Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, JACKIE FAA, by ANONYMOUS


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

JACKIE FAA, by                    
First Line: The gypsies they came to my lord cassilis' yett
Last Line: The earl of cassillis' ladie
Subject(s): Gypsies; Gipsies


The gypsies they came to my lord Cassilis' yett,
And O but they sang bonnie!
They sang so sweet and so complete
Till down came our fair ladie.
She came tripping down the stairs,
And all her maids before her;
As soon as they saw her weel-far'd face,
They cast their glamourie owre her.
She gave them the good wheat bread,
And they gave her the ginger;
But she gave them a fair better thing,
The gold rings of her fingers.
"Will ye go with me, my hinny and my heart?
Will you go with me, my dearie?
And I will swear by the hilt of my spear,
That your lord shall no more come near thee.'
"Gar take from me my silk manteel,
And bring to me a plaidie,
For I will travel the world owre
Along with the gypsie laddie.
"I could sail the seas with my Jackie Faa,
I could sail the seas with my dearie;
I could sail the seas with my Jackie Faa,
And with pleasure could drown with my dearie.'
They wandred high, they wandred low,
They wandred late and early,
Untill they came to an old farmer's barn,
And by this time she was weary.
"Last night I lay in a weel-made bed,
And my nobel lord beside me,
And now I most ly in an old farmer's barn,
And the black crae glowring owre me.'
"Hold your tongue, my hinny and my heart,
Hold your tongue, my dearie,
For I will swear, by the moon and the stars,
That thy lord shall no more come near thee.'
They wandred high, they wandred low,
They wandred late and early,
Untill they came to that on water,
And by this time she was wearie.
"Many a time I have rode that on water,
And my lord Cassilis beside me,
And now I must set in my white feet and wade,
And carry the gypsie laddie.'
By and by came home this noble lord,
And asking for his ladie,
The one did cry, the other did reply,
"She is gone with the gypsie laddie.'
"Go saddle to me the black,' he says,
"The brown rides never so speedie,
And I will neither eat nor drink
Till I bring home my ladie.'
He wandred high, he wandred low,
He wandred late and early,
Untill he came to that on water,
And there he spied his ladie.
"O wilt thou go home, my hinny and my heart,
O wilt thou go home, my dearie?
And I'll close thee in a close room,
Where no man shall come near thee.'
"I will not go home, my hinny and my heart,
I will not go home, my dearie;
If I have brewn good beer, I will drink of the same,
And my lord shall no more come near me.
"But I will swear, by the moon and the stars,
And the sun that shines so clearly,
That I am as free of the gypsie gang
As the hour my mother bore me.'
They were fifteen valiant men,
Black, but very bonny,
They lost all their lives for one,
The Earl of Cassillis' ladie.










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