Auld Robin Gray

Auld Robin Gray is the title of a Scots ballad written by the Scottish poet Lady Anne Lindsay in 1772.

The woman, who narrates the ballad, tells the story of being compelled by her parents' misfortune to marry Robin Gray while her lover is away.

The woman resolves to do her best to be a good wife to Robin, though she is extremely sad at the loss of her true love.

Twentieth century American composer Marjorie Rusche, among others, has also arranged “Auld Robin Gray.”[3] The poem is sung by the "lovely maniac" (88) in Mary Wollstonecraft's novel Maria (1798).

The short story "Young Robin Gray" (1894) by Bret Harte alludes to this song but revises the relationships between characters so that the Scottish heroine's virtue is redeemed.