England,
to wait on the king.
- 'No fears, no fears,'
said the lady, said she,
'For the doors shall be bolted,
and the windows pindee.
- 'Go bar all the windows,
both outside and in;
Don't leave a window open,
to let Bold Rankin in.'
- She has barred all the windows,
both outside and in;
But she left one of them open,
to let Bold Rankin in.
- 'O where is the master of this house?'
said Bold Rankin;
'He's up in Old England.'
said the false nurse to him.
- 'O where is the mistress of this house?'
said Bold Rankin;
'She's up in the chamber sleeping,'
said the false nurse to him.
- 'O how shall we get her down?'
said Bold Rankin;
'By piercing the baby,'
said the false nurse to him.
- 'Go please the baby, nursy,
go please it with a bell;'
'It will not be pleased, madam,
till you come down yoursel.'
- 'How can I come down stairs,
so late into the night,
Without coal or candle,
to shew me the light?
- 'There is a silver bolt
lies on the chest-head;
Give it to the baby,
give it sweet milk and bread.'
- She rammed the silver bolt
up the baby's nose,
Till the blood it came trinkling
down the baby's fine clothes.
- 'Go please the baby, nursie,
go please it with the bell:'
'It will not please, madam,
till you come down yoursel.
- 'It will neither please with breast-milk,
nor yet with pap;
But I pray, loving lady,
Come and roll it in your lap.'
- The first step she stepit,
she steppit on a stone;
And the next step she stepit,
she met Bold Rankin.
- 'O rankin, O Rankin,
spare me till twelve o'clock,
And I will give you as many guineas
as you can carry on your back.'
- 'What care I for as many guineas
as seeds into a sack,
When I cannot keep my hands off
your lily-white neck?'
- 'O will I kill her, nursie,
or let her abee?'
'O kill her,' said the false nurse,
'She was never good to me.'
- 'Go scour the bason, lady,
both outside and in,
To hold your mother's heart's blood,
sprung from a noble kin.'
- 'To hold my mother's heart's blood
would make my heart full woe;
O rather kill me, Rankin,
and let my mother go.'
- 'Go scour the bason, servants,
both outside and in,
To hold your lady's heart's blood,
sprung from a noble kin.'
- 'To hold my lady's heart's blood
would make my heart full woe;
O rather kill me, Rankin,
and let my lady go.'
- 'Go scour the bason, nursy,
both outside and in,
To hold your lady's heart's blood,
sprung from a noble kin.'
- 'To hold my lady's heart's blood
would make my heart full glad;
Ram in the knife, Bold Rankin,
and gar the blood to shed.
- 'She's none of my comrades,
she's none of my kin;
Ram in the knife, Bold Rankin,
and gar the blood rin.'
- 'O will I kill her, nursy,
or let her abee?'
'O kill her,' said the false nurse,
'She was never good to me.'
- 'I wish my wife and family
may be all well at home;
For the silver buttons of my coat
they will not stay on.'
- As Betsy was looking
oer her window so high,
She saw her dear father
come riding by.
- 'O father, dear father,
don't put the blame on me
It was false nurse and Rankin
that killed your lady.'
- O wasn't that an awful sight,
when he came to the stair,
To see his fairest lady
lie bleeding there!
- The false nurse was burnt
on the mountain hill-head,
And Rankin was boiled
in a pot full of lead.