O where hae ye been Lord Ronald, my son?
O where hae ye been Lord Ronald, my son?
I hae been wi' my sweetheart, mother, make my bed soon,
For I'm weary wi' the hunting and fain wad lie down.
What got ye frae your sweetheart Lord Ronald, my son.
What got ye frae your sweetheart Lord Ronald, my son.
I hae got deadly poison, mother, make my bed soon,
For life is a burden that soon I'll lay down.
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Source: The Scots Musical Museum, 1792, reprinted Bronson vol.I p.194.
Notes:
This is Child's example 12F, and the oldest known text with a melody; it was submitted by Robert Burns "as sung in Ayrshire" to Johnson's Scots Musical Museum, where it appeared as number 327. The tune is closely related to Lochaber No More, to which Alan Ramsay set words (The Tea-Table Miscellany, 1724), and other variants have been known in Ireland under other names such as Limerick's Lamentation, the claim being made that it was originally composed by the Irish harper Myles O'Reilly in the latter half of the 17th century.
Roud: 10 (Search Roud index at VWML) Take Six
Laws:
Child: 12
Related Songs: Henry, My Son (thematic) The Wild, Wild Berry (thematic) Willie Doo (thematic)