This verse is quoted from Child 173.I, 'Scott's Minstrelsy, 1833, III, 294, made up from various copies'. Scott makes no comment on the verse in question, but Child notes in his summary of the various versions 'She goes to the garden to pull the leaf off the tree, in a vain hope to be free of the babe, C3; it is the savin-tree, D4, the deceivin-tree, N3, the Abbey-tree (and pulled by the king), I6' and adds in a footnote 'Deceivin, Abbey, are of course savin misunderstood. One of the reciters of D (4²) gave "saving".' (ESPB, III, 380).

The savin or savine tree is a species of juniper 'with very small imbricated leaves: its tops yielding an irritant volatile oil, anthelmintic and abortifacient' (Chambers Dictionary).

The verse, then, tells of an unsuccessful attempt to procure an abortion.