THE CARLE OF KELLYBURN BRAES.

Tune-" Kellyburn Braes,"

I.

THERE lived a carle on Kellyburn braes,

(Hey, and the rue grows bonnie wi' thyme), And he had a wife was the plague o' his days; And the thyme it is wither'd, and rue is in prime.

II.

Ae day as the carle gaed up the lang glen,

(Hey, and the rue grows bonnie wi' thyme), He met wi' the devil; says, "How do yow fen?" And the thyme it is wither'd, and rue is in prime.

III.

"I've got a bad wife, sir; that's a' my complaint; (Hey, and the rue grows bonnie wi' thyme), For, saving your presence, to her ye're a saint; And the thyme it is wither'd, and rue is in prime."

IV.

"It's neither your stot nor your staig I shall crave, (Hey, and the rue grows bonnie wi' thyme),

But gie me your wife, man, for her I must have, And the thyme it is wither'd, and rue is in prime."

V.

"O welcome, most kindly," the blythe carle said,

(Hey, and the rue grows bonnie wi' thyme), "But if ye can match her, ye're waur nor ye're ca'd, And the thyme it is wither'd, and rue is in prime."

VI.

The devil has got the auld wife on his back;

(Hey, and the rue grows bonnie wi' thyme), And, like a poor pedlar, he's carried his pack; And the thyme it is wither'd, and rue is in prime.

VII.

He's carried her hame to his ain hallan-door;

(Hey, and the rue grows bonnie wi' thyme), Syne bade her gae in, for a b―h and a w—e, And the thyme it is wither'd, and rue is in prime.

VIII.

Then straight he makes fifty, the pick o' his band, (Hey, and the rue grows bonnie wi' thyme),

Turn out on her guard in the clap of a hand;
And the thyme it is wither'd, and rue is in prime.

IX.

The carlin gaed thro' them like ony wud bear,

(Hey, and the rue grows bonnie wi' thyme), Whae'er she gat hands on came near her nae mair;

And the thyme it is wither'd, and rue is in prime.

X.

A reekit wee devil looks over the wa';

(Hey, and the rue grows bonnie wi' thyme), "O, help, master, help, or she'll ruin us a', And the thyme it is wither'd, and rue is in prime."

XI.

The devil he swore by the edge o' his knife,
(Hey, and the rue grows bonnie wi' thyme),
He pitied the man that was tied to a wife;
And the thyme it is wither'd, and rue is in prime.

XII.

The devil he swore by the kirk and the bell,

(Hey, and the rue grows bonnie wi' thyme), He was not in wedlock, thank heav'n, but in hell; And the thyme it is wither'd, and rue is in prime.

XIII.

Then Satan has travelled again wi' his pack;

(Hey, and the rue grows bonnie wi' thyme), And to her auld husband he's carried her back; And the thyme it is wither'd, and rue is in prime.

XIV.

"I hae been a devil the feck o' my life;

(Hey, and the rue grows bonnie wi' thyme),

But ne'er was in hell, till I met wi' a wife;

And the thyme it is wither'd, and rue is in prime."

When Cromek desired Mrs. Burns to inform him respecting the songs which her husband had eked out or amended in the Museum, she ran her finger, he said, along the pages saying, "Robert gae this ane a brushing; and this ane gat a brushing also." But when she came to the "Carle of Kellyburn Braes," she exclaimed, “He gae this ane a terrible brushing." The skeleton, so to speak, of the song is old: but, like a crab-stock, it has been compelled to bear a richer fruit than pertains to its original nature. The emendations and additions by Burns are numerous; the eleventh and twelfth verses are wholly his; entire lines, half-lines, and sometimes a line and a half are from his pen, the discovery of which may be left to the sagacity of the reader.

Other versifiers have tried their hands on the subject, and the result is sundry additional verses wearing the hue and impressed with the character of the old strain. Satan carries the carlin to his "lowing heugh :"

"He clinkit her down in his mickle arm-chair,

(Hey! and the rue grows bonnie wi' thyme),
And thousands o' devils come round her to stare;
And the thyme it is wither'd, and rue is in prime.
"But ay as they at the auld carlin played pouk,
(Hey! and the rue grows bonnie wi' thyme),
She gied them a ban and she lent them a clout;
And the thyme it is wither'd, and rue is in prime."

The stir which she makes excites something like a civil war in hell; and the devil, afraid of the stability of his empire, seizes the carlin, and carrying her suddenly to upper air, finds her husband at the plough, cheering himself with a song:

"And aye as the auld carle ranted and sang,

(Hey! and the rue grows bonnie wi' thyme),

In troth, my auld Spunkie, ye'll no keep her lang;
And the thyme it is wither'd, and rue is in prime."

On observing Satan advancing, the poor man looked

sad, and hoped he was not bringing her back: Cloots makes answer :

"I tried her in spunks, and in cauldrons I tried her,
(Hey! and the rue grows bonnie wi' thyme),
The wale of my brimstone wadna hae fried her;
And the thyme it is wither'd, and rue is in prime.

"I stapped her into the neuk o' my den,

(Hey! and the rue grows bonnie wi' thyme),

But the very damned ran when the carlin gaed ben;

And the thyme it is wither'd, and rue is in prime."

The old minstrel seems to have been related to the west-country mason, who, troubled somewhat with the inquiries of a priest respecting his marches and countermarches in life, told him the following sarcastic story

Aince, when I was in Galloway, I came to a lonely wood;-night fell on me, and a lang burly black man came up and said, 'John, ye are seeking wark ? come wi' me, and I'll gie a job at setting cauldrons.' So he took me into a darksome place. But wha are ye?' quo' I.-'Oh, we're the Deil ye ken,' quo' he.-' Fien' may care,' quo' I, where's the cauldrons?'—' There,' quo' he, 'sae set to wark.'-' Wark!' quo' I, ‘I canna see a styme.' The Deil leugh a queer laugh, and pulling till him a bit tenpenny tailor, lighted him like a brimstane spunk, and said, 'There.'-'There!' quo' I,' that's but a glimmer.' The Deil leugh again, and said, ' Here comes ane that'll gie light eneugh.' And wha was this but a fat priest, The Deil just claught him up, gied him ae puff with his furnace-like mouth, and said, 'There!' Oh, had yere reverence but seen him! he leamed and lowed furiously!"