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The Elfin Knight
The Elfin Knight
The elphin knight sits on yon hill,
Ba, ba, ba, lilli ba
He blaws his horn both loud and shrill.
The wind hath blown my plaid awa Child has 13 versions (A-M) of The Elfin Knight with a further 8 versions in the Appendix of which 4 are with tunes. Bronson has 55 texts with tunes in his Traditional Tunes of the Child Ballads.
- [ A | B | C | D | E | F | G
| H | I | J | K | L | M | Appendix ]
- Try this [ LINK ] to traditional versions from the archives.
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- Version A[ HOME ] [ Numbered List ]
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- 'The Wind hath blown my Plaid Away, or A Discourse betwixt a young [Wo]man and the Elphin Knight;'
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- A broadside in black letter, 'printed, I suppose,' says Pinkerton, 'about 1610,' bound up with five other pieces at the end of a copy of Blind Harry's' Wallace,' Edin. 1673, in the Pepysian Library.
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- MY plaid awa, my plaid awa,
- And ore the hill and far awa,
- And far awa to Norrowa,
- My plaid shall not be blown awa.
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- 1 The elphin knight sits on yon hill,
- Ba, ba, ba, lilli ba
- He blaws his horn both loud and shrill,
- The wind hath blown my plaid awa
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- 2 He blowes it east, he blowes it west,
- He blowes it where he lyketh best.
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- 3 'I wish that horn were in my kist,
- Yea, and the knight in my armes two.'
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- 4 She had no sooner these words said,
- When that the knight came to her bed.
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- 5 'Thou art over young a maid,' quoth he,
- 'Married with me thou il wouldst be.'
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- 6 'I have a sister younger than I,
- And she was married yesterday.
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- 7 'Married with me if thou wouldst be,
- A courtesie thou must do to me.
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- 8 'For thou must shape a sark to me,
- Without any cut or heme,' quoth he.
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- 9 'Thou must shape it knife-and-sheerlesse,
- And also sue it needle-threedlesse.'
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- 10 'If that piece of courtesie I do to thee,
- Another thou must do to me.
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- 11 'I have an aiker of good ley-land,
- Which lyeth low by yon sea-strand.
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- 12 'For thou must eare it with thy horn,
- So thou must sow it with thy corn.
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- 13 'And bigg a cart of stone and lyme,
- Robin Redbreast he must trail it hame.
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- 14 'Thou must barn it in a mouse-hell,
- And thrash it into thy shoes sell.
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- 15 'And thou must winnow it in thy looff,
- And also seek it in thy glove.
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- 16 'For thou must bring it over the sea,
- And thou must bring it dry home to me.
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- 17 'When thou hast gotten thy turns well done,
- Then come to me and get thy sark then.'
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- 18 'I'l not quite my plaid for my life;
- It haps my seven bairns and my wife.'
- The wind shall not blow my plaid awa
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- 19 'My maidenhead I'l then keep still,
- Let the elphin knight do what he will.'
- The wind's not blown my plaid awa
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- Version B[ TOP ]
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- 'The Wind hath blawn my Plaid awa'
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- Webster, A Collection of Curious Old Ballads, p.3. Partly from an old copy in black letter, and partly from the recitation of an old lady.
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- MY plaid awa, my plaid awa,
- And owre the hills and far awa,
- And far awa to Norrowa,
- My plaid shall not be blawn awa.
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- 1 The Elphin knight sits on yon hill,
- Ba, ba, ba, lillie ba
- He blaws his horn baith loud and shrill.
- The wind hath blawn my plaid awe
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- 2 He blaws it east, he blaws it west,
- He blaws it where he liketh best.
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- 3 'I wish that horn were in my kist,
- Yea, and the knight in my arms niest'
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- 4 She had no sooner these words said,
- Than the knight came to her bed.
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- 5 'Thou art oer young a maid,' quoth he,
- 'Married with me that thou wouldst be.'
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- 6 'I have a sister, younger than I,
- And she was married yesterday.'
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- 7 'Married with me if thou wouldst be,
- A curtisie thou must do to me.
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- 8 'It's ye maun mak a sark to me,
- Without any cut or seam,' quoth he.
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- 9 'And ye maun shape it, knife-, sheerless,
- And also sew it needle-, threadless.'
