“The tear blindit his ee” – The story of “Sir Patrick Spens”
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“Sir Patrick Spens”
The King sits in Dunferline toun,
Drinkin the blude-reid wine
‘O whaur will A get a skeely skipper
Tae sail this new ship o mine?’
Window from Abbot’s House, Dunfermline.
O up and spak an eldern knight,
Sat at the king’s richt knee;
‘Sir Patrick Spens is the best sailor
That ever sailt the sea.’
Our king has written a braid letter
And sealed it wi his hand,
And sent it to Sir Patrick Spens,
Wis walkin on the strand.
‘Tae Noroway, to Noroway,
Tae Noroway ower the faem;
The King’s dauchter o Noroway,
Tis thou maun bring her hame.’
The first word that Sir Patrick read
Sae loud, loud laucht he;
The neist word that Sir Patrick read
The tear blindit his ee.
‘O wha is this has duin this deed
An tauld the king o me,
Tae send us out, at this time o year,
Tae sail abuin the sea?
‘Be it wind, be it weet, be it hail, be it sleet,
Our ship maun sail the faem;
The King’s dauchter o Noroway,
Tis we maun fetch her hame.’
They hoystit their sails on Monenday morn,
Wi aw the speed they may;
They hae landit in Noroway
Upon a Wodensday.
‘Mak ready, mak ready, my merry men aw!
Our gude ship sails the morn.’
‘Nou eer alack, ma maister dear,
I fear a deadly storm.’
‘A saw the new muin late yestreen
Wi the auld muin in her airm
And gif we gang tae sea, maister,
A fear we’ll cam tae hairm.’
They hadnae sailt a league, a league,
A league but barely three,
When the lift grew dark, an the wind blew loud
An gurly grew the sea.
The ankers brak, an the topmaist lap,
It was sic a deadly storm.
An the waves cam ower the broken ship
Til aw her sides were torn.
‘Go fetch a web o silken claith,
Anither o the twine,
An wap them into our ship’s side,
An let nae the sea cam in.’
They fetcht a web o the silken claith,
Anither O the twine,
An they wapp’d them roun that gude ship’s side,
But still the sea cam in.
O laith, laith were our gude Scots lords
Tae weet their cork-heelt shuin;
But lang or aw the play wis playd
They wat their hats abuin.
And mony wis the feather bed
That flattert on the faem;
And mony wis the gude lord’s son
That never mair cam hame.
O lang, lang may the ladies sit,
Wi their fans intae their hand,
Afore they see Sir Patrick Spens
Come sailin tae the strand!
And lang, lang may the maidens sit
Wi their gowd kames in their hair,
A-waitin for their ane dear loes!
For them they’ll see nae mair.
Half-ower, half-ower to Aberdour,
Tis fifty fathoms deep;
An there lies gude Sir Patrick Spens,
Wi the Scots lords at his feet!
As with other ballads, the versions change and adapt. You will not find just one “true” version. This ballad belonged to the oral tradition for centuries. In this version, we begin with the king sitting in Dunfermline. Dunfermline had a strong connection with the monarchs of Scotland. Dunfermline Abbey’s origins date back to the time of King Malcolm III, the successor to Macbeth and it remained an important royal place until 1603 when King James VI became James I of England. The ill-fated King Charles I, the last monarch to be born in Scotland, had been born in Dunfermline in 1600.
Dunfermline Abbey