The Queen of Elfland’s Nourice
‘I heard a cow low, a bonnie cow low,And a cow low down in yon glen:Lang, lang will my young son greetOr his mither bid him come ben!
‘I heard a cow low, a bonnie cow low,And a cow low down in yon fauld:Lang, lang will my young son greetOr his mither take him frae cauld!’
‘Waken, Queen of ElfanAnd hear your nourice moan.’--
‘O moan ye for your meat,Or moan ye for your fee,Or moan ye for the ither bountiesThat ladies are wont to gie?’--
‘I moan na for my meat,Nor moan I for my fee,Nor moan I for the ither bountiesThat ladies are wont to gie.
And I moan for my young sonI left in four nights auld.
‘I moan na for my meat,Nor yet for my fee;But I moan for Christen land;It’s there I fain would be.’
‘O nurse my bairn, nourice,Till he stan’ at your knee,An ye’s win hame to Christen landWhar fain it’s ye wad be.
‘O keep my bairn, nourice,Till he gang by the hauld,An ye’s win hame to your young sonYe left in four nights auld.
‘O nourice lay your headSee ye not that narrow roadUp by yonder tree?
That’s the road the righteous goesAnd that’s the road to heaven.
‘An’ see na ye that braid roadDown by yon sunny fell?Yon’s the road the wicked gae,An’ that’s the road to hell.
About the fernie brae?That wins back frae Elfland
Words in this poem
- fauld n.
- The arch over the dam of a blast furnace; the tymp arch.
- waken v. i.
- To wake; to cease to sleep; to be awakened. [OE. waknen, AS. wæcnan; akin to Goth. gawaknan. See Wake, v. i.]
- auld a.
- Old; as, Auld Reekie (old smoky), i. e., Edinburgh. [See Old.]
- christen v. t.
- To baptize and give a Christian name to. [AS. cristnian to make a Christian, fr. cristen a Christian.]
- fain v. t.
- To be glad ; to wish or desire.
- yonder adv.
- At a distance, but within view. [OE. yonder, ýonder; cf. OD. ginder, Goth. jaindr there. Yond, adv.]
- sunny a.
- Of or pertaining to the sun; proceeding from, or resembling the sun; hence, shining; bright; brilliant; radiant.
- brae n.
- A hillside; a slope; a bank; a hill. Burns. [See Bray a hill.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Queen of Elfland’s Nourice is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Oxford Book of Ballads, Project Gutenberg ebook #44593; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Arthur Quiller-Couch, The Queen of Elfland’s Nourice, in The Oxford Book of Ballads (before 1800), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #44593, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/oxford-ballads/the-queen-of-elfland-s-nourice.html, id L08356.
Form and metre
The Queen of Elfland’s Nourice is 43 lines in 13 stanzas. The metre is short measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 80%). 99% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 6.8 syllables. 6 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 30% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in short measure.
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 -A-A low · glenA · greet · benA
- 2 -A-A low · fauldA · greet · cauldA
- 7 -A-A meat · feeA · land · beA
- 8 -A-A nourice · kneeA · land · beA
- 9 -A-A nourice · hauldA · son · auldA
- 12 -A-A road · fellA · gae · hellA
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 short measure. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| ‘I heard a cow low, a bonnie cow low, | 10 | ······/˘·· |
| And a cow low down in yon glen: | 8 | ········ |
| Lang, lang will my young son greet | 7 | ······· |
| Or his mither bid him come ben! | 8 | ········ |
| ‘I heard a cow low, a bonnie cow low, | 10 | ······/˘·· |
| And a cow low down in yon fauld: | 8 | ········ |
| Lang, lang will my young son greet | 7 | ······· |
| Or his mither take him frae cauld!’ | 8 | ········ |
| ‘Waken, Queen of Elfan | 6 | /˘···· |
| And hear your nourice moan.’-- | 6 | ···/˘· |
| ‘O moan ye for your meat, | 6 | ······ |
| Or moan ye for your fee, | 6 | ······ |
| Or moan ye for the ither bounties | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| That ladies are wont to gie?’-- | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| ‘I moan na for my meat, | 6 | ······ |
| Nor moan I for my fee, | 6 | ······ |
| Nor moan I for the ither bounties | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| That ladies are wont to gie. | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| And I moan for my young son | 7 | ······· |
| I left in four nights auld. | 6 | ······ |
| ‘I moan na for my meat, | 6 | ······ |
| Nor yet for my fee; | 5 | ····· |
| But I moan for Christen land; | 7 | ····/˘· |
| It’s there I fain would be.’ | 6 | ······ |
| ‘O nurse my bairn, nourice, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Till he stan’ at your knee, | 6 | ······ |
| An ye’s win hame to Christen land | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Whar fain it’s ye wad be. | 6 | ······ |
| ‘O keep my bairn, nourice, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Till he gang by the hauld, | 6 | ······ |
| An ye’s win hame to your young son | 8 | ········ |
| Ye left in four nights auld. | 6 | ······ |
| ‘O nourice lay your head | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| See ye not that narrow road | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Up by yonder tree? | 5 | ··/˘· |
| That’s the road the righteous goes | 7 | ····/˘· |
| And that’s the road to heaven. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| ‘An’ see na ye that braid road | 7 | ······· |
| Down by yon sunny fell? | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Yon’s the road the wicked gae, | 8 | ····/˘˘· |
| An’ that’s the road to hell. | 6 | ······ |
| About the fernie brae? | 6 | ······ |
| That wins back frae Elfland | 6 | ····/˘ |
Notes from the edition 3
Arthur Quiller-Couch's notes to The Oxford Book of Ballads (1910; Project Gutenberg #44593).
- Stanza 1, line 3 greet = cry.
- Stanza 1, line 4 ben = to the inner room.
- Stanza 9, line 2 gang by the hauld = walk by holding on to the hand.
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