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GEST Songs Of Newfoundland And Labrador
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True Thomas lay on Huntlie Bank,
A ferlie he spied wi' his ee,
And there he saw a lady bright,
Come riding down by the Eildon Tree.
Her shirt was o' the grass-green silk,
Her mantle o' the velvet fine,
At ilka tett o' her horse's mane
Hung fifty siller bells and nine.
True Thomas, he pulled aff his cap,
And louted low down to his knee:
"All hail, thou mighty Queen of Heaven!
For thy peer on Earth I never did see."
"Oh no, O no, Thomas," she said,
"That name does not belong to me;
I am but the Queen of fair Elfland,
That am hither come to visit thee.
"Harp and carp, Thomas," she said,
"Harp and carp along wi me;
And if ye dare to kiss my lips,
Sure of your bodie I will be."
"Betide me weal, betide me woe,
That weird shall never daunton me."
Syne he has kissed her rosy lips,
All underneath the Eildon Tree.
"Now, ye maun go wi me," she said,
"True Thomas, ye maun go wi me;
And ye maun serve me seven years,
Thro weal or woe, as chance to be."
She's mounted on her milk-white steed,
She's taen True Thomas up behind;
And aye whene'er her bridle rung,
The steed flew swifter than the wind.
O, they rade on, and farther on,
The steed gaed swifter than the wind;
Until they reached a desart wide,
And living land was left behind.
"Light down, light down, now, True Thomas,
And lean your head upon my knee;
Abide and rest a little space,
And I will shew you ferlies three.
"O, see ye not yon narrow road,
So thick beset with thorns and briars?
That is the path of righteousness,
Tho after it but few enquires.
"And see not ye that braid, braid road
That lies across the lily leven?
That is the path of wickedness,
Tho some call it the road to Heaven.
"And see not ye that bonny road,
That winds about the fernie brae?
That is the road to fair Elfland,
Where thou and I this night maun gae.
"But, Thomas, ye maun hold your tongue,
Whatever ye may hear or see;
For, if you speak word in Elfyn land,
Ye'll neer get back to your ain countrie."
O, they rade on, and farther on,
And they waded thro rivers aboon the knee;
And they saw neither sun nor moon,
But they heard the roaring of the sea.
It was mirk mirk night, and there was nae stern light,
And they waded thro red blude to the knee;
Fow a' the blude that's shed on Earth,
Rins thro the springs o' that countrie.
Syne they came on to a garden green,
And she pu'd an apple frae a tree;
"Take this for thy wages, True Thomas,
It will give thee tongue that can never lie."
"My tongue is mine ain," True Thomas said,
"A gudely gift ye wad gie to me!
I neither dought to buy nor sell,
At fair or tryst where I may be.
"I dought neither speak to prince or peer,
Nor ask of grace from fair ladye."
"Now hold thy peace," the lady said,
"For as I say, so must it be."
He has gotten a coat of the elven cloth,
And a pair of shoes of velvet green;
And till seven years were gane and past,
True Thomas on Earth was never seen.