Willie's Ladye
Willie's ta'en him o'er the faem,He's wooed a wife, and brought her hame;He's wooed her for her yellow hair,But his mother wrought her meikle care;
And meikle dolour gar'd her dree,For lighter she can never be;But in her bower she sits wi' pain,And Willie mourns o'er her in vain.
And to his mother he has gane,That vile rank witch, o' vilest kind!He says--"My ladie has a cup,Wi' gowd and silver set about;This gudely gift sall be your ain,And let her be lighter o' her young bairn."--
"Of her young bairn she's never be lighter,Nor in her bour to shine the brighter:But she sall die, and turn to clay,And you sall wed another may."--
"Another may I'll never wed,Another may I'll never bring hame:"--But, sighing, said that weary wight--"I wish my life were at an end!
"Yet gae ye to your mother again,That vile rank witch, o' vilest kind!And say, your ladye has a steed,The like o' him's no in the land o' Leed.
"For he is silver shod before,And he is gowden shod behind;At every tuft of that horse mane,There's a golden chess, and a bell to ring.This gudely gift sall be her ain,And let me be lighter o' my young bairn."--
"Of her young bairn she's ne'er be lighter,Nor in her bour to shine the brighter;But she sall die, and turn to clay,And ye sall wed another may."--
"Another may I'll never wed,Another may I'll never bring hame:"--But, sighing, said that weary wight--"I wish my life were at an end!--
"Yet gae ye to your mother again,That vile rank witch, o' rankest kind!And say your ladye has a girdle,It's a' red gowd to the middle;
"And aye, at ilka siller hemHang fifty siller bells and ten;This gudely gift sall be her ain,And let me be lighter o' my young bairn."--
"Of her young bairn she's ne'er be lighter,Nor in your bour to shine the brighter;For she sall die, and turn to clay,And thou sall wed another may."--
"Another may I'll never wed,Another may I'll never bring hame;"--But, sighing, said that weary wight--"I wish my days were at an end!"--
Then out and spak the Billy Blind,(He spak aye in good time:)"Yet gae ye to the market-place,And there do buy a loaf of wace;Do shape it bairn and bairnly like,And in it twa glassen een you'll put;
"And bid her your boy's christening to,Then notice weel what she shall do;And do you stand a little away,To notice weel what she may say."
He shaped it bairn and bairnly like,And in twa glazen een he pat;
He did him till his mither then,And bade her to his boy's christnin;And he did stand a little forbye,And noticed well what she did say.
"O wha has loosed the nine witch knots,That were amang that ladye's locks?And wha's ta'en out the kaims o' care,That were amang that ladye's hair?
"And wha has ta'en down that bush o' woodbine,That hung between her bour and mine?And wha has kill'd the master kid,That ran beneath that ladye's bed?And wha has loosed her left foot shee,And let that ladye lighter be?"
Syne, Willy's loosed the nine witch knots,That were amang that ladye's locks;And Willie's ta'en out the kaims o' care,That were into that ladye's hair;
And he's ta'en down the bush o' woodbine,Hung atween her bour and the witch carline;And he has kill'd the master kid,That ran beneath that ladye's bed;
And he has loosed her left foot shee,And latten that ladye lighter be;And now he has gotten a bonny son,And meikle grace be him upon.
Words in this poem 19
- dolour n.
- Pain; grief; distress; anguish. [OE. dolor, dolur, dolour, F. douleur, L. dolor, fr. dolere. See 1st Dole.]
- dree v. i.
- To be able to do or endure.
- gane v. i.
- To yawn; to gape. [See Yawn.]
- sall n.
- An East Indian timber tree (Shorea robusta), much used for building purposes. It is of a light brown color, close-grained, and durable. [Hind. s\'bel, Skr. ç\'bela.]
- bour n.
- A chamber or a cottage. [See Bower a chamber.]
- wight n.
- A whit; a bit; a jot. [OE. wight, wiht, a wight, a whit, AS. wiht, wuht, a creature, a thing; skin to D. wicht a child, OS. & OHG. wiht a creature, thing, G. wicht a creature, Icel. v]
- steed n.
