Tam Lin Balladry

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Tam Lin: Watersons

Source: The Watersons

album: For Pence and Spicy Ale

Title: Tam Lyn

Site reference number: 20

Summary

Maidens are warned against entering Chaser's woods for threat of loss of virginity, but Margerat combs her hair and goes anyway. She plucks a rose and a man appears and challenges her. When she challenges him in return he ravages her. Margaret returns to her family home where maidens are dancing, and they observer that she has grown pale and ill, guessing she has become pregnant. One tells where to find an abortive agent, and Margaret goes off in search of it. Tamlyn appears and speaks for the child. Margaret questions his heritage, and he informs her that he was stolen away from his family while hunting by the queen of the Faeries. He fears he is next for the sacrifice, and tells her how she can rescue him that night if she wishes. She takes a compass to where the faerie troop will pass by that same night, and in silence pulls Tamlyn from his horse, holding onto him as he transform, saving him.

Tam Lyn

  1. Come all you pretty maids, and you very pretty maids
    And a warning take from me
    Don't go down to the Chaser's wood
    If a maid you want to return and return
    If a maid you want to return.
  2. Lady Margaret, Lady Margaret, she was sitting in her bower
    She was red as any rose
    But she longed to go the Chaser's woods
    To pull them flowers that grows and grows
    Oh, to pull the flowers that grows
  3. And she ta'en out her silver comb
    Made in haste to comb her hair
    Then she's away to the Chaser's wood
    As fast as she could tear and could tear
    ye, as fast as she could tear
  4. And she hadn't pulled but the one red rose
    The rose that grows there in the green
    When a voice said, "Lady, how dare you pull a rose
    Without no leave of me, and of me,
    Aye, without no leave of me."
  5. "This little wood," she says "it is me very own
    Me father he given it to me.
    I will pull, pluck, break, I'll bend the branch
    And I won't ask leave of thee, and of thee,
    no I won't ask leave of thee."
  6. Oh, he's taken her by the middle so small
    Down to where the grass it grows so green
    And what they've done, well I just couldn't say
    Oh, the green grass grew between and between
    Aye, the green grass grew between
  7. Aye, he's taken her by the lily-white hand
    Down to where the grass it grows so green
    And what they've done, well I just couldn't say
    But he never once asked her leave, her leave
    No he never once asked her leave.
  8. It's four and twenty ladies, they're all sitting in the hall
    Playing at the chess
    All except for young Margaret
    She's green as any grass, any grass,
    And she's green as any grass.
  9. Aye, there's four and twenty ladies, they're all sitting in the hall
    All as red as the rose
    All except for young Margaret
    And pale and wan she goes, and she goes
    Aye, pale and wan she goes.
  10. Up there spake one of them little girls
    And on her face there was a smile
    She says, "I think my lady's loved a little long
    And now she goes with child, and with child
    Aye, and now she goes with child."
  11. Up there spake another of them girls
    A pretty little girl was she
    She says, "I know a herb growing in the Chaser's woods
    As'll twine the babe from thee, and from thee
    As'll twine the babe from thee."
  12. Lady Margaret, she picked up her silver comb
    Made in haste to comb her hair
    Then she's away to the Chaser's wood
    As fast as she could tear, and could tear
    Aye, as fast as she could tear.
  13. And she hadn't pulled but the one bit of herb
    The herb that grows there in the loam
    When up there spake young Tam o' the Lyn
    Saying, "Margaret, leave it alone
    Oh, sweetheart, Margaret, leave it alone."
  14. "Why do you want that bitter, bitter herb
    The herb that grows so grey
    Except for to twine away the pretty little baby
    We got in our play, our play,
    That we got in our play."
  15. "Oh tell me this, young Tam-a-Lyn," she says
    "If a mortal man you be."
    "Well, I'll tell you truth without a word of a lie
    I got christened as good as thee, as thee
    I got christened as good as thee."
  16. "But as I rode out on a bitter, bitter day
    'Twas from me horse I fell
    And the Queen of the Elvens did take me
    In yonder green wood for to dwell, and to dwell
    Aye, in yonder green wood for to dwell."
  17. "And it's every seventh seventh year
    We pay a toll to hell
    And the last one here is the first to go.
    And I fear the toll, it's meself, it's meself
    Aye, I fear the toll's meself."
  18. "Oh, tonight it is the Halloween
    When the Elven Court shall ride
    If you would your true lover save
    By the old mill-bridge you must hide, you must hide
    By the old mill bridge you must hide."
  19. "And it's first there'll come this black horse
    And it's then there'll come the brown
    And they're both race by the white
    You must throw your arms up around my neck
    And I will not you afright, and afright
    No, I will not you afright."
  20. "And they'll change me then, and it's all in your arms
    Into many's the beast sae wild
    You must hold me tight, you must fear me not
    I'm the father of your child,
    Oh you know that I'm the father of your child."
  21. And the woods grew dark, and the woods grew dim
    Tam o' the Lyn was gone.
    She picked up her lily-white feet
    And to the mill-bridge run now, she run
    Aye, and to the mill-bridge run.
  22. She looked high, and she looked low
    She compassed all around
    But she nothing saw, she nothing heared
    She heared no mortal sound, no sound
    No, she heard no mortal sound.
  23. 'Till about the dead hour of the night
    She heard them bridles ring
    It chilled her heart, it's given her a start
    More than any mortal thing, any thing
    More than any mortal thing.
  24. Then it's first there come this black horse,
    and it's then there come the brown
    They both race by the white
    And she's thrown her arms up 'round his neck
    And he didn't her afright, and afright
    No, he didn't her afright.
  25. And the thunder roared across the sky
    And the stars they burned as bright as day
    And the Queen of the Elvens give a stunning cry,
    Saying, "Young Tam-Lyn is away, is away
    Aye, Young Tam-Lyn is away."
  26. And they changed him then - it were all in her arms
    To a lion roaring sae wild
    But she held him tight and she feared him not
    He was the father of her child, oh she knew he was
    The father of her child.
  27. Soon they changes him again - it were all in her arms
    To a big black hissing snake
    But she held him and she feared him not
    He was one of God's own make, oh she knew that he
    Was one of God's own make.
  28. And they changed him again - it were all in her arms
    To a big black dog to bite
    But she held him tight and she feared him not
    He didn't her afright, and afright
    No, he didn't her afright.
  29. So they changed him again - it were all in her arms
    To a white-hot bar of iron
    But she held him tight and she feared him not
    He'd done to her no harm, no harm
    No, he'd done to her no harm.
  30. Then they changed him again - it were all in her arms
    To a mother-naked man
    And she throwed her cloak up around his shoulders,
    Saying, "Tam o' the Lyn, we've won, oh, we've won,"
    Saying, "Tam o' the Lyn, we've won."
  31. Then the Queen of the Elvens, now she cursed yon Tam-a-Lyn
    Oh, well she cursed him good
    She said, "I should have torn out your eyes young Tam-a-Lyn
    I should have put in two eyes of wood, of wood
    I should have put in two eyes of wood."
  32. "And it's curses on you, Tam-a-Lyn," she says
    "You once was my very own.
    And when you was, I should have torn out your heart
    And put in a heart of stone, cold stone
    I should have put in a heart of stone."

Video

Version Notes

This versions comes to me by the very kind efforts of Jesse Kirchner who had a page at http://www.azstarnet.com/~kirchfa.

Added to site: April 1998. Video added April 2015.