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Tamlyn
Tam Lin
[
Roud 35
; Child 39
; G/D 2:330
; Ballad Index C039
; DT TAMLIN1
, TAMLIN2
; Mudcat 110369
; trad.]
Everyman’s Book of British Ballads Ancient and Modern Scottish Songs, Heroic Ballads, etc. Last Leaves of Traditional Ballads and Ballad Airs Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border The Oxford Book of Ballads
For much more information about this ballad than can be shown here, see Abigail Acland’s comprehensive Tam Lin web pages.
This is a truly magical ballad. It was first mentioned in The Complaynt of Scotland in 1549 but no words were published until Herd put a fragment into his Ancient and Modern Scottish Songs, Heroic Ballads, etc. in 1769. It never seems to have been collected in full form outside Scotland [but see Eddie Butcher’s fragment below], though a possible relative of Tam’s, Brian O’Lynn (who may be a burlesqued son of the Irish god-mother Danu) crops up in comic songs in Ireland, Scotland and America, and the first printed version of Brian’s song in 1568, called him Tom a Lin.
Janet is a puzzle; on the one hand she is clearly a virgin, by virtue of the gold she wears in her hair, and the threat in the first verse is like the warning to the maiden in the analogous Broomfield Wager. But like that maiden, she may have had magical powers herself to deal with the Fairy Queen, for more than half the convicted witches in Scotland in 1590 and 1697 were called Janet.
Carterhaugh is near Selkirk in Scotland, and it is said the three rings where grass will not grow mark the spot where three containers of magic milk or water stood, into which, in one old version of the ballad, Janet dipped her protean lover to change him back to human shape.
Betsy Johnson of Glasgow and Willie Whyte of Aberdeen sang fragments of Tam Lin in field recordings made by Hamish Henderson in 1956 on the anthology The Muckle Sangs (Scottish Tradition 5; Tangent 1975; Greentrax 1992).
Eddie Butcher of Magilligan, Co. Londonderry, sang The Bride Stolen by Fairies on 6 July 1968 to Hugh Shields. This recording was included in 1975 on the Leader album of Folk Ballads From Donegal and Derry collected by Shields. Another recording made by Shields in Dublin on 10 September 1975 was included in 1985 with the title Saturday Night Is Hallowe’en Night on the Folk Music Society of Ireland anthology Early Ballads in Ireland 1968-1985, reissued on CD in 2015 by An Goílín. Hugh Shields noted on the first album:
The original ballad [Tam Lin] combines the theme of winning a spouse from fairies with a combat in shape-changing. The second theme is lost here and the first is altered so as to make the enchanted mate a woman instead of a man: in this way the story conforms with a common Irish folk tale. This chantefable form of the ballad has cropped up elsewhere in Ireland.
Fairport Convention recorded Tam Lin with Sandy Denny singing on 29 October 1968. The band play rhythm games on this song, which is mainly in 3/4 time, with the odd bar of 4/4 appearing now and then. The recording originally appeared on Liege and Lief, and made later appearances on the double CD compilation Meet on the Ledge: The Classic Years 1967-1975, on the famous anthology The Electric Muse, and on the Sandy Denny compilations Who Knows Where the Time Goes?, The Best of Sandy Denny, and A Boxful of Treasures.
An early version, taken at a quicker pace, was recorded by Fairport live on 23 September 1969 in Studio 4, Maida Vale, for the Top Gear / John Peel radio show and broadcast on 27 September 1969 with a repeat on 13 December 1969. This version is much closer to the way the band would have performed the song live. For ten years, this recording was available on the 1992 semi-bootleg From Past Archives only, but then in 2002, it was suddenly reissued three (!) times: on Ashley Hutchings’ CD 5 from the Guv’nor series, on the Island CD re-release of Heyday and on the Fairport unConventioNal 4CD set.
More live versions: Dave Swarbrick sang Tam Lin on Fairport’s Stockholm gig in 1971; this was included in the Dave Swarbrick anthology Swarb! in 2003. Tam Lin also appears on Fairport’s cassette The Boot: 1983 Fairport Reunion and, with the near-original lineup (Vikki Clayton replaces Sandy Denny), on their CD 25th Anniversary Concert. This video shows them at Cropredy 2007 in their original 1969 line-up with Chris While filling in for Sandy Denny:
Dave and Toni Arthur sang Tam Lin in 1970 on their Trailer album Hearken to the Witches Rune.
Pentangle sang Tam Lin in the soundtrack of the 1970 film Tam-Lin, directed by Roddy McDowall. This track was included in 2007 on their Castle Music anthology The Time Has Come.
In 1971, Anne Briggs sang Young Tambling unaccompanied on her first and eponymous solo album, Anne Briggs. This recording was also included on her compilation CDs Classic Anne Briggs (Fellside, 1990) and A Collection (Topic, 1999). A.L. Lloyd wrote in the original album’s sleeve notes:
Better known through Child’s English and Scottish Popular Ballads as Tam Lin. It was thought to have disappeared from tradition but of recent years a number of versions, mostly fragmentary, have turned up among country singers, particularly Scottish travelling people. I cobbled this set together, in part from Child, in part from recent collection; the tune is derived from one used for this ballad by travellers. Many consider it the best of all English-language ballad stories.
A.L. Lloyd sang Tamlyn (Young Tambling) live at the Top Lock Folk Club, Runcorn, on 5 November 1972. This recording is on his 1994 Fellside anthology Classic A.L. Lloyd and on his 2010 CD An Evening With A.L. Lloyd.
Mike Waterson sang Tamlyn unaccompanied on his 1977 album Mike Waterson. It was added to the Watersons’ 1993 CD reissue of For Pence and Spicy Ale and in 2004 to the Watersons’ 4CD anthology Mighty River of Song. A.L. Lloyd noted on the original recording:
We haven’t all that many fairy ballads, and this is by far the finest. It’s fairly venerable, it was already printed on a broadside in 1558, and it wasn’t new then. It seems to be uniquely Scottish, though there are international folk tales that come near its story; a Greek tale considerably more than two thousand years old tells how Peleus, wanting to marry the sea-nymph Thetis, lay in wait for her in a cave and seized here as she came riding in naked on a harnessed dolphin. She turned herself successively into fire, water, a lion, a snake, even to an ink-squirting cuttlefish, but Peleus “held her tight and feared not”, and in the end she gave in and the Olympian gods all came to the wedding. Tamlyn is a long ballad but the story moves swiftly. Mike says that he got his version “from A. L. Lloyd and Child”. So be it.
Frankie Armstrong’s several version of Tam Lin can be found on the 1976 LP Here’s a Health to the Man and the Maid, on her 1984 albums I Heard a Woman Singing and Tam Lin, and on the 1997 Fellside anthology Ballads. Paul Adams noted on this album:
Tam Lin has been Frankie’s tour-de-force for several years now. Her stunning performance here, full of passion and drama, clearly illustrates why she is a ballad singer par excellence. This is the classic “Elfland” ballad and contains a considerable amount of ancient folklore: Tam Lin is a human abducted by the elves and when he returns to the human world at the end the Elf Queen’s wish that she had “put out his eyes” is not borne out of vindictiveness, but because he has seen the secrets of Elfland and will take them to the human world.
Frankie notes: “Given that I’ve sung this more than any other ballad, that it is the most requested and consistently touches me to the core, it’s strange that I find it difficult to know what to say about it. There are scholarly things that can be said—they are interesting but do not illuminate the story or its effect. At its heart there is a mystery and I have no desire to analyse this away—even were it possible—I simply know that its power lies somewhere in the glorious weaving of words, images, story and tune an in something magical about tales of transformation. This song has lived with me for thirty years now and inspired the song-cycle based on the themes and characters that I devised and recorded with Brian Person in the early eighties. Singing it still thrills me.”
Ewan MacColl sang Tam Lin on his and Peggy Seeger’s 1977 album Cold Snap. The album notes quote F.J. Child:
This fine ballad stands by itself and is not, as might have been expected, found in possession of any people but the Scottish. Yet it has connections, through the principal feature in the story, the re-transformation of Tam Lin, with Greek popular tradition older than Homer.
