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The Dowie Dens o' Yarrow 
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The Dowie Dens o' Yarrow 
There lived a lady in the West, Some said she had no marrow She was courtcd by nine gentlemen And a plowman lad in Yarrow. 
Late at e'en and drinking wine As oft they'd done before-o They made up a plot themsells amang To fight for her in Yarrow. 
"Oh bide at hame my true love John Oh bide at hame my marrow. For my cruel brother will thee betray In the dowie dens o' Yarrow." 
As he gaed up yon lang lang bog He gaed wi dool and sorrow He spied ten men all watering their steeds In the dowie dens o' Yarrow. 
Oh, are ye come to sell your land
 Come here to beg or borrow Or are ye come to wield your brand In the dowie dens o' Yarrow. 
I'm neither come to sell my land
 Come here to beg or borrow But I am come to wield my brand In the dowie dens o' Yarrow. 
Oh three he slew and three he drew
 And three he did lay low When her brother John came by a bush And ran his body thro'. 
O lady hie thee to yon glen Hi thee wi dool and sorrow For your true love Tohn lies dead and gone 
 In the dowie dens o' Yarrow. 
Oh sister sister make my bed Oh make it long and narrow For my true love died for me yestreen I'll die for him the morrow. 
Child #214 From Singing Tradition of Child's Popular Ballads, Bronson Collected from John Potts, Peebleshire, 1907 Note: tune is, essentially, How Can I Keep From Singing. RG