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- 10 'If that piece of courtisie I do to thee,
- Another thou must do to me.
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- 11 'I have an aiker of good ley land,
- Which lyeth low by yon sea strand.
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- 12 'It's ye maun till 't wi your touting horn,
- And ye maun saw 't wi the pepper corn.
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- 13 'And ye maun harrow 't wi a thorn,
- And hae your wark done ere the morn.
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- 14 'And ye maun shear it wi your knife,
- And no lose a stack o 't for your life.
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- 15 'And ye maun stack it in a mouse hole,
- And ye maun thrash it in your shoe sole.
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- 16 'And ye maun dight it in your loof,
- And also sack it in your glove.
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- 17 'And thou must bring it over the sea,
- Fair and clean and dry to me.
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- 18 'And when that ye have done your wark,
- Come back to me, and ye'll get your sark.'
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- 19 'I'll not quite my plaid for my life;
- It haps my seven bairns and my wife.'
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- 20 'My maidenhead I'll then keep still,
- Let the elphin knight do what he will.
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- Version C[ TOP ]
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- 'The Elfin Knicht'
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- Kinloch's A. S. Ballads, p. 145. From the recitation of M. Kinnear, a native of Mearnsshire, 23 Aug., 1826
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- 1 THERE. stands a knicht at the tap o you hill,
- Ours the hills and far awa
- He has blawn his horn loud and shill.
- The cauld wind's blawn my plaid awa
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- 2 'If I had the horn that I hear blawn,
- And the knicht that blaws that horn!'
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- 3 She had na sooner thae words said,
- Than the elfin knicht cam to her side.
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- 4 'Are na ye oure young a may
- Wi onie young man doun to lie?'
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- 5 'I have a sister younger than I,
- And she was married yesterday.
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- 6 'Married wi me ye sail neer be nane
- Till ye mak to me a sark but a seam.
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- 7 'And ye maun shape it knife-, sheer-less,
- And ye maun sew it needl-, threed-less.
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- 8 'And ye maun wash it in yon cistran,
- Where water never stood nor ran.
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- 9 'And ye maun dry it on yon hawthorn,
- Whare the sun neer shon sin man was born.'
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- 10 'Gin that courtesie I do for thee,
- Ye maun do this for me.
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- 11 'Ye'll get an acre o gude red-land
- Atween the saut sea and the sand.
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- 12 'I want that land for to be corn,
- And ye maun aer it wi your horn.
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- 13 'And ye maun saw it without a seed,
- And ye maun harrow it wi a threed.
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- 14 'And ye maun sheer it wi your knife,
- And na tyne a pickle o 't for your life.
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- 15 'And ye maun moue it in yon mouse-hole
- And ye maun thrash it in your shoe-sole.
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- 16 'And ye maun fan it wi your luves,
- And ye maun sack it in your gloves.
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- 17 'And ye maun bring it oure the sea,
- Fair and clean and dry to me.
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- 18 'And whom that your wark is weill dean,
- Yese get your sark without a seam.'
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- Version D[ TOP ]
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- 'The Fairy Knight'
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- Buchan's Ballads of the North of Scotland, II, 296.
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- 1 THE Elfin knight stands on yon hill,
- Blaw, blaw, blaw winds, blaw
- Blawing his horn loud and shrill.
- And the wind has blawin my plaid awa
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- 2 'If I had yon horn in my kist,
- And the bonny laddie here that I luve best!
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- 3 'I hae a sister eleven years auld,
- And she to the young men's bed has made bauld.
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- 4 'And I mysell am only nine,
- And oh! sae fain, luve, as I woud be thine.'
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- 5 'Ye maun make me a fine Holland sark,
- Without ony stitching or needle wark.
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- 6 'And ye maun wash it in yonder well,
- Where the dew never wat, nor the rain ever fell.
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- 7 'And ye maun dry it upon a thorn
- That never budded sin Adam was born.'
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- 8 'Now sin ye've askd some things o me,
- It 's right I ask as mony o thee.
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- 9 'My father he askd me an acre o land,
- Between the saut sea and the strand.
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- 10 'And ye maun plow 't wi your blawing horn,
- And ye maun saw 't wi pepper corn.
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- 11 'And ye maun harrow 't wi a single tyne,
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