| |
| GOLD on her head, and gold on her feet, | |
| And gold where the hems of her kirtle meet, | |
| And a golden girdle round my sweet;— | |
| Ah! qu’elle est belle La Marguerite. | |
| |
| Margaret’s maids are fair to see, | 5 |
| Freshly dress’d and pleasantly; | |
| Margaret’s hair falls down to her knee;— | |
| Ah! qu’elle est belle La Marguerite. | |
| |
| If I were rich I would kiss her feet, | |
| I would kiss the place where the gold hems meet, | 10 |
| And the golden girdle round my sweet— | |
| Ah! qu’elle est belle La Marguerite. | |
| |
| Ah me! I have never touch’d her hand, | |
| When the arriere-ban goes through the land, | |
| Six basnets under my pennon stand;— | 15 |
| Ah! qu’elle est belle La Marguerite. | |
| |
| And many an one grins under his hood: | |
| ‘Sir Lambert de Bois, with all his men good, | |
| Has neither food nor firewood;’— | |
| Ah! qu’elle est belle La Marguerite. | 20 |
| |
| If I were rich I would kiss her feet, | |
| And the golden girdle of my sweet, | |
| And thereabouts where the gold hems meet; | |
| Ah! qu’elle est belle La Marguerite. | |
| |
| Yet even now it is good to think, | 25 |
| While my few poor varlets grumble and drink | |
| In my desolate hall, where the fires sink,— | |
| Ah! qu’elle est belle La Marguerite. | |
| |
| Of Margaret sitting glorious there, | |
| In glory of gold and glory of hair, | 30 |
| And glory of glorious face most fair;— | |
| Ah! qu’elle est belle La Marguerite. | |
| |
| Likewise to-night I make good cheer, | |
| Because this battle draweth near: | |
| For what have I to lose or fear?— | 35 |
| Ah! qu’elle est belle La Marguerite. | |
| |
| For, look you, my horse is good to prance | |
| A right fair measure in this war-dance, | |
| Before the eyes of Philip of France;— | |
| Ah! qu’elle est belle La Marguerite. | 40 |
| |
| And sometime it may hap, perdie, | |
| While my new towers stand up three and three, | |
| And my hall gets painted fair to see— | |
| Ah! qu’elle est belle La Marguerite— | |
| |
| That folks may say: ‘Times change, by the rood! | 45 |
| For Lambert, banneret of the wood, | |
| Has heaps of food and firewood;— | |
| Ah! qu’elle est belle La Marguerite;— | |
| |
| ‘And wonderful eyes, too, under the hood | |
| Of a damsel of right noble blood:’ | 50 |
| St. Ives, for Lambert of the wood!— | |
| Ah! qu’elle est belle La Marguerite. | |
| |
