176. Bessie Bell and Mary Gray

I

O Bessie Bell and Mary Gray,
They war twa bonnie lasses;
They biggit a bower on yon burn-brae,
And theekit it o’er wi’ rashes.

II

They theekit it o’er wi’ rashes green,
They theekit it o’er wi’ heather;
But the pest cam frae the burrows-town,
And slew them baith thegither.

III

They thought to lye in Methven kirkyard,
Amang their noble kin;
But they maun lye in Stronach haugh,
To biek forenent the sin.

IV

And Bessie Bell and Mary Gray,
They war twa bonnie lasses;
They biggit a bower on yon burn-brae,
And theekit it o’er wi’ rashes.