Last night there were four Marys,
This night there'll be but three.
There were Mary Beaton and Mary Seaton,
And Mary Carmichael and me.
Oh, often have I dressed my queen,
And put gold upon her hair.
And all the thanks that I've got this night,
Is the gallows to be my share.
Last night I dressed queen Mary,
And put on her braw silk gown.
And all the reward that I've got this night,
To be hanged in Edinburgh Town.
They'll tie a kerchief round my eyes,
They'll no let me see to die.
And they'll never tell my father or mother
But that I'm away over the sea.
Oh, little did my mother think
The day she cradled me,
The land I was to travel in
Or the death I was to die.
I charge ye, all ye sailors,
As you sail o'er the foam,
That ye neither tell my father or mother
But that I'm a-coming home.
Last night there were four Marys,
This night there'll be but three.
There were Mary Beaton and Mary Seaton,
And Mary Carmichael and me.