Tam Lin
James Herbert MacNair
O I FORBID you, maidens a’,
That wear gowd on your hair,
To come or gae by Carterhaugh,
For young Tam Lin is there.There’s nane that gaes by Carterhaugh
But they leave him a wad,
Either their rings, or green mantles,
Or else their maidenhead.Janet has kilted her green kirtle
A little aboon her knee,
And she has broded her yellow hair
A little aboon her bree,
And she’s awa to Carterhaugh,
As fast as she can hie.When she came to Carterhaugh
Tam Lin was at the well,
And there she fand his steed standing,
But away was himself….
The ballad of Tam Lin, a mortal man stolen away by the queen of the fairies to live in the green under hill is old as old. There are many versions of the story and even of his name: Tamlane, Tamlain, Tam Lin, Tombline. But the central features of the story are quite consistent.
Janet or Margaret or Jenny, dressed in green, meets the mysterious Tam Lin in the woods, where she is picking a flower, and later finds that she is pregnant by him. He tells her that he is about to be sacrificed by the fairies but if she intercepts the fairy troop on Halloween, he will be set free.
He asks her to grab him as the fairies pass by and hold him tight as he transforms into all manner of dangerous things — a bear, a wolf, a burning coal. If she holds on, he will be free to be the father of her baby.
When brave Janet succeeds, the fairy queen is furious with her.
Not only does this take place on Scorpio’s festival, it is a tale of transformation and bravery, also the province of Scorpio. To celebrate Venus, the lady in the green mantle, in Scorpio, I give you the rest of the ballad and if you can’t be bothered to read the whole thing, a beautiful version sung by Anais Mitchell and Jefferson Hamer.
Notice how Venus is transformed into a hero when she ventures into the world of Scorpio. In this story, the princess rescues the prince.
She had na pu’d a double rose,
A rose but only twa,
Till up then started young Tam Lin,
Says, Lady, thou’s pu nae mae.Why pu’s thou the rose, Janet,
And why breaks thou the wand?
Or why comes thou to Carterhaugh
Withoutten my command?This great fantasy novel is based on the tale of Tam Lin.
Carterhaugh, it is my ain,
My daddie gave it me;
I’ll come and gang by Carterhaugh,
And ask nae leave at thee.’Janet has kilted her green kirtle
A little aboon her knee,
And she has snooded her yellow hair
A little aboon her bree,
And she is to her father’s ha,
As fast as she can hie.Four and twenty ladies fair
Were playing at the ba,
And out then cam the fair Janet,
Ance the flower amang them a’.Four and twenty ladies fair
Were playing at the chess,
And out then cam the fair Janet,
As green as onie glass.Out then spak an auld grey knight,
Lay oer the castle wa,
And says, Alas, fair Janet, for thee
But we’ll be blamed a’.Haud your tongue, ye auld fac’d knight,
Some ill death may ye die!
Father my bairn on whom I will,
I’ll father nane on thee.’Out then spak her father dear,
And he spak meek and mild;
‘And ever alas, sweet Janet,’ he says,
‘I think thou gaes wi child.’‘If that I gae wi child, father,
Mysel maun bear the blame;
There’s neer a laird about your ha
Shall get the bairn’s name.‘If my love were an earthly knight,
As he’s an elfin grey,
I wad na gie my ain true-love
For nae lord that ye hae.‘The steed that my true-love rides on
Is lighter than the wind;
Wi siller he is shod before,
Wi burning gowd behind.’Janet has kilted her green kirtle
A little aboon her knee,
And she has snooded her yellow hair
A little aboon her bree,
And she’s awa to Carterhaugh,
As fast as she can hie.Ian McShane and Stephanie Beacham (Tom and Janet) in The Devil’s Widow.
