Song of the Travelling Fairies One night in the glen, in the glen of Balcomish The blackbird will come there to build her own nest Sleep now my baby, the travelling fairies will come Hush now my bairnie, the bird I will call One night on mount Rushen, up high in the mountains The falcon will come there to build her own nest Sleep now my baby, the travelling fairies will come Hush now my bairnie, the bird I will call One night on the rocks of the steep Spanish headland The seagull will come there to build her own nest Sleep now my baby, the travelling fairies will come Hush now my bairnie, the bird I will call They'll come to Gordon and therein all cosy Will little Jenny-wren build her own nest Sleep now my baby and don't you be fearing of them Hush now my bairnie, the bird I will call Sleep now my baby, the travelling fairies will come Hush now my bairnie, the bird I will call

Seal-woman's sea-joy Ionn da, Ionn do Ionn da, Odar da Hio dan dao, Hio dan dao Hio dan dao, Odar dah

Fishe or Fowle I went down to the water's edge, There put on my coat of seal skin Crept between the reeds and sedges Dipped my toe in icy ocean I went down to the water's edge There put on my coat of seal skin Crept between the reeds and sedges Slipped into the briny ocean I will swim, and I will dive and Sing the songs the sea has taught me I will swim, and I will dive and Sing the songs the tide has brought me I went up to the mountain high There put on my cloak of feathers Climbed into the tallest tree to Feel the wind and watch the weather I went up to the mountain high There put on my cloak of feathers Climbed into the tallest tree and Leaned into the wind and weather I will sing, and I will fly and Tell the tales the birds have taught me I will sing, and I will fly and Tell the tales the wind has brought me I went down to the water's edge There I wore my coat of sealskin I went up to the mountain high There I wore my cloak of feathers I will swim, I will fly Tell the tales the birds have taught me I will swim, I will fly Sing the songs the sea has brought me

Earl of Mar's Daughter Oh Coo my Dove, my love so true If you'd come down to me I'll give you a cage of good red gold Instead of a simple tree. But when day was done and night was come About the evening tide This lady spied a sprightly youth Standing by her side I am a dove the live-long day, A sprightly youth by night; This to make me appear more fair In any maiden's sight. And he has stayed in bower with her For six long years and one, Till six young sons to him she bore, And the seventh son she's brought home. And he has stayed in bower with her Twenty years and three; 'Til there came a lord of high renown To court this fair lady. But all his proffers she refused, And all his presents too; Says, "I'm content to live alone With my bird, Cow-me-doo." "My seven sons in seven swans, About their heads to fly; And I myself to a gay goshawk, A bird of high degree." And nothing could the company do, And nothing could they say For they saw a flock of pretty birds That stole their bride away.

Young Hunting SHE has called to her bower-maidens, She has called them one by one: “There is a dead man in my bower, I would that he was gone, gone I would that he was gone” They have booted him, and spurred him, As he was wont to ride, A hunting-horn about his waist, A sharp sword by his side, side A sharp sword by his side. Then up and spake a bonnie bird, that sat upon the tree: ‘What have you done with Earl Richard? You was his gay lady You was his gay lady” And she swore by the grass so green, so did she by the corn, That she had not seen Earl Richard Since yesterday at morn, morn. Since yesterday at morn. ‘Come down, come down, my bonnie bird, and sit upon my hand; And you shall have a cage of gold, Where you have but the wand, wand Where you have but the wand” ‘Away, away, ye ill woman, No ill woman for me; What you have done to Earl Richard, So would you do to me, me So would you do to me” And she swore by the grass so green..... “There is a bird intill your bower that sings so sad and sweet; There is a bird intill your bower, kept me from my night’s sleep, sleep Kept me from my night’s sleep” ‘Go bend to me my bow,’ she said, ‘And set it to my e'e, And I will make that bonnie bird Come quickly down to me, me Come quickly down to me” ‘Before thou bend thy bow, lady, And set it to thy e'e, O I will be at yon far court, Telling ill tales on thee, thee Telling ill tales on thee” And she swore by the grass so green... x2

Clerk Colvill CLERK COLVILL and his lusty dame Were walking in yon garden green; The belt around her stately waist Cost Clerk Colvill crowns fifteen. ‘O promise me now, Clerk Colvill, Or it will cost you muckle strife, Ride never by the wells of Slane, If you would live and brook your life.’ Oh speak no more my lusty dame, Oh speak no more of that to me; Did I ever see a fair woman, That I would sin with my body?’ And He’s taken leave of his lusty dame, Not minding what his lady said, And he’s ridden by the wells of Slane, Where washing was a bonny maid. ‘Wash on, wash on, my bonny maid, That wash so clean your sark of silk;’ It's all for you, my gentle knight, My skin is whiter than the milk.’ And he’s taken her by the milk-white hand, And likewise by the grass green sleeve And he's laid her down upon the green Nor of his lady asked he leave Then loud, loud cries Clerk Colvill, ‘O my head, my head, it pains me sore;’ ‘Then take, then take,’ the maiden said, ‘And from my sark you’ll cut a gore.’ And she’s given him a little bane-knife, And from her sark he's cut a share; She’s tied it round his whey-white head, But ay his head it ached more And louder cry’d the Clerk Colvill, O sorer, sorer aches my head;’ And sorer, sorer ever will,’ The maiden cries, 'Till you be dead.’ So out he drew his shining blade, Thinking to stick her where she stood, But she is vanished to a fish, And away she swam, a fair mermaid. ‘O mother, mother, braid my hair; Come lusty lady, make my bed; O brother, take my sword and spear, For I have seen the false mermaid.’ Fisherman's song for Attracting Seals

