Sir James The Rose Songtext
von Steeleye Span

Oh, have you heard Sir James de Rose
The young heir of Loch Laggen?
For he has killed the gallant squire
And his friends are out to take him
He′s gone to the House of Mar
The nurse there did befriend him
He has gone upon his knees
And begged for her to hide him

Oh, where are you going, Sir James, she said
Where now are you riding?
Oh, I am bound for a foreign land
But now I'm under hiding

Oh, where shall I go?
Where shall I run?
Where shall I go for to hide me?
For I have killed the gallant squire
And they′re seeking for to slay me


And then he turned him right and round about
And rolled him in the bracken
And he has gone to take his sleep
In the lowlands of Loch Laggen
He had not well gone out of sight
Nor was he past Millstrefn
When four and twenty belted knights
Came riding o'er the lefen

Oh, have you seen Sir James de Rose
The young heir of Loch Laggen?
For he has killed the gallant squire
And we're sent out to take him

Oh, where shall I go?
Where shall I run?
Where shall I go for to hide me?
For I have killed the gallant squire
And they′re seeking for to slay me

You′ll see the bank above the mill
In the lowlands of Loch Laggen
And there you'll find Sir James de Rose
Sleeping in the bracken
You must not wake him out of sleep
Nor yet must you affright him
Just run a dart right through his heart
And through the body pierce him


They saw the bank above the mill
In the lowlands of Loch Laggen
And there they found Sir James de Rose
Sleeping in the bracken

Oh, where shall I go?
Where shall I run?
Where shall I go for to hide me?
For I have killed the gallant squire
And they′re seeking for to slay me

Then up and spake Sir John the Graham
Who had the charge a-keeping
"It'll never be said, you gentlemen
We killed him while he′s sleeping"
They seized his broadsword and his torch
And closely him surrounded
Then when he woke out of his sleep
His senses were confounded

Oh, now they've taken out his heart
And stuck it on a spear
They took it to the House of Mar
And gave it to his dear

Oh, where shall I go?
Where shall I run?
Where shall I go for to hide me?
For I have killed the gallant squire
And they′re seeking for to slay me