Pyewackett sang Tam Lin on their 1983 album The Man in the Moon Drinks Claret.
Pete Morton got Tamlyn from the singing of Mike Waterson. He sang in 1987 on his Harbourtown album Frivolous Love.
Archie Fisher sang Tam Lin in a 1998 BBC radio performance. This recording was included in 2017 on the Appalachian ballad tradition anthology Big Bend Killing.
Duncan Williamson sang Lady Margaret at home in Fyfe on August 1991 to John Howson. This recording was included in 2014 on his Veteran album Put Another Log on the Fire.
Steeleye Span recorded Tam Lin live during their 1991 tour. This recording was released in 1992 on their CD Tonight’s the Night... Live. Another live recording from St. David’s Hall, Cardiff on 6 December 1994 was included on the video 25 Live: The Classic Twenty Fifth Anniversary Tour Concert.
A reel of this name, Tam Lin, which was written by Davey Arthur, can be found on Steeleye Span’s 1996 album, Time.
Moira Craig sang Tam Lin on her 2000 album On ae Bonny Day. She noted:
From the singing of Betsy Johnson. I was attracted to this because it made no mention of the name Tam Lin although is quite clearly the same story. I also love this tune but had to make some adjustments to the timing for me to be able to sing it. It’s from an LP called The Muckle Sangs by the School of Scottish Studies. Along with the recording were three other verses sung by Willie Whyte and I used the first one as a “completing” verse.
Bill Jones sang The Ballad of Tam Lin on her 2001 album Panchpuran.
Kirsten Easdale sang Oh I Forbid You in 2002 on the Linn anthology The Complete Songs of Robert Burns Volume 11.
Geordie McIntyre sang Tam Lin in 2003 on Alison McMorland’s and his Tradition Bearers CD Ballad Tree. He noted:
Of the three hundred and five ballads in Professor Child’s great compilation, Cowan and Henderson point out that only eleven of them contain fairy material. However this story of disenchantment is remarkable in the folkloric sense since it is a ‘virtual compendium of Scottish fairy belief’.
Dr Helen Fullerton and I collected a valuable five verse fragment and tune from the now famous Scots Traveller, Duncan Williamson, in 1967 (see abridged Bronson, p.101). I use Duncan’s fine tune and his verse 2 in a collation drawn mainly from Child’s “A” text which came from Johnson’s Scots Musical Museum (1792) contributed by Robert Burns.
Benjamin Zephaniah and Eliza Carthy sang Tam Lyn Retold in 2007 on The Imagined Village.
Jon Boden sang Tam Lin quite close to Anne Briggs’ version in October 2010 as the Halloween entry of his project A Folk Song a Day.
James Findlay sang Tam Lin in 2011 on his Fellside CD Sport and Play. He noted:
An ancient fairy/surprise sex/Halloween/shape shifter ballad that was first printed on a broadside in 1558, but clearly wasn’t a new song at that time. Its themes crop up in a number of other traditions from Scandinavia to Ancient Greece.
Anaïs Mitchell and Jefferson Hamer sang Tam Lin in 2013 oh their CD Child Ballads. This video shows them at Folk Alliance International in Toronto, Ontario, in February 2013:
The Macmath Collective sang Queen of the Fairies on their 2015 CD Macmath: The Silent Page. They noted:
This variant of the great ballad Tam Lin is unique to the Macmath collection. The song was learnt by Alexander Kirk around 1850 from David Rae of Barclay, Balmaclennan and recited to Macmath in 1886.
Joshua Burnell sang Tam Lin on his 2018 CD Songs From the Seasons.
Jon Wilks talked with Jim Moray about Tam Lin in January 2020 in Episode 2 of his Old Songs Podcast.
Piers Cawley got Tamlyn from Mike Waterson via Pete Morton, and sang it in 2020 on his download album Isolation Sessions #1. He noted:
I learned this from Pete [Morton]’s debut album, Frivolous Love and it’s the first (and for a long time the only) ballad I knew. It was years before I heard Mike [Waterson]’s take on it, which is clearly where Pete got his from. Like Pete, I’ve dropped the “he never once asked her leave” verse, and I’ve added a couple of verses (I found them in Pamela Dean’s novelisation of the ballad, Tam Lin, but I think she got them from The Oxford Book of Ballads) where Margaret gives the ‘auld fat knight’ the telling off he so richly deserves.
Margaret is a complete badass. No sooner has she been warned to stay away from the woods if she wants to keep her maidenhead than she thinks “I’m having some of that!” and runs off to pick herself a rose (of course! These songs are thick with metaphor). Her determination and steadfastness are inspirational. You’ll find plenty of amazing women in the ballads, but Margaret is my absolute favourite.
Amy Leach sang Lady Margaret on her and guitarist Alasdair Paul’s 2024 EP Six Sangs. She noted:
A strange version of a strange ballad, Tam Lin (Roud 35/Child 39), learnt from the singing of Betsy Johnson of Glasgow. Ballad scholars would consider this version ‘incomplete’—we like it all the same.
Seb Stone sang Tamlyn in 2024 as the title track of his album Young Tamlyn’s Away. He noted:
I learned this ballad in the autumn, when the nights were closing in, and having this ballad going through my head made the dusky walk to the train station through the woods become quite eerie. This features Rowan Piggott on fiddle, shruti box and double bass, and myself on uilleann pipes, hurdy-gurdy, kantele, melodeon and of course singing. I learned this from A.L. Lloyd and Mike Waterson.
Michell, Pfeiffer & Kulesh sang Lady Margaret, a composite of Goethe’s Erlkönig—in German, English and Russian—and Tam Lin, on their 2024 album Flowers.
Lyrics
Betsy Johnson sings Tam Lin
Lady Margaret, Lady Margaret
Been sewing at a seam.
She lookèd East, she lookèd West
And she saw those merry green woods growing green,
She saw those merry green woods.
For she kiltit up her petticoats
It’s up to them she ran;
And when she came to those merry green woods
She pulled those branches down, my dear,
She pulled those branches down.
For it’s there she spied a gentleman
Coming through die wood to her side.
“Oh it’s who gave you oh leave my dear
To pull those branches down, my dear,
It’s who gave you oh leave?”
For it’s onst I could pull those trees, those trees,
It’s onst I could pull those trees.
It’s onst I could pull those trees, those trees,
All without the leave of you, my dear.
All without the leave of you.
For he catched her by the middle small;
He gently laid her down;
“It’s since you’ve got your will of me
Come tell to me your name, kind sir,
Come tell to me your name.”
“For tomorrow it is new Halloween,
And the quality’s goin to ride;
You’ll pass them by at the old millbridge
As they go ridin by, my dear,
As they go ridin by.
“For the first will be is a white milk-steed
And it’s then there’ll be a black;
You’ll hold his head, you’ll fear no ill
He’s the father of your child, my dear,
He’s the father of your child.
“For the next will be
Is into a snake so large;
You’ll hold his head, you’ll fear no ill
He’s the father of your child, my dear,
He’s the father of your child.
“For the next will be Tam Lin
Is into a naked man;
You’ll throw your mantle all around
And cry, you’re won, my dear, you’re won,
You’re the father of my child.”
Willie Whyte sings Tam Lin
Oh for the sea may run dry, and fishes fly,
And the rocks melt wi’ the sun;
And if ever I prove false unto you
It’s my heart’s blood it may run, ma dear,
It’s my heart’s blood it may run.
When I am on the sea, oh pray think of me.
When I’m far on a foreign shore.
For it’s hold me fast, forget me not,
I’m the father of your child, ma dear,
I’m the father of your child.
For the very first thing that you may turn me into
May it be a lion so fierce;
But hold me fast and fear me not,
I’m one of God’s own make, ma dear,
I am one of God’s own make.