The Fowler One midsummers evening, the sun being gone down Young Polly went a-walking by the side of a pond She sat under a shady tree a shower for to shun With her apron wrapped around her as white as a swan Young William went a-hunting with his dog and his gun Young William went a-hunting as the evening came on Down among those green rushes as the evening came on He shot his own true love in the room of a swan He threw down his gun and away he did run Crying “father, O father can you believe what I've done? Down among those green rushes as the evening came on I shot my own true love in the room of a swan” “Stay at home dearest William 'til your trial do come on That you may not be banished to some foreign land On the day of your trial your father will appear With fifty bright guineas if that will you clear” And all the girls in the county were delighted you know For to see lovely Polly a-laid down so low But you could take all them pretty girls, and line them up in a row And her beauty would outshine them like a fountain of snow On the day of his trial young Polly did appear Crying “people, O people, let William go clear For with my apron wrapped around my head as the evening came on He shot his own true love in the room of a swan”

Pica Pica 1 for sorrow, 2 for mirth 3 for a wedding, 4 for a birth 5 for silver, 6 for gold 7 for a secret never to be told 8 for a wish, 9 for a kiss 10 for a time of joyful bliss Pica pica, sorrow, mirth, the mingled strain of life on earth 1 for sorrow, 2 for joy 3 for a girl, 4 for a boy 5 for silver, 6 for gold 7 for a secret never was told 8 for a wish, 9 for a kiss 10 for a bird that's best to miss Pica pica, sorrow, mirth, the mingled strain of life on earth 1 for sorrow, 2 for mirth 3 for a letter, 4 for a birth 5 for rich, 6 for poor 7 for a bitch, 8 for a whore 9 for laughter, 10 for crying 11 for sickness, 12 for dying Pica pica, sorrow, mirth, the mingled strain of life on earth 1 for sorrow, 2 for mirth 3 for a death, 4 for a birth 5 for a fiddler, 6 for a dance 7 for England, 8 for France 9 for Heaven, 10 for Hell More for the Devil's very own self Pica pica, sorrow, mirth, the mingled strain of life on earth (x4)

Seal-woman's Lament Ho i ho i hi o ho i ho i hi o ho i i ho i ho i hi o ho I Cha robh mi'm' aonar an raoir (Last night I was not alone) Sad the land is, sad the land, People prey upon our clan Boiling on a cooking fire Is the chief of all our men I am the child of Hugh MacEwen, I know the skerries and the sea Woe to him who'd do me wrong A lady from a far country. Come the mavis, come the thrush, Come each bird that seeks its nest, Come the salmon o'er the sea 'Til that day I will not rest.

Laily worm and the machrel of the sea I was barely seven years old When my mother she did die; My father married the worst woman That ever your eyes did see. For she has made me the laily worm, To lie at the foot of the tree, My sister Masery she has made The machrel of the sea. There's seven knights that I have slain, Since I lay at the foot of this tree, And were you not my own father, The eighth one you should be. Sing on your song, you laily worm, That you did sing to me I never would sing my song before But I will it sing to thee. Every Saturday at noon The machrel comes to me, She takes by my laily head And lays it on her knee, She takes me by my laily head And lays it on her knee, She combs it with a silver comb, And washes it in the sea. He has sent for his lady, As fast as send could he: 'O Where is my son that you sent from me, And my daughter, Lady Masery?’ 'Your son is at our king’s court, Serving for meat and fee, your daughter’s at our queen’s court, The queen's lady to be' 'You lie, you ill woman, So loud do I hear you lie; My son he is the laily worm, That lies at the foot of the tree, My son you've made the laily worm, To lie at the foot of the tree, my daughter, Lady Masery you have made, machrel of the sea!’ She has taken a silver wand, Given him strokes three, And up has started the bravest knight That ever your eyes did see. And she has taken a silver horn, Loud and shrill blew she, And all the fish came unto her But the machrel of the sea: All the fish came unto her But the machrel of the sea: You shaped me once an unseemly shape, you'll never more shape me.’