When she cam to Carterhaugh,
Tam Lin was at the well,
And there she fand his steed standing,
But away was himsel.She has na pu’d a double rose,
A rose but only twa,
Till up then started young Tam Lin,
Says Lady, thou pu’s nae mae.Why pu’s thou the rose, Janet,
Amang the groves sae green,
And a’ to kill the bonie babe
That we gat us between?‘O tell me, tell me, Tam Lin,’ she says,
‘For’s sake that died on tree,
If eer ye was in holy chapel,
Or chirstendom did see?’‘Roxbrugh he was my grandfather,
Took me with him to bide,
And ance it fell upon a day
That wae did me betide.‘And ance it fell upon a day,
A cauld day and a snell,
When we were frae the hunting come,
That frae my horse I fell;
The Queen o Fairies she caught me,
In yon green hill to dwell.‘And pleasant is the fairy land,
But, an eerie tale to tell,
Ay at the end of seven years
We pay a tiend to hell;
I am sae fair and fu o flesh,
I’m feard it be mysel.‘But the night is Halloween, lady,
The morn is Hallowday;
Then win me, win me, an ye will,
For weel I wat ye may.‘Just at the mirk and midnight hour
The fairy folk will ride,
And they that wad their true-love win,
At Miles Cross they maun bide.’‘But how shall I thee ken, Tam Lin,
Or how my true-love know,
Amang sae mony unco knights
The like I never saw?’‘O first let pass the black, lady,
And syne let pass the brown,
But quickly run to the milk-white steed,
Pu ye his rider down.‘For I’ll ride on the milk-white steed,
And ay nearest the town;
Because I was an earthly knight
They gie me that renown.‘My right hand will be glovd, lady,
My left hand will be bare,
Cockt up shall my bonnet be,
And kaimd down shall my hair,
And thae’s the takens I gie thee,
Nae doubt I will be there.‘They’ll turn me in your arms, lady,
Into an esk and adder;
But hold me fast, and fear me not,
I am your bairn’s father.‘They’ll turn me to a bear sae grim,
And then a lion bold;
But hold me fast, and fear me not,
As ye shall love your child.‘Again they’ll turn me in your arms
To a red het gaud of airn;
But hold me fast, and fear me not,
I’ll do to you nae harm.‘And last they’ll turn me in your arms
Into the burning gleed;
Then throw me into well water,
O throw me in wi speed.In some versions, the heroine has to cast Tam Lin in the shape of a flaming sword into a well from which he emerges naked and free. How about that symbolism!
‘And then I’ll be your ain true-love,
I’ll turn a naked knight;
Then cover me wi your green mantle,
And cover me out o sight.’Gloomy, gloomy was the night,
And eerie was the way,
As fair Jenny in her green mantle
To Miles Cross she did gae.About the middle o the night
She heard the bridles ring;
This lady was as glad at that
As any earthly thing.First she let the black pass by,
And syne she let the brown;
But quickly she ran to the milk-white steed,
And pu’d the rider down.Sae weel she minded whae he did say,
And young Tam Lin did win;
Syne coverd him wi her green mantle,
As blythe’s a bird in spring.Out then spak the Queen o Fairies,
Out of a bush o broom:
‘Them that has gotten young Tam Lin
Has gotten a stately groom.’Out then spak the Queen o Fairies,
And an angry woman was she:
‘Shame betide her ill-far’d face,
And an ill death may she die,
For she’s taen awa the boniest knight
In a’ my companie.‘But had I kend, Tam Lin,’ she says,
‘What now this night I see,
I wad hae taen out thy twa grey een,
And put in twa een o tree.’
Oh Christina, thank you for this … And especially for the hauntingly lovely sung version …
Thought about doing Fairport Convention one but like this so much.
What a wonderful coincidence that you posted this about Tam Lin. Just last week I read a short novella by Kathleen McGowan about this folktale, and they say: I drank the Kool Aid. I love the symbolism, and for me how it links up to Beauty and the Beast.
Yes – not only the transformations but picking the roses…
Yes the roses, that was the dead give away. Inspired by the story I wrote a post about this folktale and how it can be related to the Taurus Full Moon today. I love what you say about it and Venus in Scorpio.
Reading your post was like receiving a little nudge from the universe for me. 🙂
Thank you! So beautiful….<3
[…] there’s no reason to think that only men can play this role. Venus in Scorpio is an action heroine […]