"Than playit I twenty springs perqueir, Bot Gynkertoun'a thow luffit best." It is in another production under a similar title, Wedderburn's "Complaynt of Scotland," originally published in 1548, that we find the most copious enumeration of the songs of that period. After having described his Dramatis Persona, the shepherds and their wives, as having "tauld all thyr pleysand storeis," he tells us that they proceeded to sing "sueit melodius sangis of natural music of the antiquite," and among these, “Pastance vitht gude companye—The breir byndis me soir-Stil under the leyvis grene-Cou thou me the raschis grened-Allace I vyit 3our tua far ene-Gode zou gude day vil boy-Lady help 3our prisoneire— King Villzamis note—The lang noune nou―The cheapel walk--Faytht A verse of this song, or rather an allusion to the tune, occurs in Constable's MS. Cantus"I would go twentie mile, I would go twentie mile, 66 is mentioned by Ritson, as being still extant, both words and music, in a MS. in his possession. It is supposed to have been written by Henry VIII., who, according to Hall, was accustomed to amuse himself with playing at the recorders, flute, virginalls, and in setting of songes, or making of balattes." C This song is in the Maitland MS. See Mr Laing's "Early Metrical Tales," p. 249. di. e. "Cull to me the rushes green," the burden of an old English song, of which Ritson (Ancient Songs, p. 54) has given both music and words. Tale: Sen that I am a prisoneir"? Bannatyne MS., p. 215. Supposed, but improbably, to be the "Kingis Note" sung by Nicholas in Chaucer's Miller's "And after that he song the Kingis Note, "The lang noune Nou"-" Skald abellis Nou" and "The Aberdenis Nou," are not easily explained; but the "Nou" was a common chorus in these days. See Ritson's Ancient Songs, pp. 64 and 270-" O Anthony, now, now, now." is there none-Skald abellis nou-The Abirdenis nou-Brume brume on hila—Allone I veip in grit distres-Trolee lolee lemmen dou-Bille vil thou cum by a lute and belt thee in sanct Francis Cord-The Frog cam to the myl durd_The sang of Gilquhiskare-Rycht sairlie musing in my mynde-God sen the Duc hed byddin in France, and de la Baute had nevyr cum hame1-Al musing of mervellis amys hef I goneg -Mastres fayr ye vil forfayr-O lusty maye vitht Flora Quene1—O myne hart hay this is my sang-The battle of the Hayrlau-The huntis of Chevet-Sal I go uitht you to rumbelo fayr-Greuit is my sorrou1 -Turne the sweit Ville to me-My lufe is lyand seik, send hym joy, send hym joy-Fayr luf lent thou me thy mantil joy-The Perssee and the Mongumrye met, that day, that gentil daym-My luf is laid upon ane This is one of the songs mentioned in Lanehame's letter from Killingworth, 1575, as contained in a "bunch of ballets and songs, all ancient, fair wrapt up in parchment, and bound with a whip cord," which belonged to Captain Cox, the literary mason of Coventry. b "Trolee Lolee," an old chorus. In Constable's Cantus the following lines are introduced into a Medley Probably the same with "A most strange weddinge of the frogge and the mouse," a ballad mentioned by Warton, in his History of English Poetry, as licensed by the Stationers in 1580. Mr Kirkpatrick Sharpe has published a version of it (taken down from recitation) in his " Ballad Book," 1824. Many nursery rhymes on the same subject are still current. Pinkerton (Select Ballads, vol. ii. p. 33) says, that " The froggie came to the mill door," was sung on the Edinburgh Stage shortly prior to 1784. The frog he would a wooing go" is still a favourite with children. The "Froggies Gagliard" in the Skene MS. is the oldest copy of the tune which exists; but it is to be regretted, that in this instance it has been so much altered and mutilated, in order to shew off the execution of the performer, that it is scarcely possible to reduce it to its original elements. Thought to be an historical ballad, but not extant. This was the Chevalier de la Beauté who was murdered by the Homes of Wedderburn in 1517, while Regent of the kingdom, in the absence of John Duke of Albany. A verse of this song occurs in Constable's Cantus. Printed by Chepman and Myllar in 1588, also with the music in Forbes's Cantus. iA ballad still extant. See Mr Laing's "Early Metrical Tales." * See Percy's Reliques, vol. i. p. 2. m See Ritson's Ancient Songs, p. 93. Supposed to have been a Scotish copy of the common historical ballad of the Battle of Otter bourne. knycht-Allace that samyn sueit face-In ane myrthtful morou My hart is leinit on the land." Seven of these ditties appear among the ballads changed out of profane songs in the Compendium of Godly Ballads, a work which supplies us with the first lines and general structure of a good many other popular songs, from which we may select the following, besides those which have already been cited : Hay trix trim goe trix, under the green-wood-tree." "The wowing of Jock and Jenny,"-The ballat of Evil Wyffis, the ballat of Guid Fallowis, and several of the shorter pieces, which appear in the This is probably the original of " I love my love in secret." Bannatyne MS. (1568,) may be considered as lyrical productions of this era, though most likely much older than the date of that collection. To these we may add the two songs, "Cummer goe ye before," and "The silly bit chicken," mentioned in the narrative of the congress of witches who met the Devil at North Berwick kirk. We may farther recall to the recollection of our readers the favourite song of "Tak your auld cloak about ye," a stanza of which is put into the mouth of Iago, in Shakspeare's Othello," and, "O Bothwell Bank thou blumest fair," of which the following anecdote is related in Verstegan's Restitution of decayed Intelligence, a work printed originally at Antwerp, in 1605. "So fell it out of late years, that an English gentleman travelling in Palestine, not far from Jerusalem, as he passed thorow a country town, he heard, by chance, a woman sitting at her door, dandling her child, to sing, Bothwell bank thou blumest fayre: the gentleman hereat exceedingly wondered, and forthwith in English saluted the woman, who joyfully answered him, and said, she was right glad there to see a gentleman of our isle, and told him that she was a Scottish woman, and came first from Scotland to Venice, and from Venice thither, where her fortune was to be the wife of an officer under the Turk, who being at that instant absent, and very soon to return, entreated the gentleman to stay there until his return; the which he did, and she, for country sake, to shew herself the more kind and bountiful unto him, told her husband at his home-coming, that the gentleman was her kinsman; whereupon her husband entertained him very friendly, and at his departure gave him divers things of good value." We have now advanced to about the date of the Skene MS., but we are unwilling to close our extracts, where such scanty information is all that can be gleaned, without adding the series of fragments, however slight, which offer themselves in a curious medley, contained in a MS. Cantus, formerly the property of the late Archibald Constable of Edinburgh; because, although the date of that MS. is not older than 1670 or 1680, there are few of the songs to which they belonged likely to have been written in the course of that century, an age which, in Scotland, • Newes from Scotland, 1591. This drama is said to have been written in 1611. |