Eddie Butcher sings The Bride Stolen by Fairies
(Spoken) Well, this is a man got married. And the fairies stole his bride. And he didn’t know how to get her: he couldn’t get her no place, up nor down, searched every place. He went to this queen of the fairies. And she told him what to do. She told him:
Saturday night is Hallowe’en night,
The quality’s all to ride,
And he who has his bride to meet
At the Five-Mile brig he’ll bide.
First you’ll meet the black
And second you’ll meet the brown,
And catch the bay by the bridle rein
And pull the rider down.
(Spoken:) And then he got his wife there.
Fairport Convention sing Tam Lin
“I forbid you maidens all that wear gold in your hair
To travel to Carterhaugh, for young Tam Lin is there
None that go by Carterhaugh but they leave him a pledge
Either their mantles of green or else their maidenhead”
Janet tied her kirtle green a bit above her knee
And she’s gone to Carterhaugh as fast as go can she
She’d not pulled a double rose, a rose but only two
When up then came young Tam Lin, says,“Lady, pull no more”
“And why come you to Carterhaugh without command from me?”
“I’ll come and go,” young Janet said, “and ask no leave of thee”
Janet tied her kirtle green a bit above her knee
And she’s gone to her father as fast as go can she
Well, up then spoke her father dear and he spoke meek and mild
“Oh, and alas, Janet,” he said, “I think you go with child”
“Well, if that be so,” Janet said, “myself shall bear the blame
There’s not a knight in all your hall shall get the baby’s name
For if my love were an earthly knight, as he is an elfin grey
I’d not change my own true love for any knight you have”
So Janet tied her kirtle green a bit above her knee
And she’s gone to Carterhaugh as fast as go can she
“Oh, tell to me, Tam Lin,” she said, “why came you here to dwell?”
“The Queen of Fairies caught me when from my horse I fell
And at the end of seven years she pays a tithe to hell
I so fair and full of flesh and fear it be myself
But tonight is Halloween and the fairy folk ride
Those that would let true love win at Mile’s Cross they must bide
So first let pass the horses black and then let pass the brown
Quickly run to the white steed and pull the rider down
For I’ll ride on the white steed, the nearest to the town
For I was an earthly knight, they give me that renown
Oh, they will turn me in your arms to a newt or a snake
But hold me tight and fear not, I am your baby’s father
And they will turn me in your arms into a lion bold
But hold me tight and fear not and you will love your child
And they will turn me in your arms into a naked knight
But cloak me in your mantle and keep me out of sight”
In the middle of the night she heard the bridle ring
She heeded what he did say and young Tam Lin did win
Then up spoke the Fairy Queen, an angry queen was she
Woe betide her ill-far’d face, an ill death may she die
“Oh, had I known, Tam Lin,” she said, “what this night I did see
I’d have looked him in the eyes and turned him to a tree”
Dave & Toni Arthur sing Tam Lin
Fair Margaret ran in the merry green wood
And pulled a flower but one
When at her side stood young Tam-a-Lin,
Saying, “Margaret, leave it alone.
“How dare you pull my flowers, madam?
How dare you break my tree?
How dare you run in these green woods
Without the leave of me?”
“Oh this green wood it is my own,
My father gave it me.
And I can pluck myself a flower
Without the leave of thee.”
He took her by the milk-white hand
And by the grass-green sleeve
And laid her low down on the flowers
And asked of her no leave.
And when he’d had his will of her
Young Margaret she felt shame,
Says, “If you are a gentleman
Pray tell to me your name.”
“Oh Tam-a-Lin is the name,” he said,
“The Elf Queen gave to me.
And long I’ve haunted these green woods
All for your fair body.
“So do not pluck that herb, Margaret,
That herb that grows so grey,
For that would kill the little babe
That we’ve got in our play.
“When I was a boy just turned of nine
My uncle sent for me
To hunt and hawk and ride with him
And keep him company.
“Oh drowsy, drowsy as I was,
Dead sleep upon me fell,
And the Queen of Elfin she rode by
And took me for herself.
“Tonight it is good Hallowe’en,
The Elfin court will ride.
And they that would their true love win
At the crossroads they must hide.
“The second court that comes along
Is clad in robes of green.
It is the head court of them all
For in it rides the Queen
“And I upon a milk-white steed
With a gold star in my crown,
And I do ride beside the Queen
And you must pull me down.
“Then I will grow in your two arms
Like a savage creature wild.
But hold me fast, let me not go,
I’m the father of your child.”
She took her petticoats in her hand,
Her mantle on her arm,
Unto the crossroads she’s away
As fast as she could run.
The first court it came riding by,
She heard the bridles ring.
And the second court all dressed in green
And Tam Lin like a king.
She pulled him from his milk-white steed,
He on the ground did lay.
And the Elf Queen gave a shrieking cry,
“Young Tam-a-Lin’s away, my boys!
Young Tam-a-Lin’s away!”
And then they turned him in her arms
To a wolf and to an adder.
She held him fast in every shape
To be her baby’s father.
They shaped him in her arms at last
A mother-naked man.
She wrapped him in her mantle green
And saw her true love won.
Out then cried the Elfin Queen
And an angry woman was she,
Said, “You’ve stolen away the very best knight
In all my company.
“Oh had I known, Tam-a-Lin,” she says,
“What now this night I see,
I would have burned out your two grey eyes
And put in two from a tree, Tam-a-Lin,
And put in two from a tree.”
Anne Briggs sings Young Tambling
Lady Margaret, Lady Margaret, was sewing at her seam
And she’s all dressed in black.
And the thought come in her head to run in the wood
to pull flowers to flower her hat, me boys,
to pull flowers to flower her hat.
So she hoisted up her petticoats a bit above the knee
And so nimbly she’d run o’er the ground.
And when she come in the merry greenwood,
Well, she pulled them branches down, me boys,
Well, she pulled them branches down.
Suddenly she spied a fine young man,
He’s standing by a tree.
He says, “How dare you pull them branches down
Without the leave of me, my dear,
Without the leave of me?”
Well, she says, “This little wood, oh, it is me very own,
Me father gave it to me.
I can pull these branches down
Without the leave of thee, young man,
Oh, without the leave of thee.”
And he took her by the milk-white hand
And by the grass-green sleeve,
He pulled her down at the foot of a bush,
And he never once asked her leave, me boys,
No, he never once asked her leave.
And when it was done she twist about
To ask her true-love’s name.
But she nothing heard and she nothing saw
And all the woods grew dim, grew dim,
And all the woods grew dim.
There’s four and twenty ladies all in the land
and they’re all playing at chess.
Except it was the Lady Margaret
And she’s green as any glass, me boys,
Oh, she’s green as any glass.
And there’s four and twenty ladies all in the land
Grow as red as any rose.
Except it was the Lady Margaret,
She’s pale and wan, me boys,
Oh, pale and wan she goes.
Up then spoke the little servant girl,
She lift her hand and smiled,
Says, “I think my lady has loved too long
And now she goes with child, me dears,
Oh, and now she goes with child.”
Up then spoke the second serving girl
“Oh, ever and alas,” said she,
“But I think I know a herb in the merry greenwood,
It’ll twine thy baby from thee, madam,
It’ll twine thy baby from thee.”
So Lady Margaret she got her silver comb,
Made haste to comb her hair,
And then she’s away to the merry greenwood
As fast as she can tear, me boys,
Oh, as fast as she can tear.
And she hadn’t pulled in the merry greenwood
A herb but barely one
When by her stood the young Tambling,
He says, “Margaret, leave it alone,
Oh Margaret, leave it alone.”
“Why d’you pull that bitter little herb,
The herb that grows so grey,
For to destroy that fine young babe
That we got in our play, my dear,
That we got in our play?”
“Well, come tell me now, young Tambling,” she says,
“If an earthly man you be.”
“I’ll tell you no lies,” says young Tambling,
“I was christened as good as thee, me dear,
I was christened as good as thee.”
“But as I rode a-hunting on a bitter, bitter night,
It was from my horse I fell,
And the Queen of Elfland she caught me
In yonder green hill to dwell, to dwell,
Oh, in yonder green hill to dwell.”
“But tonight is Halloween, lady,
The Elven Court will ride.
