He has taken Sir Hugh the Graeme,
Led him in chains to Carlisle town,
And the lads and lasses on the walls,
Cried "Hugh the Graeme, thou'lt surely hang!"
Into the court came Lady Black,
And she knelt down upon her knee.
"Fifty white oxen, good my lord,
If ye'll let Sir Hugh the Graeme go free."
"Out upon thee, Lady Black,
And let all thy pleading be,
For were there but two Graemes of the name,
Upon my honor, both would die."
Into the court came good Lord Hume,
And oh, what a sorry man was he.
"A bag of gold, my good, Lord Scrope,
If ye'll let Sir Hugh the Graeme go free."
"Out upon thee, good Lord Hume,
And let all thy pleading be,
For were there but two Graemes of the name,
Upon my honor, both would die."
Sir Hugh the Graeme looked over his left shoulder,
Just to see who he might see,
And there he saw his old father,
And he was grieving bitterly.
"Father, father take my shield,
And take my spear,
And next that you come to the borderlands,
Remember how they used me here.
"Give my sword to Johnny Armstrong,
That's pointed with metal so fine,
And next that ye come to the borderlands,
Remember the death of Hugh the Graeme.
Sir Hugh the Graeme's condemned to die,
Though of his friends he had no lack,
And fifteen feet in the air he swung,
With his hands bound fast behind his back.
So give this to Maggie, his wife,
Next that ye're going o'er the moor.
She is the cause he lost his life,
She with the bishop played the whore.