FRIENDLESS MARY

Far ael yon hoose whar heather grells
I met a lass wi her lambs and yews,
The lambs cam fresclin all the knell,
And the sun was shining clearly-O.

Says I, “My fair and comely dame,
Wud ye be sae kind as tell me your naim?
Or tell me the place ye call yar hame,
For your beauty shines so early-O.”

“D'ye see yon hoose a'hint the green?
This last six weeks I hunny been seen,
Ma mither she clost her twa black e'en,
Sayin', ‘Fair thee weel my Mary-O.’

“D'ye see yon hoose a'hint that tree?
When I was born me faither he dee,
Me mither was left tae be ma guid
And she ca'ed me Friendless Mary-O.”

“If ye'll consent tae cum wi me,
And be my bride across the sea,
A braw' guid man I'll be tae ye
And ye'll be na mair Friendless Mary-O.”

“I'll consent tae gang wi ye,
And be a bride across the sea,
A braw guid wife I'll be tae thee
And I'll be na mair Friendless Mary-O.”

Sung by Ewan MacColl on his 1960 Folkways album with Peggy Seeger, Popular Scottish Songs, and included in the same year in their book The Singing Island. He noted:

The beautiful air of this song is frequently found married to traditional ballad texts. It was a favourite with Mrs. Margaret Logan of Corsham, Wiltshire, from whom I learnt it. In the course of the same afternoon she used it to carry the somewhat humdrum text of Friendless Mary as well as the traditional ballad of The Cruel Mother.