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O where hae ye been, Lord Ronald, my son? O where hae ye been, Lord Ronald, my son? I hae been wi' my sweetheart, mother, make my bed soon; For I'm weary wi' the hunting, and fain wad lie down. What got ye frae your sweetheart, Lord Ronald, my son? What got ye frae your sweetheart, Lord Ronald, my son? I hae got deadly poison, mother, make my bed soon; For life is a burden that soon I'll lay down.
This is a poem by Robert Burns. It is read here by Annette Crosbie.
Pauline MackayBurns prepared 'Lord Ronald my son' for publication in James Johnson's Scots Musical Museum where it appeared in 1792.
These verses are taken from the popular ballad 'Lord Randall', a tale of romance and betrayal in which a young gentleman is poisoned by his sweetheart and imparts his dying wishes to his mother.
Burns's variant represents one of many different versions of this tale.
In this eerie ballad, the hunting season sees the hunter laid low.
Donny O'Rourke
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