And if you would your true love win,
By the mill bridge you must hide, me dear,
By the mill bridge you must hide.”
“And first will run the black horse and then will run the brown,
And then race by the white.
You hold him fast and you fear him not,
For he’s the father of your child, my love,
Oh, he’s the father of your child.”
“They’ll turn me all in your arms, lady,
Into many’s the beasts so wild.
But you’ll hold on fast and you fear no ill,
For it’s the father of your child, my love,
It’s the father of your child.”
So Lady Margaret she got her silver comb,
She made haste to comb her hair.
Then she’s away to the old mill-bridge
As fast as she could tear, me boys,
Oh, as fast as she could tear.
And about the dead hour of the night
She heard the bridles ring.
And oh, me boys, it chilled her heart
More than any earthly thing it did,
More than any earthly thing.
And first run the black horse and then run the brown
And then race by the white.
Well, she hold it fast and feared it not,
For it’s the father of her child,
Oh, it’s the father of her child.
The thunder rolled across the sky,
The stars blazed bright as day.
The Queen of Elven gave a thrilling cry,
“Young Tambling’s away, brave boys,
Young Tambling’s away.”
And the very first thing they turned him into
Was a lion that runs so wild.
But she held him fast, she feared him not,
For he’s the father of her child, me boys,
Oh, he’s father of her child.
And the very next thing they turned him into,
It was a loathsome snake.
He says, “Hold me fast and fear me not,
For I’m one of God’s own make, my love,
Oh, I’m one one of God’s own make.”
And again they changed him all in her arms
To a red hot bar of iron.
But she held it fast, she feared it not,
And it did to her no harm, no harm,
And it did to her no harm.
And the very last thing they changed him into
Was like any naked man.
She flung her mantle over him,
She cried, “Me love I’ve won, I’ve won,”
Oh, she cried, “Me love I’ve won.”
And the Queen of Elven she called from a bush,
She’s red as any blood.
“I should have tore out your eyes, Tambling,
And put in two eyes of wood, of wood,
And put in two eyes of wood.”
Ewan MacColl sings Tam Lin
I forbid ye maidens a
That wear gowd in your hair
Tae come or gae by Carterhaugh
For young Tam Lin is there.
There’s nane that gaes tae Carterhaugh
But pays to him their fee,
Either their rings or green mantles
Or else their maidenheid.
Janet has kilted her green kirtle
A little abune her knee,
And she has gane to Carterhaugh
As fast as she could hie.
She hadnae pu’d a double rose
A rose but and a briar
When oot and started Young Tam Lin,
Says, “Lady, ye’ll pu’ nas mair.
“Why pu’ ye the rose, lady,
And why break ye the wand?
And why come ye tae Carterhaugh
Withooten my command?”
“Carterhaugh is mine,” she said,
“My daddy gied tae me,
And I will come tae Carterhaugh
Withoot the lief o’ thee.”
He’s taen her by the milk-white haund
And by the grass-green sleeve,
And laid her doon upon a bank,
And didnae ask her leave.
Janet has kilted her green kirtle
A little abune her knee#
And she has gane tae her daddy’s hoose
As fast as she could hie.
There were fowre-and-twenty ladies fair
A-playin’ at the ba,
And Janet gaed like ony queen,
A flooer amang them a’.
There were fowre-and-twenty ladies fair
A-playing’ at the chess.
And Janet gaed amang them a’
As green as ony grass.
Oot spak then as auld grey knicht,
Stood owre the castle wa’,
And said. “Alas, dear Janet,
But I fear ye’ve gotten a fa’,
Your petticoat is gey shorter
And we’ll be blamed a’.”
“O haud your tongue, ye auld grey knicht
And an i11 deith may he dee,
Faither, my bairn on wha I will,
I’ll faither nane on thee.”
Then oot spak her auld faither,
Says, “Janet, you’re beguiled.
Your petticoat is gey shorter,
I fear ye gang wi’ child.”
“O if I gang wi’ bairn, faither,
It’s I will tak’ the blame.
There’s no’ a knicht aboot your ha’
Shall bear my bairnie’s name.”
Janet has kilted her green kirtle
A little abune her knee,
And she’s has gane tae Carterhaugh
As fast as she could hie.
“Why pu’ ye the rose, Janet,
Amang the leaves sae green?
A’ for to kill the bonnie babe
That we gat us between.”
“Tell me. noo, Tam Lin,” she said,
“For ’s sake wha died on tree,
Gin ever ye were in holy kirk
Or else in Christendee.”
“Roxburgh was my grandfaither
And wi’ him I did ride,
And it fell oot upon a day
That wae did me betide.
“Ay, it fell oot upon a day,
A cauld day and a snell,
Then we were fae the hunting come
That fae my horse I fell.
“The Queen o’ Elfinland passed by,
Took me wi’ her to dwell,
E’en whaur there is a pleasant place
For them that in it dwell,
Though at the end of o’ seiven year
They pay their soul to Hell.
“The nicht it is auld Hallow E’en
When elfin folk do ride,
And them that would their true-loves win
At Miles Cross they maun bide.”
“But tell me noo, Tam Lin,” she said,
“When ye’re amang the thrang,
Hoo whould I ken my ain true-love
Amang that unco band?”
“Some will ride the black, the black,
And some will ride the broon.
But I’ll be on the milk-white horse
Shod wi’ the siller shoon.
“The ae hand will be gloved, Janet,
The other will be bare.
And by these tokens’ I’ll gieye,
Ye’ll ken that I am there.
“The first company that passes by,
Say ‘na’ and let them gae,
The second company that passes by,
Then let them gang their way.
But the third company that passes by
Then I’11 be yin o’ they.
“Ye’ll hie ye tae my milk-white steed
And pu’ me quickly doon,
Throw your green kirtle owre me
To keep me from the rain.
“They’ll turn me in your airms, lady,
Tae an adder and a snake.
But haud me fast unto your breist
To be your worldly make.
“They’ll turn me in your airms, lady,
A spotted toad to be.
But haud me fast unto your breist
T’enjoy your fair body.
“They’ll turn me in your airms, lady,
Tae a mither-naked man,
Cast your green kirtle owre me
To keep me frae the rain.
“First put me in a stand o’ milk,
Syne in a stand o’ water,
And haud me fast unto your breist
I am your bairn’s father.”
Janet has kilted her green kirtle
A little abune her knee,
And she has gane tae Miles Cross
As fast as she could hie.
The first company that passed her by
She said “na” and let them gae,
The second company that passed her by
She let them gang their way.
But the third company that passed her by
Then he was yin o’ they.
She’s hied her to his milk-white steed
And pud him quickly doon,
Cast her green kirtle owre him
To keep him fae the rain.
They’ve turned him in his lady’s airms
Tae a mither-naked man,
She cast her green kirtle ower him
To keep him fae the rain.
She’s put him in a stand o’ milk,
Syne in stand o’ water.
She’s held him fast unto her breist,
He was her bairn’s father.
Oot spak the Queen o’ Elfinland
Oot o’ a bush o’ broom,
“O, wha’ has gotten young Tam Lin
Has gotten a stately groom.”
Oot spak the Queen o’ Elfinland,
Oot o’ a thorny tree,
“O wha has gotten young Tam Lin
Has taen my love fae me?
“Gin I had kent, Tam Lin,” she said,
“A lady would borrow thee,
I would hae torn oot thy twa grey e’en,
Put in twa e’en o’ a tree.
“Gin I had kent, Tam Lin,” she said,
“When first we come tae home,
I would hae torn oot that hairt o’ flesh,
Put in a hairt o’ stane.”
Mike Waterson sings Tamlyn
Come all you maids, and you very pretty maids
And a warning take by me
Don’t go down to the Chaser’s wood
If a maid you want to return and return
If a maid you want to return.
