The Scottish Minstrel (4th Series, 1850, Glasgow)/Bessie Bell and Mary Gray

by Allan Ramsay

For other versions of this work, see Bessie Bell and Mary Gray.

BESSIE BELL AND MARY GRAY.

Words by Allan Ramsay. Tune,—"Bessie Bell and Mary Gray"

O, Bessie Bell and Mary Gray,
They were twa bonnie lasses;
They biggit a bow'r on yon burn-brae
And theckit it owre wi' rashes.
Bessie Bell I lo'ed yestreen,
And thocht I ne'er could alter;
But Mary Gray's twa pawky een
Gar'd a' my fancy falter.

Bessie's hair's like a lint-tap,
She smiles like a May mornin',
When Phœbus starts frae Thetis' lap,
The hills with rays adornin';
White is her neck, saft is her hand,
Her waist and feet fu' genty,
With ilka grace she can command:
Her lips, O, wow! they're denty.

Mary's locks are like the craw,
Her een, like diamonds, glances:
She's aye sae clean, redd-up, and braw,
She kills whene'er the dances.
Blithe as a kid wi' wit at will,
She blooming, tight, and tall is,
And guides her airs sae gracefu' still;
o, Jove, she's like thy pallas!

Young Bessie Bell and Mary Gray,
Ye unco sair oppress us;
Our fancies jee between ye twa,
Ye are sic bonnie lasses.
Wae's me! for baith I canna get;
To ane by law we're stentit;
Then I'll draw cuts, and tak' my fate,
And be wi' ane contentit.