Lady Daisy
traditional Scots ballad adapted by Andrew Calhoun
Also known as "Lady Dysie" or "Lady Diamond." I sing this to the tune to "Reynardine." (Child #269, Roud #112)
There was a king and a very great king,
And a king of might and fame;
He had no child in this world but one,
Lady Daisy was her name.
He had a handsome kitchen-boy,
And William was his name,
She loved him long in her bower high,
Till the grass o’ergrew the grain.
When night-birds sung and night bells rung,
And all were bound for rest;
The king came on to Lady Daisy’s bower,
Just like a wandering ghost.
He pulled the curtains round and round,
And then he sat him down;
“To whom is it, Lady Daisy,” he said
“That now you go so round?
“Is it to a lord, is it to a squire
Or a baron of high degree,
Or is it to William, my kitchen boy?
Tell now the truth to me.”
“It’s not to baron, lord nor squire,
Nor to any man so high;
But it is to William, your kitchen boy—
What cause have I to lie?”
“Oh where is all my merry merry men,
That I pay meat and fee?
That they will not kill this kitchen boy,
And bring his heart to me.”
They led young William o’er the plain,
With his eyes like crystal stone;
His hair was like the threads of gold,
His face shone like the moon.
And they’ve cut out this young man’s heart,
Put it in a cup of gold;
“Take that to Daisy,” said the king,
“For she’s impudent and bold.”
She took the cup from out of their hands
Into her own to hold;
And she’s washed his heart with tears that ran
Into the cup of gold.
“Farewell to you, my father the king!
You stole my earthly joy;
He died for me, I’ll die for him,
My bonny kitchen boy.”
“Oh where is all my merry merry men,
That I pay meat and wage,
That you would not stay my cruel hand
When I was sick with rage?
“For I have lost my heart’s delight,
And gone is all my joy/
For my dear Daisy, she is dead,
Likewise my kitchen boy.”