Lady Margaret, Lady Margaret, she was sitting in her bower
She was red as any rose
But she longed to go the Chaser’s woods
To pull them flowers that grows and grows
Oh, to pull the flowers that grows
And she taken out her silver comb
Made in haste to comb her hair
Then she away to the Chaser’s wood
As fast as she could tear and could tear
Aye, as fast as she could tear
And she hadn’t pulled but the one red rose
The rose that grows there in the green
When a voice said, “Lady, how dare you pull a rose
Without no leave of me, and of me,
Aye, without no leave of me?”
“This little wood,” she says “it is me very own
Me father he given it to me.
I will pull, pluck, break, I’ll bend the branch
And I won’t ask leave of thee, and of thee,
No I won’t ask leave of thee.”
Oh, he’s taken her by the middle so small
Down to where the grass it grows so green
And what they’ve done, well I just couldn’t say
Oh, the green grass grew between and between
Aye, the green grass grew between
Aye, he’s taken her by the lily-white hand
Down to where the grass it grows so green
And it’s what they done, well I just couldn’t say
But he never once asked her leave, her leave
No he never once asked her leave.
It’s four and twenty ladies, they’re all sitting in the hall
Playing at the chess
All except for young Margaret
She’s green as any grass, any grass,
And she’s green as any grass.
Aye, there’s four and twenty ladies, they’re all sitting in the hall
All as red as the rose
All except for young Margaret
And pale and wan she goes, and she goes
Aye, pale and wan she goes.
Up there spake one of them little girls
And on her face there was a smile
She says, “I think my lady’s loved a little long
And now she goes with child, and with child
Aye, and now she goes with child.”
Up there spake another of them girls
A pretty little girl was she
She says, “I know a herb growing in the Chaser’s woods
As’ll twine the babe from thee, and from thee
As’ll twine the babe from thee.”
Lady Margaret, she picked up her silver comb
Made in haste to comb her hair
Then she away to the Chaser’s wood
As fast as she could tear, and could tear
Aye, as fast as she could tear.
And she hadn’t pulled but the one bit of herb
The herb that grows there in the loam
When up there spake young Tam o’ the Lyn
Saying, “Margaret, leave it alone
Oh, sweetheart, Margaret, leave it alone.”
“Why do you want that bitter, bitter herb
The herb that grows so grey
Except for to twine away the pretty little baby
We got in our play, our play,
Mark, we got in our play.”
“Oh tell me this, young Tam-’o-Lyn,” she says
“If a mortal man you be.”
“Well, I’ll tell you truth without a word of a lie
I got christened as good as thee, as thee
I got christened as good as thee.”
“But as I rode out on a bitter, bitter day
’Twas from me horse I fell
And the Queen of the Elvens did take me
In yonder greenwood for to dwell, and to dwell
Aye, in yonder greenwood for to dwell.”
“And it’s every seventh seventh year
We pay a toll to hell
And the last one here is the first to go.
And I fear the toll, it’s meself, it’s meself
Aye, I fear the toll’s meself.”
“Oh, tonight it is the Halloween
When the Elven Court shall ride
If you would your true lover save
By the old mill-bridge you must hide, you must hide
By the old mill bridge you must hide.”
“And it’s first there’ll come this black horse
And it’s then there’ll come the brown
And they’re both raced by the white
You must throw your arms up around my neck
And I will not you afright, and afright
No, I will not you afright.”
“And they’ll change me then, and it’s all in your arms
Into many’s the beast so wild
You must hold me tight, you must fear me not
I’m the father of your child,
Oh you know that I’m the father of your child.”
And the woods grew dark, and the woods grew dim
Tam o’ the Lyn was gone.
She picked up her lily-white feet
And to the mill-bridge run, now she run
Aye, and to the mill-bridge run.
She looked high, and she looked low
She encompassed all around
But she nothing saw, she nothing heard
She heard no mortal sound, no sound
No, she heard no mortal sound.
Till about the dead hour of the night
She heard them bridles ring
It chilled her heart, it’s given her a start
More than any mortal thing, any thing
More than any mortal thing.
Then it’s first there come this black horse,
and it’s then there come the brown
They both raced by the white
And she’s thrown her arms up ’round his neck
And he didn’t her afright, and afright
No, he didn’t her afright.
And the thunder roared across the sky
And the stars they burned as bright as day
And the Queen of the Elvens give a stunning ? cry,
Saying, “Young Tam-a-Lyn is away, is away
Aye, Young Tam-a-Lyn is away.”
And they changed him then—it were all in her arms
To a lion roaring so wild
But she held him tight and she feared him not
He was the father of her child, oh she knew he was
The father of her child.
Soon they changed him again—it were all in her arms
To a big black hissing snake
But she held him tight and she feared him not
He was one of God’s own make, oh she knew that he
Was one of God’s own make.
And they changed him again—it were all in her arms
To a big black dog to bite
But she held him tight and she feared him not
He didn’t her afright, and afright
No, he didn’t her afright.
So they changed him again—it were all in her arms
To a white-hot bar of iron
But she held him tight and she feared him not
He’d done to her no harm, no harm
No, he’d done to her no harm.
Then they changed him again—it were all in her arms
To a mother-naked man
And she throwed her cloak up around his shoulders,
Saying, “Tam o’ the Lyn, we’ve won, oh, we’ve won,”
Saying, “Tam o’ the Lyn, we’ve won.”
Then the Queen of the Elvens, how she cursed young Tambalyn
Oh, well she cursed him good
She said, “I should have torn out your eyes young Tam-a-Lyn
I should have put in two eyes of wood, of wood
I should have put in two eyes of wood.”
“And it’s curses on you, Tam-a-Lyn,” she says
“You once was my very own.
And when you was, I should have torn out your heart
And put in a heart of stone, cold stone
I should have put in a heart of stone.”
Steeleye Span’s Tam Lin
Oh, I forbid you maidens all
That wear gold in your hair
To come or go by Carterhaugh
For young Tam Lin is there.
If you go by Carterhaugh
You must leave him a ward:
Either your rings or green mantle
Or else your maidenhead.
She’s away o’er gravel green
And o’er the gravel brown;
She’s away to Carterhaugh
To flower herself a gown.
She had not pulled a rosy rose,
A rose but barely one,
When by came this brisk young man,
Says, “Lady, let alone.
How dare you pull my rose, Madam?
How dare you break my tree?
How dare you come to Carterhaugh
Without the leave of me?”
“Well may I pull the rose,” she said,
“Well may I break the tree.
For Carterhaugh it my father’s,
I’ll ask no leave of thee.”
Oh, in Carterhaugh, in Carterhaugh
Oh, in Carterhaugh, in Carterhaugh
He’s taken her by the milk-white hand
And there he’s laid her down,
And there he asked no leave of her
As she lay on the ground.
“Oh tell me, tell me,” then she said,
“Oh tell me who art thee?”
“My name it is Tam Lin,” he said,
“And this is my story:
As it fell out upon a day,
A-hunting I did ride;
There came a wind out of the north
And woe it did betide.
And drowsy, drowsy as I was,
The sleep upon me fell;
The Queen of Fairies she was there,
And took me to herself.
Oh, in Carterhaugh, in Carterhaugh
Oh, in Carterhaugh, in Carterhaugh
At the end of every seven years
They pay a tithe to Hell;
And I’m so fain and full of flesh,
I fear ’t will be myself.
Tonight it is good Halloween,
The fairy court will ride;
And if you would your true love win,
At Mile’s Cross, you must bide.”
Oh, in Carterhaugh, in Carterhaugh
Oh, in Carterhaugh, in Carterhaugh
Gloomy was the night
And eerie was the way;
This lady in her green mantle
To Mile’s Cross she did go.
With the holy water in her hand
She cast the compass round;
At twelve o’clock the fairy court
Came riding o’er the bound.
First came by the black steed
And then came by the brown,
Then Tam Lin on a milk-white steed
With a gold star in his crown.
She’s pulled him down into her arms
And let the bridle fall;
The Queen of Fairies she cried out,
“Young Tam Lin is awa.”
They’ve shaped him in her arms,
An adder or a snake;
She’s held him fast and feared him not
To be her earthly mate.
They’ve shaped him in her arms again
To fire burning bold;
She’s held him fast and feared him not
Till he was iron cold.