- A horse, especially a spirited horse for state of war; -- used chiefly in poetry or stately prose. [OE. stede, AS. steda a stud-horse, war horse, fr. stod a stud of breeding steeds; akin to G. stute a mare, Icel. stedda, sto, a stud. *163. See Stud of horses.]
- leed n.
- A caldron; a copper kettle. [Etymol. uncertain.]
- billy n.
- A club; esp., a policeman's club.
- glassen a.
- Glassy; glazed.
- weel
- A kind of trap or snare for fish, made of twigs. Carew. [Prov. E. weel, weal, a wicker basket to catch eels; prob. akin to willow, and so called as made of willow twigs.]
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- glazen a.
- Resembling glass; glasslike; glazed. Wyclif. [AS. glæsen.]
- bade
- A form of the pat tense of Bid.
- syne adv.
- Afterwards; since; ago. R. of Brunne. [See Since.]
- atween adv.
- Between. Spenser. [See Atwain, and cf. Between.]
- carline n.
- A silver coin once current in some parts of Italy, worth about seven cents. Simmonds. [F. carin; cf. It. carlino; -- so called from Carlo (Charles) VI. of Naples.]
- latten n.
- A kind of brass hammered into thin sheets, formerly much used for making church utensils, as candlesticks, crosses, etc.; -- called also latten brass. [OE. latoun, laton, OF. laton, F. laiton, prob. fr. OF. late lath, F. latte; -- because made in thin plates; cf. It. latta a sheet of tinned iron, tin plate. F. ]
- bonny a.
- Handsome; beautiful; pretty; attractively lively and graceful. [OE. boni, prob. fr. F. bon, fem. bonne, good, fr. L. bonus good. See Bounty, and cf. Bonus, Boon.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Willie's Ladye is in the public domain. This text is taken from English and Scottish Ballads, Volume I, Project Gutenberg ebook #37031; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Francis James Child, Willie's Ladye, in English and Scottish Ballads, Volume I (1857), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #37031, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/child-ballads/willie-s-ladye.html, id L08585.
Form and metre
Willie's Ladye is 94 lines in 22 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.3 syllables. 10 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending.
See other poems in iambic tetrameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 --AA faem · hame · hairA · careA
- 2 AABB dreeA · beA · painB · vainB
- 3 A---A- ganeA · kind · cup · about · ainA · bairn
- 4 AABB lighterA · brighterA · clayB · mayB
- 6 --AA again · kind · steedA · leedA
- 7 --A-A- before · behind · maneA · ring · ainA · bairn
- 8 AABB lighterA · brighterA · clayB · mayB
- 12 AABB lighterA · brighterA · clayB · mayB
- 14 --AA-- blind · time · placeA · waceA · like · put
- 15 AABB toA · doA · awayB · sayB
- 18 --AA knots · locks · careA · hairA
- 19 AA--BB woodbineA · mineA · kid · bed · sheeB · beB
- 20 --AA knots · locks · careA · hairA
- 21 AA-- woodbineA · carlineA · kid · bed
- 22 AA-- sheeA · beA · son · upon
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Willie's ta'en him o'er the faem, | 7 | /˘····· |
| He's wooed a wife, and brought her hame; | 8 | ········ |
| He's wooed her for her yellow hair, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| But his mother wrought her meikle care; | 9 | ··/˘··/˘· |
| And meikle dolour gar'd her dree, | 9 | ·/˘··/˘·· |
| For lighter she can never be; | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| But in her bower she sits wi' pain, | 8 | ···/···· |
| And Willie mourns o'er her in vain. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And to his mother he has gane, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| That vile rank witch, o' vilest kind! | 8 | ········ |
| He says--"My ladie has a cup, | 8 | ········ |
| Wi' gowd and silver set about; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| This gudely gift sall be your ain, | 9 | ········· |
| And let her be lighter o' her young bairn."-- | 9 | ····/···· |
| "Of her young bairn she's never be lighter, | 9 | ·····/·/˘ |
| Nor in her bour to shine the brighter: | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| But she sall die, and turn to clay, | 8 | ········ |
| And you sall wed another may."-- | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| "Another may I'll never wed, | 8 | ˘/˘··/˘· |
| Another may I'll never bring hame:"-- | 8 | ˘/˘··/·· |
| But, sighing, said that weary wight-- | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| "I wish my life were at an end! | 8 | ········ |
| "Yet gae ye to your mother again, | 9 | ·····/˘˘/ |
| That vile rank witch, o' vilest kind! | 8 | ········ |
| And say, your ladye has a steed, | 8 | ········ |
| The like o' him's no in the land o' Leed. | 10 | ·········· |
