Arthur Quiller-Couch, ed. (1863–1944). The Oxford Book of Ballads. 1910.
176176. Bessie Bell and Mary Gray
O B
They war twa bonnie lasses;
They biggit a bower on yon burn-brae,
And theekit it o’er wi’ rashes.
They theekit it o’er wi’ rashes green,
They theekit it o’er wi’ heather;
But the pest cam frae the burrows-town,
And slew them baith thegither.
They thought to lye in Methven kirkyard,
Amang their noble kin;
But they maun lye in Stronach haugh,
To bick forenent the sin.
And Bessie Bell and Mary Gray,
They war twa bonnie lasses;
They biggit a bower on yon burn-brae,
And theekit it o’er wi’ rashes.
biggit] built.theekit] thatched.haugh] water-mead.biek] bask.sin] sun.