They’ve shaped him in her arms
To a wood black dog so wild;
She’s held him fast and feared him not,
The father of her child.
They’ve shaped him in her arms at last
Into a naked man;
She’s wrapped him in the green mantle
And knew that she had him won.
The Queen of Fairies she cried out,
“Young Tam Lin is awa.
Had I known, had I known, Tam Lin,
Long before, long before you came from home,
Had I known, I would have taken out your heart
And put in a heart of stone.
Had I known, had I known, Tam Lin,
That a lady, a lady would steal thee,
Had I known, I would have taken out your eyes
And put in two from a tree.
Had I known, had I known, Tam Lin,
That I would lose, that I would lose the day,
Had I known, I would have paid my tithe to hell
Before you’d been won away.”
Geordie McIntyre sings Tam Lin
Tak’ warnin’ a’ ye ladies
That wear gowd in your hair
N’er gae doon tae Kertonha
For Tam Lin is there
Janet sat in her high chaumer
She was sewin’ her silken seam
She lookit East, she lookit West
Till she was the woods grow green
Janet has kilted her green mantle
A little abune her knee
An she’s gane down tae Kertonha
As fast as she could flee
She hadna’ pulled a nut a nut
Nor scarcely bent a tree
When up started Tam Lin
Saying Lady pu’ nae mair
Why pu’ye the nut, the nut
And why bend ye the tree
And why cam ye by Kertonha
Without the leave o’ me
Oh I will pu’ the nut, the nut
An’ I will bend the tree
An’ I’ll cam in by Kertonha
I need no leave o’ ye
But he’s taen her by the milk white hand
An by the grass-green sleeve
He’s lain her doon on a mossy bank
An’ he didnae ask her leave
She turned roon an’ roon aboot
Tae spier her lover’s name
But naething she heard, an’ naething she saw
Till a’ the woods grew dim
Seven days she tarried there
Saw neither sun nor moon
Till by a wee sma’ glimmerin’ licht
She cam through the woods her lane
There were four and twenty ladies
Playin’ at the chess
Janet, she walked amongst them a’
As green as ony glass
Then up spak her auld faither
He spak meek and mild
Janet Janet what’s ailing ye
I fear that ye gang wi’ child
If I gang wi’ child faither
It’s mysel’ I hae tae blame
There’s no a man in a’ your ha’
Will bear this bairnies name
And Janet has kilted her green mantle
A little abune her knee
She’s gaed back tae Kertonha
As fast as she could flee
She hadna pu’d a nut a nut
Nor scarcely bent the tree
When oot started Tam Lin
Saying Lady pu’ nae mair!
Why pu’ye the nut the nut
Among the leaves sae green
Is it tae kill the bonnie bairn
That we hae us between
Tell me noo Tam Lin
For sake who died on tree
Were ye ever in a holy chapel
Or Christendom did see
Aye it fell upon a day
A cauld day and a snell
When I was tae the huntin’ gaen
An fae my horse I fell
An’ the queen o’ Elfin land’s taen me
In yonder green hill tae dwell
But this nicht it is the Halloween
When the fairy folk maun ride
An’ them that would their true love win
At Miles Cross they must bide
First will come the black horses
An’ then the berry brown
But when you see a bonny white horse
Pu’ ye the rider doon
Then they’ll turn me in your airms
Tae a red hot gaud o’ airn
Haud me fast, fear me not
I’m the faither of your bairn
They’ll turn me in your airms
Tae an esk and an adder
But haud me fast an’ fear me not
For I’m your bairn’s father
Then they’ll turn me in your airms
Tae a winter wolf sae wild
Haud me fast an’ fear me not
I’m the faither o’ your child
When they turn me in your airms
Tae a dove an’ then a swan
Throw your mantle o’er me
An’ I’ll be a perfect man
Mirk an’ dreary was the nicht
The nicht o Halloween
When Janet wi’ her green mantle
Tae Miles Cross she has gaen
In the middle o’ the nicht
She heard the bridles ring
An’ Janet was as glad o’ that
As ony mortal thing
First cam’ by the black horse
And then the berry brown
When she saw that bonny horse
She pu’d the rider down
Well she minded what she was teilt
And young Tam Lin did win
She threw her mantle o’er him
As blithe as the birds in spring
Then oot spak the Elfin Queen
Frae a bush o’ broom
Them that’s taen young Tam Lin
Has gotten a stately groom
Had I kenned Tam Lin she cried
A lady would hae borrow ye
I would have taen oot your twa grey een
Put in the een o a tree
And had I kenned Tam Lin she cried
This nicht when far frae hame
I would hae taen oot your heart o flesh
Put in a heart o’ stane
Jon Boden sings Tam Lin
Lady Margaret, Lady Margaret, was sewing of her seam
And she’s all dressed in black.
When a thought came to her head to go into the wood
To pull flowers to flower her hat, my boys,
To pull flowers to flower her hat.
And she hoisted up her petticoat a bit above her knee
And so nimbly she’s tripped o’er the plain.
Until when she came in the merry greenwood,
And she pulled those branches down,
She has pulled those branches down.
And suddenly she spied a fine young man,
Stood underneath a tree.
Saying, “How dare you pull those branches down
Without the leave of me, lady,
Without the leave of me?”
Well, she says, “This little wood, it is my very own,
My father gave it me.
And I can pull those branches down
Without the leave of thee, young man,
Without the leave of thee.”
Well, he’s taken her by the lily-white hand
And by the grass-green sleeve,
And he has laid her down at the foot of an oak,
And he’s never once asked her leave, my boys,
He has never once asked her leave.
And when it was done she has turned herself about
For to ask her true-love’s name.
But she nothing saw and nothing heard
And all the woods grew dim, my boys,
And all the woods grew dim.
Well there’s four and twenty ladies all playing at the ball
Grown red as any rose.
Excepting for Lady Margaret,
As green as glass she goes, she goes,
As green as glass she goes.
Oh up and then spoke the first serving maid,
She lifted her head and smiled,
She said, “I think our lady has loved too long
And now she goes with child, with child,
And now she goes with child.”
Oh up and then spoke the second serving maid,
“Oh, ever and alas,” cried she,
“But I think I know a herb in the merry greenwood,
That’ll twine thy babe from thee, lady,
That will twine thy babe from thee.”
Lady Margaret’s taken out her silver comb,
She’s made haste to comb her hair,
And then she’s away to the merry greenwood
As fast as she could tear, my boys,
As fast as she could tear.
But she hadn’t pulled a herb in the merry greenwood
A herb but barely one
When up and spoke Young Tambling,
He says, “Margaret, leave it alone, alone,”
He says, “Margaret, leave it alone.”
“Oh how can you pull that bitter little herb,
That herb that grows so grey,
For to take away that young baby
That we got in our play, lady,
That we got in our play?”
“Oh, tell me true, young Tambling,” she said,
“If a mortal man you be.”
“Well, I’ll tell you no lies, Lady Margaret,
I was christened as same as thee, lady,
I was christened as same as thee.”
“But as I rode out on a cold and bitter night,
From off my horse I fell,
And the Queen of Elfland she took me
Into yonder hill to dwell, to dwell,
Into yonder hill to dwell.”
“And this night it is the Hallowe’en
And the Elven Court shall ride.
And if you would your true love gain,
By the old mill bridge you must bide, my love,
By the old mill bridge you must bide.”
“And first will run the black horse and then will run the brown,
And then chase by the white.
You must hold them fast and fear them not,
And they will not you afright, my love,
They will not you afright.”
“And they will change me all in your arms
Into many a beast so wild.
You must hold me fast and fear me not,
I’m the father of your child, you know,
I am the father of your child.”
Lady Margaret’s taken out her silver comb,
She’s made haste to comb her hair.
And then she’s away to the old mill bridge
As fast as she could tear, my boys,
As fast as she could tear.
And in the dead hour of the night
She’s heard the harness ring.
And oh, my boys, it chilled her heart
More than any a mortal thing it did,
More than any a mortal thing.