Fishe or Fowle kate Fletcher and Corwen Broch Fishe or Fowle is Kate and Corwen's new double CD. Stylistically straddling Traditional Folk, Dark Folk and Psych Folk, Fishe or Fowle features a stripped down instrumentation of ancient and historical instruments including lyre, bowed lyre, gusli, kantele, pedal harmonium and sundry pipes, horns and percussion. Disc One has 15 tracks on the theme of shape-shifting and transformation. Four of the songs are newly composed (including our hit: Song for Suibhne aka "The Horns Song") and eleven are interpretations of traditional material including several songs never before recorded. Disc Two is the first recording for 30 years of The Play o' de Lathie Odivere, an ancient and hauntingly beautiful Orcadian ballad, sung in five parts. This is the dramatic story of a woman torn between two lovers, one of whom is a shapeshifting Silkie (seal-man). This ballad seems to be the origin of the well known song the Great Silkie of Sule Skerry, which closely resembles one of its sections. Sound samples and lyrics are below. Pre-order now for despatch in early January. This double CD is £12 and worldwide postage is £2. DISC ONE listenSONG OF THE TRAVELLING FAERIES A Manx lullaby, calling upon the birds to protect the infant from the faeries. listenTHE SEAL WOMAN'S SEA JOY A song sung by a Seal-Woman upon returning to the sea. listenFISHE OR FOWLE A song about shape-shifting and communing with the natural world. listenTHE EARL OF MAR'S DAUGHTER A young man changes into a bird to seduce women, but for once there is a happy ending. listenYOUNG HUNTING A talking bird reveals a murder... listenCLERK COLVILL A lecherous nobleman is undone by a treacherous shape shifting mermaid. listenFISHERMAN'S SONG FOR ATTRACTING SEALS The words of this ancient song are sadly lost, but the tune survives. listenTHE FOWLER A man mistakes his true love for a swan and shoots her, luckily she comes back as a ghost to clear his name. listenPICA PICA A song stitched together from Magpie rhymes. listenSEAL WOMAN'S LAMENT The Silkie Folk are believed by many to be a King and his court, living under a curse.. listenTHE LAILY WORM AND THE MACHREL OF THE SEA What can you do when your stepmother turns you into a fish? listenSONG FOR SUIBHNE A song about the atavistic urge to return to the wild. I think I could turn and live with the animals.... listenSWALLOW'S WINGS A beautiful Dorset folk song collected by a vicar's son travelling the county by bicycle in 1906. listenSONG FOR MRS HIDDLESTON A meta-song, dedicated to Mrs Hiddleston, one of the sources of the Lathie Odivere ballad. listenBIRD SCARING SONGS Songs from the time when a small boy with a rattle was cheaper than a scarecrow. DISC TWO listenTHE PLAY O' DE LATHIE ODIVERE I (accompanied version) A beautiful woman refuses all suitors until one uses magic. listenPART II A lover from her past returns while her husband is over the sea, his visit leaves her pregnant with his child. listenPART III A Her child is born, the mysterious lover turns out to be a silkie, he takes the child. listenPART IV Her husband returns, kills the child (in the form of a seal). Her secret affair is revealed, she is sentenced to death. listenPART V Can her silkie lover save her from the pyre? listenTHE PLAY O' DE LATHIE ODIVERE I (unaccompanied version) listenPART II listenPART III listenPART IV listenPART V Fishe or Fowle ~ Lyrics Disc One Song of the Travelling Fairies One night in the glen, in the glen of Balcomish The blackbird will come there to build her own nest Sleep now my baby, the travelling fairies will come Hush now my bairnie, the bird I will call One night on mount Rushen, up high in the mountains The falcon will come there to build her own nest Sleep now my baby, the travelling fairies will come Hush now my bairnie, the bird I will call One night on the rocks of the steep Spanish headland The seagull will come there to build her own nest Sleep now my baby, the travelling fairies will come Hush now my bairnie, the bird I will call They'll come to Gordon and therein all cosy Will little Jenny-wren build her own nest Sleep now my baby and don't you be fearing of them Hush now my bairnie, the bird I will call Sleep now my baby, the travelling fairies will come Hush now my bairnie, the bird I will call Seal-woman's sea-joy Ionn da, Ionn do Ionn da, Odar da Hio dan dao, Hio dan dao Hio dan dao, Odar dah Fishe or Fowle I went down to the water's edge, There put on my coat of seal skin Crept between the reeds and sedges Dipped my toe in icy ocean I went down to the water's edge There put on my coat of seal skin Crept between the reeds and sedges Slipped into the briny ocean I will swim, and I will dive and Sing the songs the sea has taught me I will swim, and I will dive and Sing the songs the tide has brought me I went up to the mountain high There put on my cloak of feathers Climbed into the tallest tree to Feel the wind and watch the weather I went up to the mountain high There put on my cloak of feathers Climbed into the tallest tree and Leaned into the wind and weather I will sing, and I will fly and Tell the tales the birds have taught me I will sing, and I will fly and Tell the tales the wind has brought me I went down to the water's edge There I wore my coat of sealskin I went up to the mountain high There I wore my cloak of feathers I will swim, I will fly Tell the tales the birds have taught me I will swim, I will fly Sing the songs the sea has brought me Earl of Mar's Daughter Oh Coo my Dove, my love so true If you'd come down to me I'll give you a cage of good red gold Instead of a simple tree. But when day was done and night was come About the evening tide This lady spied a sprightly youth Standing by her side I am a dove the live-long day, A sprightly youth by night; This to make me appear more fair In any maiden's sight. And he has stayed in bower with her For six long years and one, Till six young sons to him she bore, And the seventh son she's brought home. And he has stayed in bower with her Twenty years and three; 'Til there came a lord of high renown To court this fair lady. But all his proffers she refused, And all his presents too; Says, "I'm content to live alone With my bird, Cow-me-doo." "My seven sons in seven swans, About their heads to fly; And I myself to a gay goshawk, A bird of high degree." And nothing could the company do, And nothing could they say For they saw a flock of pretty birds That stole their bride away. Young Hunting SHE has called to her bower-maidens, She has called them one by one: “There is a dead man in my bower, I would that he was gone, gone I would that he was gone” They have booted him, and spurred him, As he was wont to ride, A hunting-horn about his waist, A sharp sword by his side, side A sharp sword by his side. Then up and spake a bonnie bird, that sat upon the tree: ‘What have you done with Earl Richard? You was his gay lady You was his gay lady” And she swore by the grass so green, so did she by the corn, That she had not seen Earl Richard Since yesterday at morn, morn. Since yesterday at morn. ‘Come down, come down, my bonnie bird, and sit upon my hand; And you shall have a cage of gold, Where you have but the wand, wand Where you have but the wand” ‘Away, away, ye ill woman, No ill woman for me; What you have done to Earl Richard, So would you do to me, me So would you do to me” And she swore by the grass so green..... “There is a bird intill your bower that sings so sad and sweet; There is a bird intill your bower, kept me from my night’s sleep, sleep Kept me from my night’s sleep” ‘Go bend to me my bow,’ she said, ‘And set it to my e'e, And I will make that bonnie bird Come quickly down to me, me Come quickly down to me” ‘Before thou bend thy bow, lady, And set it to thy e'e, O I will be at yon far court, Telling ill tales on thee, thee Telling ill tales on thee” And she swore by the grass so green... x2 Clerk Colvill CLERK COLVILL and his lusty dame Were walking in yon garden green; The belt around her stately waist Cost Clerk Colvill crowns fifteen. ‘O promise me now, Clerk Colvill, Or it will cost you muckle strife, Ride never by the wells of Slane, If you would live and brook your life.’ Oh speak no more my lusty dame, Oh speak no more of that to me; Did I ever see a fair woman, That I would sin with my body?’ And He’s taken leave of his lusty dame, Not minding what his lady said, And he’s ridden by the wells of Slane, Where washing was a bonny maid. ‘Wash on, wash on, my bonny maid, That wash so clean your sark of silk;’ It's all for you, my gentle knight, My skin is whiter than the milk.’ And he’s taken her by the milk-white hand, And likewise by the grass green sleeve And he's laid her down upon the green Nor of his lady asked he leave Then loud, loud cries Clerk Colvill, ‘O my head, my head, it pains me sore;’ ‘Then take, then take,’ the maiden said, ‘And from my sark you’ll cut a gore.’ And she’s given him a little bane-knife, And from her sark he's cut a share; She’s tied it round his whey-white head, But ay his head it ached more And louder cry’d the Clerk Colvill, O sorer, sorer aches my head;’ And sorer, sorer ever will,’ The maiden cries, 'Till you be dead.’ So out he drew his shining blade, Thinking to stick her where she stood, But she is vanished to a fish, And away she swam, a fair mermaid. ‘O mother, mother, braid my hair; Come lusty lady, make my bed; O brother, take my sword and spear, For I have seen the false mermaid.’ Fisherman's song for Attracting Seals [instrumental] The Fowler One midsummers evening, the sun being gone down Young Polly went a-walking by the side of a pond She sat under a shady tree a shower for to shun With her apron wrapped around her as white as a swan Young William went a-hunting with his dog and his gun Young William went a-hunting as the evening came on Down among those green rushes as the evening came on He shot his own true love in the room of a swan He threw down his gun and away he did run Crying “father, O father can you believe what I've done? Down among those green rushes as the evening came on I shot my own true love in the room of a swan” “Stay at home dearest William 'til your trial do come on That you may not be banished to some foreign land On the day of your trial your father will appear With fifty bright guineas if that will you clear” And all the girls in the county were delighted you know For to see lovely Polly a-laid down so low But you could take all them pretty girls, and line them up in a row And her beauty would outshine them like a fountain of snow On the day of his trial young Polly did appear Crying “people, O people, let William go clear For with my apron wrapped around my head as the evening came on He shot his own true love in the room of a swan” Pica Pica 1 for sorrow, 2 for mirth 3 for a wedding, 4 for a birth 5 for silver, 6 for gold 7 for a secret never to be told 8 for a wish, 9 for a kiss 10 for a time of joyful bliss Pica pica, sorrow, mirth, the mingled strain of life on earth 1 for sorrow, 2 for joy 3 for a girl, 4 for a boy 5 for silver, 6 for gold 7 for a secret never was told 8 for a wish, 9 for a kiss 10 for a bird that's best to miss Pica pica, sorrow, mirth, the mingled strain of life on earth 1 for sorrow, 2 for mirth 3 for a letter, 4 for a birth 5 for rich, 6 for poor 7 for a bitch, 8 for a whore 9 for laughter, 10 for crying 11 for sickness, 12 for dying Pica pica, sorrow, mirth, the mingled strain of life on earth 1 for sorrow, 2 for mirth 3 for a death, 4 for a birth 5 for a fiddler, 6 for a dance 7 for England, 8 for France 9 for Heaven, 10 for Hell More for the Devil's very own self Pica pica, sorrow, mirth, the mingled strain of life on earth (x4) Seal-woman's Lament Ho i ho i hi o ho i ho i hi o ho i i ho i ho i hi o ho I Cha robh mi'm' aonar an raoir (Last night I was not alone) Sad the land is, sad the land, People prey upon our clan Boiling on a cooking fire Is the chief of all our men I am the child of Hugh MacEwen, I know the skerries and the sea Woe to him who'd do me wrong A lady from a far country. Come the mavis, come the thrush, Come each bird that seeks its nest, Come the salmon o'er the sea 'Til that day I will not rest. Laily worm and the mackrel of the seal I was barely seven years old When my mother she did die; My father married the worst woman That ever your eyes did see. For she has made me the laily worm, To lie at the foot of the tree, My sister Masery she has made The machrel of the sea. There's seven knights that I have slain, Since I lay at the foot of this tree, And were you not my own father, The eighth one you should be. Sing on your song, you laily worm, That you did sing to me I never would sing my song before But I will it sing to thee. Every Saturday at noon The machrel comes to me, She takes by my laily head And lays it on her knee, She takes me by my laily head And lays it on her knee, She combs it with a silver comb, And washes it in the sea. He has sent for his lady, As fast as send could he: 'O Where is my son that you sent from me, And my daughter, Lady Masery?’ 'Your son is at our king’s court, Serving for meat and fee, your daughter’s at our queen’s court, The queen's lady to be' 'You lie, you ill woman, So loud do I hear you lie; My son he is the laily worm, That lies at the foot of the tree, My son you've made the laily worm, To lie at the foot of the tree, my daughter, Lady Masery you have made, machrel of the sea!’ She has taken a silver wand, Given him strokes three, And up has started the bravest knight That ever your eyes did see. And she has taken a silver horn, Loud and shrill blew she, And all the fish came unto her But the machrel of the sea: All the fish came unto her But the machrel of the sea: You shaped me once an unseemly shape, you'll never more shape me.’ Song for Suibhne I wax wod and I wax glad Like Suibhne Geilt I do run mad Like Merlin riding on his stag Let the horns grow tall The stammered speech of humankind Is harsh and petty in my mind To sing like lark I am inclined Let the horns grow tall Let the horns grow on my head Let my blood run reddest red Let the horns grow on my head Let the horns grow tall The weight of memory bears me down I'd swap it for a woodland crown And live in an eternal now Let the horns grow tall Let the horns grow on my head... Let them grow as the drum does sound Let them grow as the horn resounds Let them grow as the hooves do pound Let the horns grow tall x2 Let the horns grow on my head....x2 I would run and I would fly With beasts and birds of land and sky When this body I let fall Let the horns grow tall Let the horns grow on my head...x3 Let the horns grow on my head

