I heard this border ballad for the first time yesterday (sung by June Tabor) and was intrigued; Googled & found some background info -- and numerous versions (including a couple in the DigiTrad: Hughie Graham and Hughie Grame (Hughie the Graeme)). I was a little puzzled by the references to swords that are "bent in the middle":

And ye may gie my brother John
My sword that's bent in the middle clear,
And let him come at twelve o'clock
And see me pay the bishop's mare.

And ye may gie my brother James
My sword that's bent in the middle brown;
And bid him come at four o'clock,
And see his brother Hugh cut down.

The above is from Hughie Graham; I notice that in Hughie Grame (Hughie the Graeme), the swords are "pointed wi' the metal":

"You'll gie my brother, John, the sword
That's pointed with the metal clear,
And bid him come at eight o'clock
And see me pay the Bishop'e mear."

"And brother James, tak' here the sword
That's pointed wi' the metal brown
Come up the morn at eight o'clock
And see your brother putten down."

However, I did find a thread in the forum, where it was suggested that "...references to swords bent in the middle..." "...appears to be a corruption of the more usual pointed with the metal." As that post was by the extremely knowledgeable (and much-missed) Malcolm Douglas, I'm prepared to go with that (although if anyone else knows anything more I'd be delighted to "hear" it). What I'm still curious about is the references to "metal clear' and "metal brown". Are we talking about new (clear) vs old/rusty (brown), or different types of metal, or perhaps something else altogether?

Also, a great many versions have a verse that refers to a most impressive "jump" with his hands tied behind his back, for example:
Full fifteen feet in the air he jumped
Wi' his hands bound fast behind his back.

But none of the background info I found mentions anything like that, in spite of it being a rather noteworthy feat. Do people think it may have been added in later, or is there info someone knows of that suggests that Mr Graham did execute some kind of spectacular jump while bound? In some versions it seems to be part of an escape attempt, although in others it sounds more like he may have been sort of "cheating" the hangman by taking the fatal plunge himself rather than waiting...

Lastly (and I think I may have already figured this out, but I'm interested in other opinions), most versions have (at least one) verse that goes something like this:
"O haud your tongue now lady fair,
And wi' your pleading let me be;
Altho ten Grahams were in his coat,
It's for My honor he maun die."

I was wondering what "grahams" were (in most of the versions I saw, the g was not capitalised). First I thought it might be some old form of money, & looked up the word online (including in the OED), but the only definitions I found pertained to flour. The only other thing I can think of is that it refers to other members of his clan, i.e. the Bishop is saying something like, "I don't care how many Grahams I'd have to kill to preserve my good name."

Is this how other people "read" it, or am I missing something?
I think this is an absolutely fascinating song and would be grateful for any insight anyone else might care to offer...