# Bonnie baby Livingstone/Bonnie baby Livingstone

Dated from internal and external evidence.
BONNIE BABY LIVINGSTONE.
O bonnie Baby Livingstone Gaed out to view the hay;
And by it cam’ him Glenlyon, Staw bonnie Baby away.
And first he’s ta’en her silken coat, And neist her satten gown;
Syne row’d her in his tartan plaid, And happ’d her round and roun’.
He’s mounted her upon a steed, And roundly rade away;
And ne’er loot her look back again The lee-lang simmer day.
He’s carried her o’er yon hich hich hill, Intil a Highland glen,
And there he met his brother John Wi’ twenty armed men.
And there were cows, and there were ewes, And there were kids sae fair;
But sad and wae was bonnie Baby; Her heart was fu’ o’ care.
​He’s ta’en her in his arms twa, And kist her cheek and chin;
“I wad gi’e a’ my flocks and herds Ae smille frae thee to win!”
“A smile frae me ye’se never win; I’ll ne’er look kind on thee;
Ye’ve stown me awa’ frae a’ my kin’, Frae a’ that’s dear to me.
“Dundee, kind sir, Dundee, kind sir, Tak’ me to bonnie Dundee; For ye sail ne’er my favour win Till it ance mair I see.”
“Dundee, Baby! Dundee, Baby! Dundee ye ne’er shall see; But I will carry you to Glenlyon, Where you my bride shall be.
“Or will you stay at Auchingour, And eat sweet milk and cheese; Or gang wi’ me to Glenlyon, And there we’ll live at our ease?”
“I winna stay at Auchingour; I care neither for milk nor cheese; Nor gang wi’ thee to Glenlyon; For there I’ll ne’er find ease?”
Then out it spak’ his brother John,— “If I were in your place, I’d send that lady hame again, For a’ her bonnie face.
​“Commend me to the lass that’s kind, Though nae sae gently born; And, gin her heart I couldna win, To tako her hand I’d seorn.”
“O hand your tongue, my brother John, Ye wisna what ye say; For I ha’e lued that bonnie faee This mony a year and day.
“I’ve lued her lang, and lued her weel, But her love I ne’er could win; And what I eanna fairly gain. To steal I think nae sin.”
Whan they cam’ to Glenlyon castle, They lighted at the yett; And out they eam’, his three sisters, Their brother for to greet.
And they have ta’en her, bonnie Baby, And led her o’er the green; And ilka lady spak’ a word, But bonnie Baby spak’ nane.
Then out it spak’ her, bonnie Jane, The youngest o’ the three: “O lady, why look ye sae sad? Come tell your grief to me.”
“O wharefore should I tell my grief, Since lax I eanna find? I’m far frae a’ my kin and friends, And my love I left behind.
​“But had I paper, pen, and ink, Afore that it were day,
I yet might get a letter wrate, And sent to Johnnie Hay.
“And gin I had a bonuie boy, To help me in my need,
That he might rin to bonnie Dundee, Aud come again wi’ speed.”
And they ha’e gotten a bonnie boy, Their errand for to gang;
And bade him run to bonuie Dundee, And nae to tarry lang.
The boy he ran o’er muir and dale As fast as he could flee;
And e’er the sun was twa hours hight, The boy was at Dundee.
Whan Johnnie lookit the letter ou, A hearty laugh leuch he;
But ere he read it till an end, The tear blinded his e’e.
“O wha is this, or what is that, Has stown my love frae me?
Although he were my ae brither, An ill deed sall he dee.
“Gae, saddle to me the black,” he says: “Gae, saddle to me the brown;
Gae, saddle to mo the swiftest steed, That ever rade frae the town.”
​He’s called upon his merry men a’, To follow him to the glen;
And he’s vow’d he’d neither eat nor sleep Till he got his love again.
He’s mounted him on a milk-white steed, And fast he rade away;
And he’s come to Glenlyon’s yett, About the close o’ day.
As Baby at her window stood, Aud the west-wind saft did blaw,
She heard her Johnnie’s well kent voice Aneath the castlo wa'.
“O Baby, haste, the window loup; I’ll kep you in my arm;
My merry men are at the yett To rescue you frae harm.”
She to the window fix’d her sheets, And slipped safely down;
And Johnnie catch’d her in his arms, Ne’er loot her touch the groun’.
Glenlyon and his brother John Were birling in the ha’,
When they heard Johnnie’s bridle ring As fast he rade awa’.
“Rise Jock; gang out and meet the priest, I hear his bridle ring;
My Baby now shall be my wife, Before the laverock sing.”
​“O brither, this is nae the priest; I fear he’ll come o’er late; For armed men wi’ shining brands Stand at the castle yett.”
“Hasten Donald, Duncan, Dugald, Hugh, Haste, tak’ your sword and spear; We’ll gar these traytors rue the bour; That e’er they ventured here.”
The Highlandmen drew their claymores, And ga’e a warlike shout; But Johnnie’s merry men kept the yett, Nae ane durst venture out.
The lovers rade the lee-lang night, And safe got on their way; And bonnie Baby Livingstone Has gotten Johnnie Hay.
“Awa’ Glenlyon! fy for shamo! Gae hide you in some den; You’ve latten your bride be stown frae you, For a’ your armed men.”
This work was published before January 1, 1929, and is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago.
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