Swallow's Wings I'll mount the air on swallows wings to find my dearest dear And if I lose my labour and cannot find him there I quickly will become a fish to search the roaring sea I love my love because I know my lover he loves me I would I were a reaper, I'd seek him in the corn I would I were a keeper, I'd hunt him with my horn I'd blow a blast when found at last beneath the raging sea I love my love because I know my lover he loves me In the middle of the ocean shall grow a myrtle tree Its green leaves shall wither, its branches shall die Its green leaves shall wither, its branches shall die If ever I prove false to the lover who loves me

Song for Mrs Hiddleston Who knows what came before. Or how you came by such a token How he knows your name Or which of you the other's heart had broken? Who knows what oaths you swore Or why you kept your troth no longer Why you would have none, Til in the end 'twas Odin's oath proved stronger? And are the stories on the sea Or floating on the wind to me? Catch them if you can Catch them if you can Who knows where you have gone For no-one tells where you were taken How he set you free Or if you grieve the life you have forsaken? And many singers left your story Floating on the waters Many singers left your story rising on the wind Catch the stories on the wind From the foam upon the waters Catch the stories on the wind From the foam upon the waters Catch them if you can Catch them if you can

Birdscaring songs Away you nasty blackatops Get off my master's radish tops, For he's a-comin with his long gun, And you must fly and I must run. Helo-oo-o Helo-oo-o Gee halo, halo, blackiecap! Let us lie down and take a nap. Suppose my master chance to come? You must fly and I must run. Gee halo, halo, halo! Gee halo, halo, halo! Away you black devils, away! Away you black devils, away! You eat too much, you drink too much, You carry too much away! Away! Hey shoo all the birds! Hey shoo all the birds! Out of my master's ground, into Tom Tucker's ground Out of Tom Tucker's ground, into Tom tinker's ground Out of Tom Tinker's ground, into Luke coles' ground Out of Luke Coles' ground, into Bill Veater's gound Out of Bill Veater's ground, back to my master's ground Hey shoo all the birds! Kraal, hoop!

Part I In Norraway a lady lived A bonny lass with gold in store And it was truly sung and said She was a lady sweet and fair They came from east and west in pride And some came sailing o'er the sea All to win her for a bride But never a bride would the lady be She bad them go home and mend their clothes That they had worn in coming so far She called them fools, she called them fleas Set stooks on them and gave them a scare There was a man both stout and strong And he was named Odivere He loved the sword, he loved the song But aye he loved the lasses more This Odivere fell on his knee And vowed a vow upon his life And swore by him that hung on tree To make this lady fair his wife He's courted her, he's wedded her And they were blithe and blissful both And aye he bragged near and far He won his wife by Odin's oath He's left her in his boorly hall A grieving sore that doleful day To Holy Land he's gone away The muckle pagan loons to slay As he came back from God's own land In Micklegard he bade a while And foys and feichtins had to hand For ladies fair did him beguile At Micklegard he tarried long Black sight on him, for biding there! While sat in dole her maids among With tearful eye his lady fair And oft she bonnied herself so bright And oft her golden hair would comb And then look o'er the castle wall To see her own good man come home And aye she looked and waited long For many a dowie day and year But Odivere he did not come Nor word of Odie did she hear.

Part II One evening in the murky dark A stately knight came to her hall Full loud he knocked upon the gate And loudly at the gate did call A boon, a boon! You porter loon Bed me this night within your hall My journey's long, the night is dark And home and holding far away Begone begone, away away! To bed you here that may not be No stranger lives within this hall While my good lord's beyond the sea Unless you'd feel the weight of my hand Go tell your lady mistress fair That I have come from Gothaland And bear her word of Odivere The gate was opened at his word And boldly strode he in the hall And the women all around him said A stouter knight they never saw And he's taken off his silken cap And he's gone down upon his knee And he's laid a gold ring on the ladies lap That she was very glad to see A token from thy husband dear I bring to thee my lady fair I left him well in jolly cheer They call him now Sir Odivere And well he wins his knight's degree By slaying many a soldier strong And making hosts of pagans flee Before his sword so sharp and long When she the golden ring had seen She took no heed of what he said But drew her kerchief o'er her eyes And the colour from her fair face fled But soon her bonny face grew bright And blithely blinked her bonny eye Rise up, rise up you valiant knight For uncommon good you bring to me A stately banquet in the hall Put out the best of blood red wine With plenty of all that's brave and good That this brave knight full well may dine And many a tale he told that night Of tourneys fought for ladies fair And all about that worthy knight In Gothaland, Sir Odivere He hinted though he never said, and skirted aye in every tale That Odivere was a roving blade And liked the lasses over well And when the feast was fairly done And all the servants gone to bed And the two of them were left alone The lady to the stranger said: “Why bring you back that golden ring That brings to me sore dole and pain That minds me of the blithesome days When I of thee was over fain?” “You know fair dame, to me so dear Long since you gave that ring to me And on this ring in the moonlight clear You swore forever mine to be” And I in sorrow have gone since then A lonely man on land and sea And never a face have I seen but thine That I could bear my wife to be” “Away, away, you false tongued knight You words will work me muckle strife Full well you know what sundered us It was the dowie Odin's oath” He's ta'en her white hand in his stately nave And glad was she and glad was he What happened next, you need not hear In sooth, I was not there to see The knight's away with the morning grey He stayed not for a farewell gift What no-one knows no-one can say But the lady's left in little joy Her bonny eyes blinked not so bright Her red and white grew white and grey And every day she wished for night And every night she wished for day

