"Mary Hamilton" or "The Fower Maries" ("The Four
Marys") are common names for a well-known
sixteenth-century ballad from Scotland based on an
apparently fictional incident about a lady-in-waiting
to a Queen of Scotland or, possibly, to Catherine I of
Russia.
In all versions of the song, Mary Hamilton is a
personal attendant to the Queen of Scots, but precisely
which queen is not specified. She becomes pregnant by
the Queen's husband, the King of Scots, which results
in the birth of a b...(+)
"Mary Hamilton" or "The Fower Maries" ("The Four
Marys") are common names for a well-known
sixteenth-century ballad from Scotland based on an
apparently fictional incident about a lady-in-waiting
to a Queen of Scotland or, possibly, to Catherine I of
Russia.
In all versions of the song, Mary Hamilton is a
personal attendant to the Queen of Scots, but precisely
which queen is not specified. She becomes pregnant by
the Queen's husband, the King of Scots, which results
in the birth of a baby. Mary kills the infant – in
some versions by casting it out to sea or drowning, and
in others by exposure. The crime is seen and she is
convicted. The ballad recounts Mary's thoughts about
her life and her impending death in a first-person
narrative.
I created this arrangement for Concert (Pedal) Harp
SHEET MUSIC