Tam Lyn
- Come all you pretty maids, and you very pretty maids
And a warning take from me
Don't go down to the Chaser's wood
If a maid you want to return and return
If a maid you want to return. - Lady Margaret, Lady Margaret, she was sitting in her bower
She was red as any rose
But she longed to go the Chaser's woods
To pull them flowers that grows and grows
Oh, to pull the flowers that grows - And she ta'en out her silver comb
Made in haste to comb her hair
Then she's away to the Chaser's wood
As fast as she could tear and could tear
ye, as fast as she could tear - And she hadn't pulled but the one red rose
The rose that grows there in the green
When a voice said, "Lady, how dare you pull a rose
Without no leave of me, and of me,
Aye, without no leave of me." - "This little wood," she says "it is me very own
Me father he given it to me.
I will pull, pluck, break, I'll bend the branch
And I won't ask leave of thee, and of thee,
no I won't ask leave of thee." - Oh, he's taken her by the middle so small
Down to where the grass it grows so green
And what they've done, well I just couldn't say
Oh, the green grass grew between and between
Aye, the green grass grew between - Aye, he's taken her by the lily-white hand
Down to where the grass it grows so green
And what they've done, well I just couldn't say
But he never once asked her leave, her leave
No he never once asked her leave. - It's four and twenty ladies, they're all sitting in the hall
Playing at the chess
All except for young Margaret
She's green as any grass, any grass,
And she's green as any grass. - Aye, there's four and twenty ladies, they're all sitting in the hall
All as red as the rose
All except for young Margaret
And pale and wan she goes, and she goes
Aye, pale and wan she goes. - Up there spake one of them little girls
And on her face there was a smile
She says, "I think my lady's loved a little long
And now she goes with child, and with child
Aye, and now she goes with child." - Up there spake another of them girls
A pretty little girl was she
She says, "I know a herb growing in the Chaser's woods
As'll twine the babe from thee, and from thee
As'll twine the babe from thee." - Lady Margaret, she picked up her silver comb
Made in haste to comb her hair
Then she's away to the Chaser's wood
As fast as she could tear, and could tear
Aye, as fast as she could tear. - And she hadn't pulled but the one bit of herb
The herb that grows there in the loam
When up there spake young Tam o' the Lyn
Saying, "Margaret, leave it alone
Oh, sweetheart, Margaret, leave it alone." - "Why do you want that bitter, bitter herb
The herb that grows so grey
Except for to twine away the pretty little baby
We got in our play, our play,
That we got in our play." - "Oh tell me this, young Tam-a-Lyn," she says
"If a mortal man you be."
"Well, I'll tell you truth without a word of a lie
I got christened as good as thee, as thee
I got christened as good as thee." - "But as I rode out on a bitter, bitter day
'Twas from me horse I fell
And the Queen of the Elvens did take me
In yonder green wood for to dwell, and to dwell
Aye, in yonder green wood for to dwell." - "And it's every seventh seventh year
We pay a toll to hell
And the last one here is the first to go.
And I fear the toll, it's meself, it's meself
Aye, I fear the toll's meself." - "Oh, tonight it is the Halloween
When the Elven Court shall ride
If you would your true lover save
By the old mill-bridge you must hide, you must hide
By the old mill bridge you must hide." - "And it's first there'll come this black horse
And it's then there'll come the brown
And they're both race by the white
You must throw your arms up around my neck
And I will not you afright, and afright
No, I will not you afright." - "And they'll change me then, and it's all in your arms
Into many's the beast sae wild
You must hold me tight, you must fear me not
I'm the father of your child,
Oh you know that I'm the father of your child." - And the woods grew dark, and the woods grew dim
Tam o' the Lyn was gone.
She picked up her lily-white feet
And to the mill-bridge run now, she run
Aye, and to the mill-bridge run. - She looked high, and she looked low
She compassed all around
But she nothing saw, she nothing heared
She heared no mortal sound, no sound
No, she heard no mortal sound. - 'Till about the dead hour of the night
She heard them bridles ring
It chilled her heart, it's given her a start
More than any mortal thing, any thing
More than any mortal thing. - Then it's first there come this black horse,
and it's then there come the brown
They both race by the white
And she's thrown her arms up 'round his neck
And he didn't her afright, and afright
No, he didn't her afright. - And the thunder roared across the sky
And the stars they burned as bright as day
And the Queen of the Elvens give a stunning cry,
Saying, "Young Tam-Lyn is away, is away
Aye, Young Tam-Lyn is away." - And they changed him then - it were all in her arms
To a lion roaring sae wild
But she held him tight and she feared him not
He was the father of her child, oh she knew he was
The father of her child. - Soon they changes him again - it were all in her arms
To a big black hissing snake
But she held him and she feared him not
He was one of God's own make, oh she knew that he
Was one of God's own make. - And they changed him again - it were all in her arms
To a big black dog to bite
But she held him tight and she feared him not
He didn't her afright, and afright
No, he didn't her afright. - So they changed him again - it were all in her arms
To a white-hot bar of iron
But she held him tight and she feared him not
He'd done to her no harm, no harm
No, he'd done to her no harm. - Then they changed him again - it were all in her arms
To a mother-naked man
And she throwed her cloak up around his shoulders,
Saying, "Tam o' the Lyn, we've won, oh, we've won,"
Saying, "Tam o' the Lyn, we've won." - Then the Queen of the Elvens, now she cursed yon Tam-a-Lyn
Oh, well she cursed him good
She said, "I should have torn out your eyes young Tam-a-Lyn
I should have put in two eyes of wood, of wood
I should have put in two eyes of wood." - "And it's curses on you, Tam-a-Lyn," she says
"You once was my very own.