Part III I heard a lady bore her bairn And aye she rocked and aye she sang And took so hard upon the verse That the heart within her body rang “Ba loo, ba loo, my bonny bairn Ba lo lalie, ba lay lo Sleep you, my peerie bonny boy Thou little knowst thy mother's woe Alas! I do not know thy father Alas, alas, my woeful sin I do not know my baby's father Nor yet the land that he lives in Alas, alas, called I shall be A wicked woman by all men That I, a married wife should have A bairn to him I do not ken” Then up and spake a grimly guest That stood so white at her bed feet “Oh here am I, thy bairns father Although I'm not thy husband sweet” “My bairns father I know you are No love so sweet I'll ever have And yet I have a good good man That's far away from me this day” “I care not for thy wedded carl I would his face I'll never see But when six months is come and gone I'll come and pay the nourrice fee It'll not be said you lost by me A penny's worth of worldly gear So when I come , you'll get thy fee And I a bairn to be my heir No, for the love I bear for thee A love that's brought me muckle shame Oh tell me where your home may be And tell me true your very name? “San Imravoe it is my name I walk on land and swim on sea Among the ranks of selkie folk I am an earl of high degree I am a man upon the land I am a selkie in the sea My home it is the Soola-skerry And all that's there is under me More than a thousand selkie folk To me in willing service go And I am king of all the folk And law to them is what I say” Oh how can you my bairnie take And how can you my bairnie save In thy cold home you'll only make The grimly sea my bairnie's grave My little bairn I'll safely ferry Though I have neither ship or skiff With muckle care to Soolis-Skerry Before the sun's high in the sky” “But how shall I my young son ken And how shall I my bairnie know?” “Of all the selkies in Soolis-Skerry He'll be the middlemost of them all” His megs shall be as black as soot His croopan white as driven snow And I beside him, like the same I was to thee in times ago “My own good man a warrior proud And aye a strong strong fist has he And he may prick or club my bairn When he's a selkie in the sea” I fear not that, I fear but this That cock-crow comes and finds me here But come what may, I come again And fetch my bairn in half a year For then he'll be a seventh stream And then a man again I'll be And take my bonnie peerie bairn All to the boons of Soolis-skerry When those six months were come and gone He came to pay the nourrice fee The one of his hands was full of gold the other of the white money The lady's ta'en a golden chain Her wedding gift from Odivere She's tied it in her baby's hair It's for her sake she bad him wear “I'm come to fetch my bairn away Farewell for you're another's wife” “I 'd wed thee with a golden ring And bide beside thee all my life” You would not when I would, good wife I will not when you're willing now That day you lose you'll never find It's late, it's over late to rue The lady lived a lonely life And often looks upon the sea Still hoping her first love to find But doubting that can never be

Part IV Sir Odivere's come home again With muckle store of worldly ware And he, his lady and his men Make holidays with billies rare They danced and sang, they told their tales And then sat down to drink and dine With cuts of meat and foaming kegs And wallie horns of blood red wine One day says Odie to his men I think that if we linger here We'll grow as fat as butter balls And die with too much meat and drink It's well enough a little while I cannot stand it long, I say Let's hunt the otters on the shore And start the morn at blink of day They hunted otters on the shore A selkie ran from out a hollow And Odivere he took not long To fell him with a master blow Then up and spake one of his men Far have I sailed and much I've seen But never gold on Selkie's hair Til now I've seen with both me e'en They bore the selkie to the hall And never a word said Odivere His face was black and glowered his eyes Though he did neither ban or swear. Come down, come down, Lady Odivere Come down and see this this farly thing And read to me this riddle rare By all the saints that ever sing The lady she came down to see They made such fuss and muckle steer “Here's the gold chain you got from me Tell me good wife, how came it here?” Alas alas, my bonnie bairn My bairn, what am I born to see? My malisen lie on the hand That's wrought this deed of blood on thee! The lady with her torn hair She was a doleful sight to see Her crying loud and sobbing sore Her arms around the dead silkie “Your bairn! Good wife, no bairn of mine And yet you were my wedded wife It seems when I've been far from home You led a wicked woman's life” “And though I be your wedded wife A wedded man were you to me You left me to a lonely life And stayed long years beyond the sea” “I left you with both land and store And made you mistress of them all I thought you would be true to me As I to thee when far away” “Black sight upon the land and store You little know a woman's heart To think the gift of worldly ware Is all the loving husband's part” When doughty deeds were to be done It would have been a bonny pass Had I stayed home to cuddle thee And stir my fingers in the ash I could not stand a sluggard life And lady I would have you ken When I took thee to be my wife I did not want a clucking hen” “As I can cluck, so you can crow Over all the deeds with women done How every bonny wench you saw You courted her and called it fun But one dead bairn alone have I And if this deed was wrong of me How many bairns have you to show How true a man thou's been to me? Could I not take what came to me To tempt me in my lonesome life While you were skalan frank and free The dearest tocher of a wife? You lie you lie, you lying limmer Where e'er we drank about them all Your well fared face I toasted aye And fought with him that said me nay And when in battle's sorest pall My heart grew strong when most in strife By thinking of my loving wife That she was false I little thought With Selkie folk you've led a life Away you limmer slut from me A would not have thee for a wife For all the gold in Christandie She's swiped the chain from the Selkie's hair And thrown it hard at Odie's crown Go take ye that, you ill tongued tyke And keep it for a parting boon The lady they put in a high high tower With no sweet light through hole or bore They have given her meal and water there And bolted fast the iron door

