C F
Willie stands in his stable door
C G7 C
And he's combing his coal black steed
F
And he's thinking of fair Margaret's love
C G7 C
And his heart began to bleed
C F
"Mother, fetch my hat and coat
C G7
Help me tie them on
C F
I'll away to fair Margaret's bower
C G7 C
Before the night comes on"
C F
"Stay at home with me, dear Willie
C G7 C
Tonight there comes a storm
F
I'll lay the table handsomely
C G7 C
Your bed be soft and warm"
C F
"Your tables, mother, and your beds
C G7
They cannot bring me rest
C F
I'll away to fair Margaret's bower
C G7 C
Before the night has passed"
C F
"If you go to fair Margaret's bower
C G7 C
My curse will go with thee
F
And the deepest part of the Clyde Water
C G7 C
Drowned you shall be"
C F
"The good steed that I ride upon
C G7
Cost me thrice thirty pounds
C F
I'll put my trust in his swift feet
C G7 C
To take me safe and sound"
C F
He's rode over the high, high hill
C G7 C
Down the dewy glen
F
And the rushing in the Clyde Water
C G7 C
Would have feared five hundred men
C F
"Roaring Clyde, you roar so loud
C G7
Your streams are wondrous strong
C F
Make me a wreck as I come back
C G7 C
Spare me as I'm going"
C F
And when he came to fair Margaret's gate
C G7 C
He's called to her within
F
"Rise up, rise up, maid Margaret
C G7 C
Rise up and let me in!"
C F
"Who's that stands at my garden gate
C G7
Calling maid Margaret's name?"
C F
"It's only your first love, sweet William
C G7 C
This night come to your home -
C F
Open your door, maid Margaret
C G7 C
Open and let me in
F
My boots are full of the Clyde Water
C G7 C
And I'm shivering to the skin"
C F
"My stable is full of horses, Willie
C G7
My barns are full of hay
C F
And my bowers are full of gentlemen
C G7 C
They'll not remove 'til day"
C F
"Fare thee well, maid Margaret
C G7 C
Fair thee well, adieu
C F
A curse my mother laid on me
C G7 C
For coming this night to you"
C F
He's rode over the high, high hill
C G7
Down the dewy glen
C F
And the rushing in the Clyde Water
C G7 C
Took Willie's hat from him
C F
Then he's leaned him over the saddlebow
C G7 C
To fetch his hat again
F
And the rushing in the Clyde Water
C G7 C
Took Willie's coat from him
C F
And he's leaned him over his saddlebow
C G7
To catch his coat by force
C F
And the rushing in the Clyde Water
C G7 C
Took Willie from his horse
C F
The very hour this young man sank
C G7
Down in the water deep
C F
Then up and rose maid Margaret
C G7 C
Out of her drowsy sleep
C F
"Come here, come here, my mother dear
C G7
I've dreamed a dreary dream
C F
I dreamed my lover was at our gate
C G7 C
And nobody let him in"
C F
"Lie down, lie down, maid Margaret
C G7 C
Your lover's come and gone
F
The sport you would have made with him
C G7 C
I've played it for my own"
C F
Nimbly, nimbly, rose she up
C G7
Down to the river's brim
C F
But the louder that this lady cried
C G7 C
The louder blew the wind
[Break]
C F C G7 C F C G7 C
C F
The very first step that Margaret took
C G7 C
She stepped up to her feet
F
And "Oh, and alas", this lady sighs
C G7 C
"Your water's wondrous deep"
C F
And the very next step that she went in
C G7
She's waded to her knee
C F
Says she, "I would wade farther in
C G7 C
If I my true lover could see"
C F
And the very last step that she went in
C G7 C
She stepped up to her chin
F
And the deepest part of the Clyde Water
C G7 C
She found sweet William in
C F
"You have had a cruel mother, Willie
C G7
I have had another
C F
And now we sleep in Clyde Water
C G7 C
Like sister and like brother"
