Ballad of North Berwick

Piece from small collection of Scottish witch poetry I'm developing for my masters degree.

“O hear ye laymen, gather round,”
North Berwick’s bellman cries.
“A band of witches plague this town,
Come see with your own eyes.’

In Auld Kirk Green they hold their meet,
Fires blazing all night long
The steady thump of their drum beat
Is heard from dusk till dawn.

From Auld Kirk Green you’ll hear them scream,
Foul songs and ballads sung,
Ring out the devil’s dreadful schemes
which roll right off their tongues.

Way down in Auld Kirk Green they dance
With satan hand in hand
Upon the hallowed ground they prance
With he who plagues the land

In Auld Kirk Green their potions brew
To poison our fair town.
They curse and cull our livestock too,
They even struck the crown.

Beware, my men, for sin is rife,"
North Berwick’s bellman warns,
"You know not whose own child or wife
May hide their devil horns.

Away we’ll down to Auld Kirk Green
And teach them all a lesson.
I hear King James himself is keen
To bring his own procession."