And first rode by the black horse and then rode by the brown,
And then chased by the white.
And she hold them fast and she feared them not,
They did not her afright, my boys,
They did not her afright.
And the thunder rolled across the sky
And the stars shone bright as day.
And the Queen of Elfland she gave a thrilling cry,
“Young Tam Lin is away, away!
Young Tam Lin is away!”
And then they have changed him all in her arms
Into a lion that roars so wild.
And she held him fast and she feared him not,
He was the father of her child, she knew,
He was the father of her child.
And next they’ve changed him all in her arms
Into a poisonous snake.
But she held him fast and she feared him not,
He was one of God’s own make, she knew,
He was one of God’s own make.
And next they have changed him all in her arms
To a red hot bar of iron.
But she held him fast and she feared him not,
And he did to her no harm, my boys,
He did to her no harm.
And last they have changed him all in her arms
’Twas into a naked man.
And she threw her mantle over him,
Crying, “Oh, my love I’ve won, I’ve won,”
Crying, “Oh, my love I’ve won.”
And up and then spoke the Queen of Elfin Land
From the bush wherein she stood,
Saying, “I should have taken out your eyes, Tam Lin,
And put in two eyes of wood, of wood,
And put in two eyes of wood.”
The Macmath Collective sing Queen of the Fairies
The maid that sits in Katherine’s Hall
Clad in her robes so black,
She has tae yon garden gone
For flowers tae flower her hat.
She had not pulled the red, red rose
A double rose but three
When up there starts a gentleman
Just at this lady’s knee.
Says, “Who’s this pulls the red, red rose,
Breaks branches off the tree
An’ who’s this treads my garden grass
Without the leave of me?”
“Yes, I will pull the red, red rose
Break branches off the tree
This garden in Moorcartney Wood
Without the leave o’ thee.”
Well he took her by the milk white hand
And he gently laid her down,
Just in below some shady trees
Where the green leaves they hung down.
“Come tell to me kind sir,” she said,
“What before you never told.
Are you an earthly man,” said she,
“A knight or a baron bold?”
“Ill tell to you, fair lady,” he said,
“What before I ne’er did tell.
I’m the second son o’ Earl Douglas,
With the Queen of the Fairies I dwell
When riding through yon forest wood
And by yon grass green well.
A sudden sleep me overtook
And off my steed I fell.”
“The Queen of the Fairies being there
Made me with her to dwell,
And still once in each seven years
We pay a tithe to hell.
And because I am an earthly man,
Myself does greatly fear,
For the cleverest man in all our train
To Pluto must go this year.”
“This night is a Hallow e’en, lady,
And the fairies they will ride.
The maid that will her true love win
At Miles Cross, she maun bide.”
“But how will I thee ken though, Sir?
How will I thee know
Amang a pack o’ hellish wraiths
Before I never saw?”
“Some rides upon a black horse, lady,
And some upon a brown.
And I myself on a milk white steed
And aye nearest the town.
My right hand shall be covered, lady,
My left hand shall be bare.
And that’s a token good enough
That you will find me there.”
“Take the Bible in your right hand,
With God to be your guide,
Take holy water in your left
And throw it on every side.”
She’s ta’en her mantle her about
A cane into her hand
And she has unto Miles Cross gane
As hard as she could gang.
First she’s letten the black pass by
And then she’s letten the brown.
She’s taken a hold o’ the milk white steed
And she’s pulled Earl Thomas down.
The Queen o’ the Fairies being there
Sae loud she’s letten a cry,
The maid that sits in Katherine’s Hall
This night has gotten her prey.
“But hadst thou waited. fair lady,
Until this time the morn,
He would have been as far from thee
As the wind that blew when he was born.”
They turned him in this lady’s arms
Like the adder and the snake,
She held him fast, why should she not?
Though her poor heart it would break.
They turned him in this lady’s arms
Like two red gads of airn,
She held him fast, why should she not?
She knew they could do her no harm.
They turned him in this lady’s arms
Like to all things that was vile,
She held him fast. why should she not?
He was the father o’ her child.
Then they turned him in this lady’s arms
Like to a naked knight,
She’s ta’en him hame to her ain bower
And clothed him in armour bright.
She held him fast, why should she not?
He was the father o’ her child.
Music Transcription
Fairport Convention: Tam Lin
Transcription by Dino Agate.
This song is based on two parts: a little instrumental bridge (in 3/4 time, usually two measures long) and a verse (whose eight measures are 3/4 3/4 4/4 3/4 and again the same time progression); this “pattern” (bridge+verse) is repeated throughout the song (except for three instrumental solos).
Bridges’ chords are Em and D, while guitar’s lines, although very alike, are almost all different, so I wrote the tablature for each. All these “bridges” could be useful to some bands; a single guitar player would probably repeat the first or second bridge or play the following to join chords and melody:
E --0--------!------------- B --0--3--0--!-----0--2---- G --0--------!--2---------- D --2--------!--0---------- A --2--------!------------- E --0--------!-------------
The verse’s chord progression is very simple, but the guitar strummings are very peculiar. There are three kinds of guitar strummings and the main one is the following (related to the movement’s measures of the verse):
1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 Em D G Em D
The second strumming has the same accents as the first, but each chord is doubled (each strum is a quaver of the same movement) and it is played in verses 5 and 14:
1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 Em/ D/ G/ Em/ D/
Last strumming is played only in verse 18:
1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 Em D D G Em Em D D 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 Em Em D D G/ Em/ D/
If the song is played with a guitar only, it will of course sound better if some more strumming is added to these main accents. In verses 12 and 13, a guitar plays a melody instead of playing chords (tablatures are under those verses).
Three guitars are played on this song (as far as I can hear): a clean electric guitar on the left channel (the violin is on the left channel too, starting from the 6th verse), a distorted and an acoustic guitar on the right.
The clean guitar (left) plays the following bridge (except where otherwise indicated):
E ------------!------------- B ------------!------------- G ------------!------------- D ---2--0-----!------------- A ---------2--!--0---------- E ------------!-----3--2----
All right channel guitar’s bridges are shown after each verse.
Besides this, the guitars play “sharp” or “loose” (I mean the strings are stopped soon after they’ve been strum or they vibrate until the other chord is played) or “stopped” (only the lower strings are strum, almost muted). As each guitar plays differently, I indicated the “mood” that mainly stands out in each verse.
No panic, please. All you need to know to play this song is written above; the other details I wrote about are in the following lines.
It is interesting to notice how arrangements turns delicate or hard according to the meaning of the verse’s words. H and P in the tablature are for hammer on and pull off.
Intro (repeat twice)
E--------------!------------- B--------------!------------- G--------------!------------- D---2--2P0-----!----------0-- A-----------2--!--0--0H2----- E--------------!-------------
1. “I forbid you maidens all that wear gold in your hair
To travel to Carterhaugh for young Tam Lin is there.
RHYTHM GUITAR SHARP
Bridge as Intro
2. None that go by Carterhaugh but they leave him a pledge
Either their mantles of green or else their maidenhead.”
SHARP
E------------!------------- B---5--3-----!----------3-- G---------4--!--2--2P4----- D------------!------------- A------------!------------- E------------!-------------
3. Janet tied her kirtle green a bit above her knee
And she’s gone to Carterhaugh as fast as go can she.
LOOSE
E------------!------------- B------------!------------- G---------0--!--2--2P0----- D---2--4-----!----------4-- A------------!------------- E------------!-------------
4. She’d not pulled a double rose, a rose but only two
When up then came young Tam Lin says “Lady pull no more”
STOPPED
(muted notes): Left guitar bridge: E-----------------!---------------- E-----------!----------- B-----------------!---------------- B-----------!--------3-- G-----------------!---------------- G-----------!--2--4----- D-----------------!---------------- D--2--4--5--!----------- A-----------------!---------------- A-----------!----------- E--0-0--0-0--0-0--!--0-0--0-0--0-0- E-----------!-----------
5. “And why come you to Carterhaugh without command from me?”
“I’ll come and go,” young Janet said “And ask no leave of thee”.
