I can't remember where I heard the first "Kirsteen," but it struck me with its simplicity, and how thoroughly it covered the lady's life - from the high Spring-tides to the end of it. The second one is sadder, and I thought it was Irish by its gentle way of introducing such news, but Norman Kennedy told me it was Scottish. I heard it at Annie Muir's house and may have misremembered som@ of the words, but it will do for me.
I) Who will walk with thee, Kirsteen,
By the shining sea, Kirsteen,
O'er the fragrant lea?
Who'll be by thy side, Kirsteen,
At the high Spring-tide, Kirsteen,
Walking with his bride?
And when thou grown frail, Kirsteen,
Winds do bring the veil, Kirsteen.
Who longs with thee to sail?
II) Soft be thy pathway and light be thy stepping,
Sweet be the song on thy lips, Christinn.
Lone on the hillside, thy lover is lying,
And pale ~s the hue of his cheek, Christinn.
The bird in the woodland, the trout in the river,
The deer on the hillside are fair,. Chris tinn,
But he who was fairer lies low in the bracken;
He's emptied his heart of his cares, Christinn.
Bright blow the flowers by clear, winding cutty,
Like bonnie white clouds in the blue, Christinn,
But their glory at noontide is darkened with mourning
For joys that can never return, Christinn.
- repeat first verse of I