Tam Lin
None that go by Carterhaugh but they leave him a pledge Either their mantles of green or else their maidenhead Janet tied her kirtle green a bit above her knee And she's gone to Carterhaugh as fast as go can she She'd not pulled a double rose, a rose but only two When up there came young Tam Lin, says "Lady, pull no more" "And why come you to Carterhaugh without command from me?" "I'll come and go," young Janet said, "and ask no leave of thee" Janet tied her kirtle green a bit above her knee And she's gone to her father as fast as go can she Well, up then spoke her father dear and he spoke meek and mild "Oh, and alas, Janet," he said, "I think you go with child" "Well, if that be so," Janet said, "myself shall bear the blame There's not a knight in all your hall shall get the baby's name For if my love were an earthly knight as he is an elfin grey I'd not change my own true love for any knight you have" Janet tied her kirtle green a bit above her knee And she's gone to Carterhaugh as fast as go can she "Oh, tell to me, Tam Lin," she said, "why came you here to dwell?" "The Queen of Faeries caught me when from my horse I fell And at the end of seven years she pays a tithe to Hell I so fair and full of flesh and feared it be myself But tonight is Hallowe'en and the faerie folk ride Those that would their true love win at Miles Cross they must bide First let past the horses black and then let past the brown Quickly run to the white steed and pull the rider down For I'll ride on the white steed, the nearest to the town For I was an earthly knight, they give me that renown Oh, they will turn me in your arms to a newt or a snake But hold me tight and fear not, I am your baby's father And they will turn me in your arms into a lion bold But hold me tight and fear not and you will love your child And they will turn me in your arms into a naked knight But cloak me in your mantle and keep me out of sight" In the middle of the night she heard the bridle ring She heeded what he did say and young Tam Lin did win Then up spoke the Faerie Queen, an angry queen was she Woe betide her ill-fard face, an ill death may she die "Oh, had I known, Tam Lin," she said, "what this night I did see I'd have looked him in the eyes and turned him to a tree? Read more: Fairport Convention - Tam Lin Lyrics | MetroLyrics Comment Form is loading comments...
|
John Fitz
balladmonger 1. noun: a seller of ballads, esp on broadsheets. 2. Noun: a writer of mediocre poetry. History & SynopsisMost variants begin with the warning that Tam Lin collects either a possession or the virginity of any maiden who passes through the forest of Carterhaugh. When a young girl, usually called Janet or Margaret, goes to Carterhaugh and plucks a double rose, Tam appears and asks why she has come without his leave and taken what is his. She states that she owns Carterhaugh, because her father has given it to her.
In most variants, Janet then goes home and discovers that she is pregnant; some variants pick up the story at this point. When taxed about her condition, she declares that her baby's father is an elf whom she will not forsake. In some variants, she is informed of a herb that will induce abortion; in all the variants, when she returns to Carterhaugh and picks a plant, either the same roses as on her earlier visit or the herb, Tam reappears and challenges her action. She asks him whether he was ever human, either after that reappearance, or in some variants, immediately after their first meeting resulted in her pregnancy. He reveals that he was a mortal man, who, after falling from his horse, was rescued and captured by the Queen of Fairies. Every seven years, the fairies give one of their people as a teind (tithe) to Hell and Tam fears he will become the tithe that night, which is Hallowe'en. He is to ride as part of a company of knights, and Janet will recognise him by the white horse upon which he rides and by other signs. He warns her that the fairies will attempt to make her drop him by turning him into all manner of beasts (see Proteus), but that he will do her no harm. When he is finally turned into a burning coal, she is to throw him into a well, whereupon he will reappear as a naked man and she must hide him. Janet does as she is asked and wins her knight. The Queen of Fairies is angry but acknowledges defeat. In different variations, Tam Lin is reportedly the grandson of the Laird of Roxburgh, the Laird of Foulis, the Earl of Forbes, or the Earl of Murray. His name also varies between versions (Tam Lin being the most common) as Tom Line, Tomlin, Young Tambling, and Tam-a-line. Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tam_Lin |