Kinmont Willie

Child#186
Tune: Bold Archer
From an actual jailbreak of April 13, 1596. Sir Walter Scott collected and rewrote this. I've reworked his version, condensing 46 verses to 33. It's a prototype of the Hollywood Western, complete with the bad guy getting his, to our expected delight, and some prime male bonding.

"Haribee" was Carlisle's place of execution; Willie Armstrong, of Kinmont, a notorious thief. The term "outlaw" used to indicate a criminal who was no longer under the protection of the state. You could murder such a person without legal consequences. The same did not apply to in-laws.