Part V The Thing has passed her awful doom That for her false and sinful deed She should be ta'en and burnt to ash Without mercy or remeed Alas alas the doleful day Alas what am I born to see In the red hot fire I must be burnt O woe's my heart and woe is me Oh if my father were alive He would have dearly fought for me Dead mother's ghost, will you not come And set thy doleful daughter free? When I lay on thy cosy breast And you the little bairn did raise You little thought your bonny bairn would be a cinder in the ash Then up and spake San Imravoe And loud and mighty cry gave he Ye Selkie folk to Norraway Call all the whales in the North Sea The day before that lady fair Was to be burnt with muckle woe A cry was raised about the hall Whales whales! In every bay and cove Then Odivere and all his men Ran to the call with muckle speed And there was rowing, rooting, yowling And noise that might have raised the dead They rowed and rooted all the day But never a whale got for their pains And in the murkin home they went With aching hands and heavy bones And when that they came to the hall They got a gluff you may be sure For every door stood open wide And the door of the tower lay on the floor And they ran up and they ran down And glowered about with all their e'en The lady fair was clean away And never more by mortal seen And Odivere's a lonely man And weary of his doleful fate And aye and sore he rues the day He ever took the Odin oath To many singers thanks we give To many singers drink we all Their foys, they were not worth a straw Without their songs and ballads all

Part I In Norraway a lady lived A bonny lass with gold in store And it was truly sung and said She was a lady sweet and fair They came from east and west in pride And some came sailing o'er the sea All to win her for a bride But never a bride would the lady be She bad them go home and mend their clothes That they had worn in coming so far She called them fools, she called them fleas Set stooks on them and gave them a scare There was a man both stout and strong And he was named Odivere He loved the sword, he loved the song But aye he loved the lasses more This Odivere fell on his knee And vowed a vow upon his life And swore by him that hung on tree To make this lady fair his wife He's courted her, he's wedded her And they were blithe and blissful both And aye he bragged near and far He won his wife by Odin's oath He's left her in his boorly hall A grieving sore that doleful day To Holy Land he's gone away The muckle pagan loons to slay As he came back from God's own land In Micklegard he bade a while And foys and feichtins had to hand For ladies fair did him beguile At Micklegard he tarried long Black sight on him, for biding there! While sat in dole her maids among With tearful eye his lady fair And oft she bonnied herself so bright And oft her golden hair would comb And then look o'er the castle wall To see her own good man come home And aye she looked and waited long For many a dowie day and year But Odivere he did not come Nor word of Odie did she hear.

Part II One evening in the murky dark A stately knight came to her hall Full loud he knocked upon the gate And loudly at the gate did call A boon, a boon! You porter loon Bed me this night within your hall My journey's long, the night is dark And home and holding far away Begone begone, away away! To bed you here that may not be No stranger lives within this hall While my good lord's beyond the sea Unless you'd feel the weight of my hand Go tell your lady mistress fair That I have come from Gothaland And bear her word of Odivere The gate was opened at his word And boldly strode he in the hall And the women all around him said A stouter knight they never saw And he's taken off his silken cap And he's gone down upon his knee And he's laid a gold ring on the ladies lap That she was very glad to see A token from thy husband dear I bring to thee my lady fair I left him well in jolly cheer They call him now Sir Odivere And well he wins his knight's degree By slaying many a soldier strong And making hosts of pagans flee Before his sword so sharp and long When she the golden ring had seen She took no heed of what he said But drew her kerchief o'er her eyes And the colour from her fair face fled But soon her bonny face grew bright And blithely blinked her bonny eye Rise up, rise up you valiant knight For uncommon good you bring to me A stately banquet in the hall Put out the best of blood red wine With plenty of all that's brave and good That this brave knight full well may dine And many a tale he told that night Of tourneys fought for ladies fair And all about that worthy knight In Gothaland, Sir Odivere He hinted though he never said, and skirted aye in every tale That Odivere was a roving blade And liked the lasses over well And when the feast was fairly done And all the servants gone to bed And the two of them were left alone The lady to the stranger said: “Why bring you back that golden ring That brings to me sore dole and pain That minds me of the blithesome days When I of thee was over fain?” “You know fair dame, to me so dear Long since you gave that ring to me And on this ring in the moonlight clear You swore forever mine to be” And I in sorrow have gone since then A lonely man on land and sea And never a face have I seen but thine That I could bear my wife to be” “Away, away, you false tongued knight You words will work me muckle strife Full well you know what sundered us It was the dowie Odin's oath” He's ta'en her white hand in his stately nave And glad was she and glad was he What happened next, you need not hear In sooth, I was not there to see The knight's away with the morning grey He stayed not for a farewell gift What no-one knows no-one can say But the lady's left in little joy Her bonny eyes blinked not so bright Her red and white grew white and grey And every day she wished for night And every night she wished for day

