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Lord of the May

[ Roud - ; words trad., music Archie Fisher ]

Archie Fisher sang Lord of the May in 2015 on his Greentrax CD A Silent Song. He noted:

I found the words on an old Xerox text in a book of Robert Burns poetry and it hat a kinda banjo fell to it.

The line “I rede you, beware at the hunting, young men!” is from Robert Burns’ 1787 poem The Bonie Moor-Hen.

Lyrics

Archie Fisher sings Lord of the May

I rede you, beware o’ the hunting, young men!
I rede you, beware o’ the hunting, young men!
For the Lord of the May has sorrow for aye:
His daughter away wi’ the faeries was ta’en.

I rede you, beware o’ the hunting, young men!
I rede you, beware o’ the hunting, young men!
After mony’s the year, to bring him some cheer
The Lord of the May to the hunting has gane.

I rede you, beware o’ the hunting, young men!
I rede you, beware o’ the hunting, young men!
For he drew not his bow at a deer or a roe
But the bonnie white bird that sat on a stane.

I rede you, beware o’ the hunting, young men!
I rede you, beware o’ the hunting, young men!
For his arrow he shot but it harm-ed her not
For it died in the heart of his daughter Elaine.

I rede you, beware o’ the hunting, young men!
I rede you, beware o’ the hunting, young men!
The Lord of the May has sorrow for aye:
His daughter away by the faeries was ta’en.