| "For he is silver shod before, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And he is gowden shod behind; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| At every tuft of that horse mane, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| There's a golden chess, and a bell to ring. | 10 | ··/˘······ |
| This gudely gift sall be her ain, | 9 | ········· |
| And let me be lighter o' my young bairn."-- | 9 | ····/···· |
| "Of her young bairn she's ne'er be lighter, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Nor in her bour to shine the brighter; | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| But she sall die, and turn to clay, | 8 | ········ |
| And ye sall wed another may."-- | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| "Another may I'll never wed, | 8 | ˘/˘··/˘· |
| Another may I'll never bring hame:"-- | 8 | ˘/˘··/·· |
| But, sighing, said that weary wight-- | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| "I wish my life were at an end!-- | 8 | ········ |
| "Yet gae ye to your mother again, | 9 | ·····/˘˘/ |
| That vile rank witch, o' rankest kind! | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And say your ladye has a girdle, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| It's a' red gowd to the middle; | 8 | ······/˘ |
| "And aye, at ilka siller hem | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Hang fifty siller bells and ten; | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| This gudely gift sall be her ain, | 9 | ········· |
| And let me be lighter o' my young bairn."-- | 9 | ····/···· |
| "Of her young bairn she's ne'er be lighter, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Nor in your bour to shine the brighter; | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| For she sall die, and turn to clay, | 8 | ········ |
| And thou sall wed another may."-- | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| "Another may I'll never wed, | 8 | ˘/˘··/˘· |
| Another may I'll never bring hame;"-- | 8 | ˘/˘··/·· |
| But, sighing, said that weary wight-- | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| "I wish my days were at an end!"-- | 8 | ········ |
| Then out and spak the Billy Blind, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| (He spak aye in good time:) | 6 | ······ |
| "Yet gae ye to the market-place, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And there do buy a loaf of wace; | 8 | ········ |
| Do shape it bairn and bairnly like, | 8 | ········ |
| And in it twa glassen een you'll put; | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| "And bid her your boy's christening to, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Then notice weel what she shall do; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And do you stand a little away, | 9 | ·····/˘˘/ |
| To notice weel what she may say." | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| He shaped it bairn and bairnly like, | 8 | ········ |
| And in twa glazen een he pat; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| He did him till his mither then, | 8 | ········ |
| And bade her to his boy's christnin; | 8 | ········ |
| And he did stand a little forbye, | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| And noticed well what she did say. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| "O wha has loosed the nine witch knots, | 8 | ········ |
| That were amang that ladye's locks? | 8 | ········ |
| And wha's ta'en out the kaims o' care, | 8 | ········ |
| That were amang that ladye's hair? | 8 | ········ |
| "And wha has ta'en down that bush o' woodbine, | 10 | ········/˘ |
| That hung between her bour and mine? | 8 | ········ |
| And wha has kill'd the master kid, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| That ran beneath that ladye's bed? | 8 | ········ |
| And wha has loosed her left foot shee, | 8 | ········ |
| And let that ladye lighter be?" | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Syne, Willy's loosed the nine witch knots, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| That were amang that ladye's locks; | 8 | ········ |
| And Willie's ta'en out the kaims o' care, | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| That were into that ladye's hair; | 8 | ········ |
| And he's ta'en down the bush o' woodbine, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Hung atween her bour and the witch carline; | 10 | ·˘/······· |
| And he has kill'd the master kid, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| That ran beneath that ladye's bed; | 8 | ········ |
| And he has loosed her left foot shee, | 8 | ········ |
| And latten that ladye lighter be; | 8 | ·/˘···/· |
| And now he has gotten a bonny son, | 10 | ····/˘·/˘· |
| And meikle grace be him upon. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
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