Mythology & Folklore

Bessie Bell and Mary Gray

by Anonymous (English and Scottish Ballads) traditional; texts recorded c. 15th–18th century

From The Oxford Book of Ballads (1910)

Mythology & Folklore

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.

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.

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

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.

MLA

Anonymous (English and Scottish Ballads). “Bessie Bell and Mary Gray.” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/anonymous-english-scottish-ballads/170/.

Chicago

Anonymous (English and Scottish Ballads). “Bessie Bell and Mary Gray.” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/anonymous-english-scottish-ballads/170/.

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