Mary Hamilton

[Verse 1]
Word is to the kitchen gone
And word is to the hall
And word is up to Madam the Queen
And that's the worst of all
That Mary Hamilton's borne a babe
To the highest Stuart of all

[Verse 2]
"Arise, arise, Mary Hamilton
Arise and tell to me
What thou hast done with thy wee babe
I saw and heard weep by thee"

[Verse 3]
"I put him in a tiny boat
And cast him out to sea
That he might sink or he might swim
But he'd never come back to me"

[Verse 4]
"Arise, arise, Mary Hamilton
Arise and come with me
There is a wedding in Glasgow town
This night we'll go and see"

[Verse 5]
She put not on her robes of black
Nor her robes of brown
But she put on her robes of white
To ride into Glasgow town

[Verse 6]
And as she rode into Glasgow town
The city for to see
The bailiff's wife and the provost's wife
Cried alack and alas for thee

[Verse 7]
"Oh you need not weep for me", she cried
"You need not weep for me"
For had I not slain my own wee babe
This death I would not lead

[Verse 8]
Oh, little did my mother think
When first she cradled me
The lands I was to travel in
And the death I was to dee

[Verse 9]
Last night I washed the queen's feet
Put the gold in her hair
And the only reward I find for this
The gallows to be my share

[Verse 10]
"Cast off, cast off my gown," she cried
"But let my petticoat be
And tie a napkin round my face
The gallows, I would not see"

[Verse 11]
Then by them come the king himself
Looked up with a pitiful eye
"Come down, come down, Mary Hamilton
Tonight, you will dine with me"

[Verse 12]
"Oh hold your tongue, my sovereign liege
And let your folly be
For if you'd a mind to save my life
You'd never have shamed me here"

[Verse 13]
Last night there were four Marys
Tonight there'll be but three
It was Mary Beaton and Mary Seton
And Mary Carmichael and me