SHARP (double chords)
Guitar solo - 16 measures in 3/4 time (rhythm guitar Em7 - EM6):
E-------------!---------------!--------!---------------!---------------! B-------------!---------------!--------!---------------!---------------! G-------------!---------------!--------!--4--4P2--0H2--!--2P0----------! D--2--2P0-----!----------0H2--!--2--2--!---------------!-------4--0H2--! A----------2--!--0--0H2-------!--------!---------------!---------------! E-------------!---------------!--------!---------------!---------------! E---------!----0------------2P0--!--------------------!--------------------! B------3-3P2------3P2P0--2-------!--3--2H3P2P0--2-----!--------------------! G---------!----------------------!-----------------2--!--2--0--------------! D--2------!----------------------!--------------------!--------4--0--2--4--! A---------!----------------------!--------------------!--------------------! E---------!----------------------!--------------------!--------------------! E-----------!-----------------!--------------------!-----------! B-----------!-----------------!--------------------!-----------! G-----------!-----------------!--------------------!-----------! D-----------!-----------------!--------------------!-----------! A--2--2--0--!-----------------!-----0--2--0-----0--!--2--2--0--! E-----------!--3--0--0--0--2--!--3-----------3-----!-----------! E--------------------!-------------!-----------------!-------------! B--------------------!-------------!-----------------!-------------! G--------------------!-------------!-----------------!-------------! D-----------------0--!-------------!--0H2--2H4--2H4--!--2--0--0H2--! A--2--4--0--2--4-----!--2--0--0H2--!-----------------!-------------! E--------------------!-------------!-----------------!-------------! E-----------------!-------------!-------------!-------------!-------------! B-----------------!-------------!-------------!-------------!-------------! G-------2P0-------!-------------!-------------!-------------!-------------! D--2H4-------2H4--!--2--2P0-----!----------0--!--0H2--0-----!----------0--! A-----------------!----------2--!--0--0H2-----!----------2--!--0--0H2-----! E-----------------!-------------!-------------!-------------!-------------!
6. Janet tied her kirtle green a bit above her knee
And she’s gone to her father as fast as go can she.
SHARP
Bridge as Intro
7. Well up then spoke her father dear and he spoke meek and mild
“Oh and alas Janet” he said “I think you go with child.”
SHARP
E------------!------------- B---5--3-----!------------- G---------4--!--4P2--0----- D------------!----------4-- A------------!------------- E------------!-------------
8. “Well if that be so” Janet said “Myself shall bear the blame
There’s not a knight in all your hall shall get the baby’s name.
SHARP
Bridge as Intro
9. For if my love were an earthly knight as he is an elfin grey
I’d not change my own true love for any knight you have.”
LOOSE
E--------------!------------- B--------------!------------- G------4--4P2--!--2P0-------- D---2----------!-------4--0-- A--------------!------------- E--------------!-------------
(Violin solo - 12 measures in 3/4 time)
E--------------!---------------!-------------!---------- B--------------!---------------!-------------!---------- G--------------!---------------!-------------!---------- D---2--2P0-----!------------0--!--2--2P0-----!---------- A-----------2--!--2H0--0H2-----!----------2--!--0------- E--------------!---------------!-------------!-----3--2-
Left guitar bridge:
E------------!-----------!-----------!------------ B------------!-----------!-----------!--------3--- G------------!-----------!-----------!--2--4------ D---2--0-----!--------0--!--2--4--5--!------------ A---------2--!--0--2-----!-----------!------------ E------------!-----------!-----------!------------
10. So Janet tied her kirtle green a bit above her knee
And she’s gone to Carterhaugh as fast as go can she.
LOOSE
Bridge as 4-5. (Left guitar bridge: standard)
11. “Oh tell to me Tam Lin” she said “Why came you here to dwell?”
“The Queen of Fairies caught me when from my horse I fell
STOPPED
E-------------!---------------! B-------------!---------------! G-------------!---------------! D--2--2P0-----!----------0H2--! A----------2--!--0--0H2-------! E-------------!---------------!
12. And at the end of seven years she pays a tithe to hell
I so fair and full of flesh and feared it be myself
SHARP
Right guitar plays the following twice:
E-----!-------------!-----------------!---------------! B-----!-------------!-----------------!---------------! G-----!-------------!-----------------!---------------! D-----!-------------!-----------------!-------0--2H4--! A--2--!--4H5--4--0--!--0H2--0H2--0H2--!--0H2----------! E-----!-------------!-----------------!---------------!
Bridge as the last one
13. But tonight is Halloween and the fairy folk ride,
Those that would their true love win at Mile’s Cross they must bide.
LOOSE
Right guitar plays the same melody as last verse.
Bridge as Intro
14. First let pass the horses black and then let pass the brown
Quickly run to the white steed and pull the rider down,
SHARP (double chords)
E------------------!----------------- B------------------!----------------- G------------------!----------------- D---2-2--2-2--2-2--!--2-2--2-2--2-2-- A------------------!----------------- E------------------!-----------------
15. For I’ll ride on the white steed, the nearest to the town
For I was an earthly knight, they give me that renown.
SHARP
E--------------!----------------- B--------------!----------------- G---4--4P2--0--!-----2P0--------- D--------------!--4-------4P2P0-- A--------------!----------------- E--------------!-----------------
16. Oh they will turn me in your arms to a newt or a snake
But hold me tight and fear not, I am your baby’s father.
LOOSE
Right guitar doesn’t play this bridge
17. And they will turn me in your arms into a lion bold
But hold me tight and fear not and you will love your child,
SHARP
E---------------!---------------------- B------3--------!--3--3P0-------------- G---4-----4--4--!----------2P0--------- D---------------!---------------4P2P0-- A---------------!---------------------- E---------------!----------------------
18. And they will turn me in your arms into a naked knight
But cloak me in your mantle and keep me out of sight”.
STOPPED (other strumming)
Bridge as 2-3
(Guitar-violin solo - 16 measures in 3/4 time)
Bridge as before verse 10
Left guitar bridge:
E------------!-----------!-----------!---------- B------------!-----------!-----------!---------- G------------!-----------!-----------!---------- D---2--0-----!--------0--!--2--0-----!---------- A---------2--!--0--2-----!--------2--!--0------- E------------!-----------!-----------!-----3--2-
19. In the middle of the night she heard the bridle ring
She heeded what he did say and young Tam Lin did win.
SHARP
Bridge: guitar strums on Em.
Left guitar bridge:
E------------!----------- B------------!----------- G------------!-----0--2-- D---2--0-----!--4-------- A---------2--!----------- E------------!-----------
20. Then up spoke the Fairy Queen, an angry Queen was she
“Woe betide her ill-fared face, an ill death may she die
SHARP
Bridge as Intro
21. Oh had I known, Tam Lin” she said “What this night I did see
I’d have looked him in the eyes and turned him to a tree.”
LOOSE
Ending
E--------------!-------------!-----------!-------------! B--------------!-------------!-----------!-------------! G--------------!-------------!--------0--!--2--2P0-----! D---2--2P0-----!----------0--!--2--4-----!----------4--! A-----------2--!--0--0H2-----!-----------!-------------! E--------------!-------------!-----------!-------------! E----------------------!----------------------! B---3--3P0-------------!----------------------! G-----------2--0--2P0--!-----0-----------2P0--! D----------------------!--4-----0--2--4-------! A----------------------!----------------------! E----------------------!----------------------! E------------!----------------------!-----------!-----------!--0- B------------!----------------------!-----------!-----------!--0- G------------!----------------0--2--!-----------!-----------!--0- D---2--0-----!-------0--2--4--------!--2--0-----!--------0--!--2- A---------2--!--0P2-----------------!--------2--!--0--2-----!--2- E------------!----------------------!-----------!-----------!--0-
Acknowledgements
Garry Gillard thanks Jesse Kirchner for the Mike Waterson transcription. Tamlyn’s name is spelt differently on this page in an attempt to represent the different ways Mike Waterson sings it on his recording, not out of carelessness (I hope).