| |
I. The Sailing.
I
THE KING sits in Dunfermline town | |
| Drinking the blude-red wine; | |
| ‘O whare will I get a skeely skipper | |
| To sail this new ship o’ mine?’ | |
| |
II
O up and spak an eldern knight, | 5 |
| Sat at the king’s right knee: | |
| ‘Sir Patrick Spens is the best sailor | |
| That ever sail’d the sea.’ | |
| |
III
Our king has written a braid letter, | |
| And seal’d it with his hand, | 10 |
| And sent it to Sir Patrick Spens, | |
| Was walking on the strand. | |
| |
IV
‘To Noroway, to Noroway, | |
| To Noroway o’er the faem; | |
| The king’s daughter o’ Noroway, | 15 |
| ’Tis thou must bring her hame.’ | |
| |
V
The first word that Sir Patrick read | |
| So loud, loud laugh’d he; | |
| The neist word that Sir Patrick read | |
| The tear blinded his e’e. | 20 |
| |
VI
‘O wha is this has done this deed | |
| And tauld the king o’ me, | |
| To send us out, at this time o’ year, | |
| To sail upon the sea? | |
| |
VII
‘Be it wind, be it weet, be it hail, be it sleet, | 25 |
| Our ship must sail the faem; | |
| The king’s daughter o’ Noroway, | |
| ’Tis we must fetch her hame.’ | |
| |
VIII
They hoysed their sails on Monenday morn | |
| Wi’ a’ the speed they may; | 30 |
| They hae landed in Noroway | |
| Upon a Wodensday. | |
| |
II. The Return.
IX
‘Mak ready, mak ready, my merry men a’! | |
| Our gude ship sails the morn.’— | |
| ‘Now ever alack, my master dear, | 35 |
| I fear a deadly storm. | |
| |
X
‘I saw the new moon late yestreen | |
| Wi’ the auld moon in her arm; | |
| And if we gang to sea, master, | |
| I fear we’ll come to harm.’ | 40 |
| |
XI
They hadna sail’d a league, a league, | |
| A league but barely three, | |
| When the lift grew dark, and the wind blew loud, | |
| And gurly grew the sea. | |
| |
XII
The ankers brak, and the topmast lap, | 45 |
| It was sic a deadly storm: | |
| And the waves cam owre the broken ship | |
| Till a’ her sides were torn. | |
| |
XIII
‘O where will I get a gude sailor | |
| To tak’ my helm in hand, | 50 |
| Till I get up to the tall topmast | |
| To see if I can spy land?’— | |
| |
XIV
‘O here am I, a sailor gude, | |
| To tak’ the helm in hand, | |
| Till you go up to the tall topmast, | 55 |
| But I fear you’ll ne’er spy land.’ | |
| |
XV
He hadna gane a step, a step, | |
| A step but barely ane, | |
| When a bolt flew out of our goodly ship, | |
| And the saut sea it came in. | 60 |
| |
XVI
‘Go fetch a web o’ the silken claith, | |
| Another o’ the twine, | |
| And wap them into our ship’s side, | |
| And let nae the sea come in.’ | |
| |
XVII
They fetch’d a web o’ the silken claith, | 65 |
| Another o’ the twine, | |
| And they wapp’d them round that gude ship’s side, | |
| But still the sea came in. | |
| |
XVIII
O laith, laith were our gude Scots lords | |
| To wet their cork-heel’d shoon; | 70 |
| But lang or a’ the play was play’d | |
| They wat their hats aboon. | |
| |
XIX
And mony was the feather bed | |
| That flatter’d on the faem; | |
| And mony was the gude lord’s son | 75 |
| That never mair cam hame. | |
| |
XX
O lang, lang may the ladies sit, | |
| Wi’ their fans into their hand, | |
| Before they see Sir Patrick Spens | |
| Come sailing to the strand! | 80 |
| |
XXI
And lang, lang may the maidens sit | |
| Wi’ their gowd kames in their hair, | |
| A-waiting for their ain dear loves! | |
| For them they’ll see nae mair. | |
| |
XXII
Half-owre, half-owre to Aberdour, | 85 |
| ’Tis fifty fathoms deep; | |
| And there lies gude Sir Patrick Spens, | |
| Wi’ the Scots lords at his feet! | |
| | | GLOSS: skeely] skilful. lift] sky. lap] sprang. wap] wrap. flatter’d] tossed afloat. kames] combs. |
|
| |