Part III I heard a lady bore her bairn And aye she rocked and aye she sang And took so hard upon the verse That the heart within her body rang “Ba loo, ba loo, my bonny bairn Ba lo lalie, ba lay lo Sleep you, my peerie bonny boy Thou little knowst thy mother's woe Alas! I do not know thy father Alas, alas, my woeful sin I do not know my baby's father Nor yet the land that he lives in Alas, alas, called I shall be A wicked woman by all men That I, a married wife should have A bairn to him I do not ken” Then up and spake a grimly guest That stood so white at her bed feet “Oh here am I, thy bairns father Although I'm not thy husband sweet” “My bairns father I know you are No love so sweet I'll ever have And yet I have a good good man That's far away from me this day” “I care not for thy wedded carl I would his face I'll never see But when six months is come and gone I'll come and pay the nourrice fee It'll not be said you lost by me A penny's worth of worldly gear So when I come , you'll get thy fee And I a bairn to be my heir No, for the love I bear for thee A love that's brought me muckle shame Oh tell me where your home may be And tell me true your very name? “San Imravoe it is my name I walk on land and swim on sea Among the ranks of selkie folk I am an earl of high degree I am a man upon the land I am a selkie in the sea My home it is the Soola-skerry And all that's there is under me More than a thousand selkie folk To me in willing service go And I am king of all the folk And law to them is what I say” Oh how can you my bairnie take And how can you my bairnie save In thy cold home you'll only make The grimly sea my bairnie's grave My little bairn I'll safely ferry Though I have neither ship or skiff With muckle care to Soolis-Skerry Before the sun's high in the sky” “But how shall I my young son ken And how shall I my bairnie know?” “Of all the selkies in Soolis-Skerry He'll be the middlemost of them all” His megs shall be as black as soot His croopan white as driven snow And I beside him, like the same I was to thee in times ago “My own good man a warrior proud And aye a strong strong fist has he And he may prick or club my bairn When he's a selkie in the sea” I fear not that, I fear but this That cock-crow comes and finds me here But come what may, I come again And fetch my bairn in half a year For then he'll be a seventh stream And then a man again I'll be And take my bonnie peerie bairn All to the boons of Soolis-skerry When those six months were come and gone He came to pay the nourrice fee The one of his hands was full of gold the other of the white money The lady's ta'en a golden chain Her wedding gift from Odivere She's tied it in her baby's hair It's for her sake she bad him wear “I'm come to fetch my bairn away Farewell for you're another's wife” “I 'd wed thee with a golden ring And bide beside thee all my life” You would not when I would, good wife I will not when you're willing now That day you lose you'll never find It's late, it's over late to rue The lady lived a lonely life And often looks upon the sea Still hoping her first love to find But doubting that can never be

Part IV Sir Odivere's come home again With muckle store of worldly ware And he, his lady and his men Make holidays with billies rare They danced and sang, they told their tales And then sat down to drink and dine With cuts of meat and foaming kegs And wallie horns of blood red wine One day says Odie to his men I think that if we linger here We'll grow as fat as butter balls And die with too much meat and drink It's well enough a little while I cannot stand it long, I say Let's hunt the otters on the shore And start the morn at blink of day They hunted otters on the shore A selkie ran from out a hollow And Odivere he took not long To fell him with a master blow Then up and spake one of his men Far have I sailed and much I've seen But never gold on Selkie's hair Til now I've seen with both me e'en They bore the selkie to the hall And never a word said Odivere His face was black and glowered his eyes Though he did neither ban or swear. Come down, come down, Lady Odivere Come down and see this this farly thing And read to me this riddle rare By all the saints that ever sing The lady she came down to see They made such fuss and muckle steer “Here's the gold chain you got from me Tell me good wife, how came it here?” Alas alas, my bonnie bairn My bairn, what am I born to see? My malisen lie on the hand That's wrought this deed of blood on thee! The lady with her torn hair She was a doleful sight to see Her crying loud and sobbing sore Her arms around the dead silkie “Your bairn! Good wife, no bairn of mine And yet you were my wedded wife It seems when I've been far from home You led a wicked woman's life” “And though I be your wedded wife A wedded man were you to me You left me to a lonely life And stayed long years beyond the sea” “I left you with both land and store And made you mistress of them all I thought you would be true to me As I to thee when far away” “Black sight upon the land and store You little know a woman's heart To think the gift of worldly ware Is all the loving husband's part” When doughty deeds were to be done It would have been a bonny pass Had I stayed home to cuddle thee And stir my fingers in the ash I could not stand a sluggard life And lady I would have you ken When I took thee to be my wife I did not want a clucking hen” “As I can cluck, so you can crow Over all the deeds with women done How every bonny wench you saw You courted her and called it fun But one dead bairn alone have I And if this deed was wrong of me How many bairns have you to show How true a man thou's been to me? Could I not take what came to me To tempt me in my lonesome life While you were skalan frank and free The dearest tocher of a wife? You lie you lie, you lying limmer Where e'er we drank about them all Your well fared face I toasted aye And fought with him that said me nay And when in battle's sorest pall My heart grew strong when most in strife By thinking of my loving wife That she was false I little thought With Selkie folk you've led a life Away you limmer slut from me A would not have thee for a wife For all the gold in Christandie She's swiped the chain from the Selkie's hair And thrown it hard at Odie's crown Go take ye that, you ill tongued tyke And keep it for a parting boon The lady they put in a high high tower With no sweet light through hole or bore They have given her meal and water there And bolted fast the iron door

Part V The Thing has passed her awful doom That for her false and sinful deed She should be ta'en and burnt to ash Without mercy or remeed Alas alas the doleful day Alas what am I born to see In the red hot fire I must be burnt O woe's my heart and woe is me Oh if my father were alive He would have dearly fought for me Dead mother's ghost, will you not come And set thy doleful daughter free? When I lay on thy cosy breast And you the little bairn did raise You little thought your bonny bairn would be a cinder in the ash Then up and spake San Imravoe And loud and mighty cry gave he Ye Selkie folk to Norraway Call all the whales in the North Sea The day before that lady fair Was to be burnt with muckle woe A cry was raised about the hall Whales whales! In every bay and cove Then Odivere and all his men Ran to the call with muckle speed And there was rowing, rooting, yowling And noise that might have raised the dead They rowed and rooted all the day But never a whale got for their pains And in the murkin home they went With aching hands and heavy bones And when that they came to the hall They got a gluff you may be sure For every door stood open wide And the door of the tower lay on the floor And they ran up and they ran down And glowered about with all their e'en The lady fair was clean away And never more by mortal seen And Odivere's a lonely man And weary of his doleful fate And aye and sore he rues the day He ever took the Odin oath To many singers thanks we give To many singers drink we all Their foys, they were not worth a straw Without their songs and ballads all