O all you ladies young of heart,
Who are so sweet of sound,
Do not go to Catherine’s wood,
where Tam Lin is found.
Fair Margret sat in her bonny bower,
sewing silver silken seams,
wishing to be in Catherine’s wood,
among the leaves so green.
She let her seam fall to her foot,
the needle to her toe,
for she has gone to Catherines’ wood,
as fast as she could go.
When she began to pull the flowers,
she pulled both red and green;
Tam Lin did come, and Tam Lin did go.
The Fair maid, “let me be.”
“O why pluck you the flowers, lady,
Why climb yonder tree?
Why have ye come to Catherine’s wood
whithout the leave of me?”
“O I will pull the flowers,” she said,
“I will break the tree,
For Catherine’s wood is my own,
I’ll not ask leave from thee.”
He took her by the milk-white hand,
And by the grass green sleeve,
And took her down on the flowers,
not asking for her leave.
The lady blushed, and sorely frowned,
to think upon her shame;
saying, “If you we’re a gentleman,
at least you’d tell your name.”
“First they called me Jack,” he said,
“And then they called me John,
But since I’ve lived in the Fairy Court
Tam Lin has been my name.
So do not pluck the flower, lady,
that has those pimples gray;
for it would destroy the bonny babe
begotten in our play.”
“O tell me”, Tam Lin,” she said,
“tell me what you never told, are you an earthly man
a knight or baron bold?”
“O I’ll you my lady,
what I never did tell.
I am the Lord Foul’s son,
the heir of all this land.
But it fell once upon a time,
as hunting I did ride,
as I rode east and west yon hill
there woe did me betide.
O drowsy, drowsy I was!
Dead sleep upon me fell,
the Queen of Fairies she was there,
and she took me to herself.
The Elfins is a pretty place,
in which I love to dwell,
but at every seven years end
we pay a tithe to Hel.
And as I am of flesh and blood,
myself I greatly fear,
for the cleverest man in all our train
to Hel must go this year.
On this night of Halloween;
our fairy court will ride,
Through all the world so wide
And if ye would me borrow,
at Rides Cross you must bide.
You may go into the Miles Moss,
between twelve hours and one;
take holy well water in your hand,
and cast a compass round.”
“But how shall I know thee Tam Lin,
oh how my True Love know?
among so many uncouth knights
the likes I never saw?”
“The first court that comes along,
you’ll let them all pass by,
the next court that comes along,
salute them reverently.
The next court that comes along
is clad in robes of green,
and it’s the head court of them all,
for in it rides the queen.
And I upon a milk-white steed,
with a silver star in my crown;
because I am an earthly man
next to the queen in renown.
She rode down to Miles Cross,
between twelve hours and one,
with holy well water in her hand,
casting a compass round.
The first court that came along,
she let them all pass by;
the next court that came along
she saluted reverently.
The next court that came along
Were clad in robes of green,
with Tam Lin, on a milk-white steed,
she saw riding with the queen.
She seized him with a spring,
and to the ground did fall,
and then she heard a rueful cry
that Tam Lin is all.
He grew into her arms
like a savage beast so wild;
but she held him fast, let him not go,
for he’s the father of her child.
Then he grew in her two arms
like a snake or adder,
she held him fast, let him not go,
to be a worthy father.
He heated in her arms
like an iron in strong fire;
but she held him fast, let him not go,
he was her hearts desire
Then sounded out the Elfin court,
with a loud shout and cry,
That pretty maid of Catherine’s wood
That day had caught her prey.
“O stay, Tam Lin,” cried the Fairy Queen,
“Till I pay you your fee”
“His father has lands and rents enough,
He wants no fee from thee.”
“O had I known at early morn
Tam Lin from me’d be gone,
I would have taken his heart of flesh
and put in a heart of stone.”
But Fair Margaret held him in her arms
she held fast the naked knight
to take him home to her bonnie bower
to clothe in armour bright.
Note: This is a version I pieced together from the Francis Child ballads “39 D and J”, also changing the language slightly here and there. I was compelled to do this after a synchronicity series that began on my honeymoon with Audrey in Maine. For a full report on that please see the previous post “A Tam Lin Tale“.