And when you was, I should have torn out your heart
And put in a heart of stone, cold stone
I should have put in a heart of stone."
Thomas Rhymer (Anglicized version)
(This song is largely in the Scots language. The lyric here is adapted some to a more understandable English form)
True Thomas sat on Huntley bank,
And he beheld a lady gay;
A lady that was brisk and bold,
Come riding o'er the ferny brae.
Her skirt was of the grass green silk,
Her mantle of the velvet fine;
At every lock of her horse's mane,
Hung fifty silver bells and nine.
True Thomas, he pulled off his cap,
And bowed him low down to his knee'
"All hail, thou mighty Queen of Heaven
Your like on earth I ne'er did see."
"No, no Thomas," she said,
"That name does not belong to me,
I am the queen of fair Elfland,
And I have come to visit thee."
"You must go with me Thomas," she said,
True Thomas you must go with me;
And must serve me seven years,
Through well or woe, as chance may be."
Chorus:
Hark and come, come along with me,
Thomas the Rhymer;
Hark and come, come along with me,
Thomas the Rhymer;
Hark and come, come along with me,
Thomas the Rhymer;
Hark and come, come along with me,
Thomas the Rhymer.
She turned about her milk white steed,
And took Thomas up behind;
And aye whenever her bridle rang,
Her steed flew swifter than the wind.
For forty days and forty nights,
They rode through red blood to the knee;
And they saw neither sun nor moon,
But heard the roaring of the sea.
And they rode on and further on,
Further and swifter than the wind;
Until they came to a desert wide,
And living land was left behind.
"Don't you see yon narrow, narrow road,
So thick beset with thorns and briars?
That is the road to righteousness,
Though after it but few enquire."
"Don't you see yon broad, broad road,
Lying lies across the lily leaven?
That is the road to wickedness,
Though some call it the road to heaven."
"Don't you see yon bonnie, bonnie road,
Lying across the ferny brae?
That is the road to fair Elfland,
Where you and I this night must go."
Replies
Thanks James, this is very rich. I was wondering if you might include here a synopsis of your mother complex theory on this mythic song?
Tam Lyn and the Celtic Mother Complex
Pam, hi:
That’s a hard one for me, because I could easily write a 20 page paper on it. Even so, I’ll try to make it brief.
First of all, there is a fair amount of back story that is not provided in the text of the song. Tam Lyn (who isn’t even identified by name until verse 13) is a mythical Scottish figure who is understood to be an elf (or a little person/fairy, depending upon the thread of the tale) but is also understood (as the tale reveals) to be a human who was captured by the Fairy/Elven Queen and turned into an elf. However, on Halloween, when the veil is thin, the Elven people have to make a sacrifice to Satan (this is understood to be an old remnant of actual human sacrifice in the ancient Celtic/Druidic religions). So, Tam is afraid that he is to be the sacrifice this year (i.e. this Halloween).
Okay, so, with this in mind, the tale begins with the legend that there are Wildman/elves who live in the nearby forest (the ‘Chaser’s Wood’) who will seduce young girls (“Don't go down to the Chaser's wood if you want to remain a ‘maid’ i.e. a virgin). Lady Margaret, the little scamp, likes this idea, and combs her hair to look pretty so she can go pick flowers in the Chaser’s Wood. While there, she meets Tam O’Lyn who seduces her (“what they've done, well I just couldn't say, but he never once asked her leave…”). She becomes pregnant, and one of her girl friends suggests an herb that will abort the child. She goes to the Chaser’s Wood to pick the herb to abort the child, but Tam O’Lyn stops her (Why do you want that bitter herb… to twine away the pretty little baby that we got in our play…- verse 14).
Now, this is significant because Tam O’Lyn is under the spell of a mother complex (entranced by the Queen of the Elven). His love for Lady Margaret, however, is such that he wants to leave the mother behind (i..e. the Elven/Fairy world) and take responsibility for the child and face the responsibility of being a human man. He knows that if he does not do this, he will die, a victim of the mother complex (…every seventh year we pay a toll to hell, And the last one here is the first to go and I fear the toll, it's me-self…- verse 17). Lady Margaret thinks Tam is really an Elf, but he convinces her that he is a human and a Christian ("Oh tell me this, young Tam-a-Lyn," she says
"If a mortal man you be." Tam Lyn replies: "Well, I'll tell you truth without a word of a lie
I got christened as good as thee…” – verse 15).
Tam describes to Lady Margaret how she can help him beat the curse and escape on Halloween (verses 18-20). Lady Margaret has to hold him in her arms no matter what shape he turns into. When the Elven Queen (the great mother) finds out that he is trying to escape, she tries to make Lady Margaret drop him by turning him into a lion, and a snake, and a black dog, and a white hot piece of iron. She holds on until he finally turns into a “mother-naked man” (i.e. naked as the day he was born) which indicates that the curse is broken and he has escaped the fairy world (verses 26-30). The last two verses show the rage of the thwarted negative mother who has been beaten by the couple who are now free to start a family with their soon to be born child.
The significance of all this is that it is through the power of the love of this positive, courageous feminine figure that Tam Lyn is able to escape the negative mother complex, leave the fantasy world of the Elven folk and take responsibility for his child and start a family.
So…that’s the Reader’s Digest Condensed version!
All the best,
James
Tam Lyn and the Celtic Mother Complex.docx