Heir of Linne

The bonny head and the well fed heir
The handsome heir o' Linne
Yonder he stands at his father's gate
And nobody bids him in

See where he goes and see where he stands
The weary heir of Linne
Yonder he stands on the cold causeway
And nobody bids him in

He's sold his father's estate and land
He's sold it on a day
Within three-quarters of a year
He's not one brass penny

For he has drunk of the wine so clеar
Good company spent his gold
And now he wanders on thе shore
Hungry, wet and cold

His nurse at her window she looked out
Beholding dale and down
And there she saw this sad young man
Come walking to the town

"Come here, come here my child," she said
"And rest yourself with me
I've seen you in much better days
In jovial company"

"Give me a slice of your bread, Nursey
And a bottle of your wine
I'll pay you for it o'er again
When I'm the Lord of Linne"

"You'll get a slice of my bread, my child
And a bottle of my wine
But pay me when the seas run dry
You'll never be Lord of Linne"

Then he has turned him right about
As any mother's son
So off he has set and found his way
And straightway came to Linne

But when he came to the castle strong
They were all sat down to dine
A score of nobles there he saw
Sat drinking at the wine

Some said, "Give him the beef, the beef"
Some said, "Give him the bone"
And some said, "Give him nothing at all
But let the beggar roam"

Then up and spake the new-come lord
A saucy word spoke he
"Pass round the cup, let my rival sup
Then send him on his way"

He's turned him right and round about
As any father's son
He's reminded of a leaden key
His father left with him

His father left a meagre key
Just before he died
He bade him keep it secretly
Till he was most in need

Then forth he went, these nobles left
All drinking in the hall
And he has found a bolted door
Below the castle wall

The key has opened up the door
Wherein lies all his hope
But where he thought to find good gold
There stood a gibbet and rope

Under the rope was placed a stool
All covered o'er with dust
The father had condemned the son
His sentence it was just

The son he sighed, stood on the stool
Never a word he spoke
But as he jumped to eternity
Down the gibbet broke

It broke and cracked above his head
He landed on the floor
And round him rolling, shining bright
Was a hidden golden store

"Oft have I gone with bitter cold feet
Likewise with legs all bare
And many days walked at these gates
With sad sorrow and care"

"But now my sorrow's past and gone
Joy has all returned
Now that I have gold enough
To buy my lands again"

As he galloped back through town
He jubilantly crowed
And he's called out before them all
The nurse from out her house

"Come here, come here my nurse," he said
"I'll pay your bread and wine
Seas ebb and flow as they will
Yet, I'm the Lord of Linne"

He's gone up the Gallowgate port
In tatty hose and gown
But he was carried by fifteen lords
When he came back down