In order to preserve the historical integrity of the ballads in this section they are presented in their original dialects, which span a broad range. These ballads have been passed down through the centuries from many different regions of Great Britain before appearing in print. A synopsis of each ballad, in modern American English, is provided to aid in ease of comprehension of the dialects.
Doon by Stirling Brig,
The Wallace lay in hiding,
As the English host,
Fae the south came riding,
Loud the River Forth,
'Tween them baith was roaring,
Rumbling at its sides,
O'er the Brig o' Stirling.
Watching from the the woods,
The Wallace and the Moray,
As the English came,
With the Earl o' Surrey,
Ain by ain they crossed,
Oh the bridge was rumbling,
As they onward came,
O'er the Brig o' Stirling.
The Wallace gave a shout,
Out his men came running,
Stubbed the English host,
At the Brig o' Stirling,
Cressingham turned round,
The bridge was small and turning,
Moray cut him down,
On the Brig o' Stirling.
All the English men,
Ran into each other,
Nane could turn about,
Nane could go much further,
Some fell o'er the side,
In the Forth were drowning,
Some were left to die,
On the Brig o' Stirling.
Surrey he was wild,
Couldnae ford the river,
Wished wi' all his might,
That the brig was bigger,
Then he rode awa',
Loud the man was cursing,
He'd lost all his men,
And the Brig o' Stirling.
Scottish folk duo The Corries recorded a version of this ballad on their 1990 release Flower of Scotland. Audio and video clips of The Corries are available at The Official Corries Site.
The Child Ballads are 305 traditional ballads from England and Scotland, and their American variants, anthologized by Francis James Child during the second half of the 19th century. ... Read more at Wikipedia.
Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of the British Isles from the later medieval period until the 19th century. ... Read more at Wikipedia.