A Scottish Ballad Book (RLE Folklore)

David Buchan

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2015
• Print ISBN: 9781138843837
• eBook ISBN: 9781317550167
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Anthropology
• Index: Social Sciences

The popular appeal of the ballad is perennial, and few literary genres give so much pleasure to so many kinds of people. This anthology, first published in 1973, is drawn from the richest ballad tradition in Britain, that of the Northeast of Scotland. It provides a fresh and original choice of songs that ranges from the old ballads like 'Gil Brenton' and 'Willie's Lady' to the bothy ballads like 'The Tarves Rant'. The collection illustrates the development of a tradition over the centuries from the oral stage down to the modern, and exemplifies the methods of composition and transmission, the kinds of ballad-story, and the types of ballad-text found in the various stages of a ballad tradition. It illustrates the variety of subject matter, and indicates lines of relationship with other genres of Folklore Studies. A substantial section, containing what are widely acknowledged as the best of all British ballads, the oral ballads of Anna Brown, demonstrates clearly that the ballads are not merely simple or crude poems; in their oral form, they are narrative songs of some complexity and sophistication. This anthology is complementary to Dr Buchan's The Ballad and the Folk.

The Oral Tradition: The Ballads of Anna Brown

[Ch 5A]* 1. Gil Brenton

1

Gil Brenton has sent oer the fame,

He’s woo’d a wife an brought her hame.

2

Full sevenscore o ships came her wi,

The lady by the greenwood tree.

3

There was twal an twal wi beer an wine,

An twal an twal wi muskadine:

4

An twall an twall wi bouted flowr,

An twall an twall wi paramour:

5

An twall an twall wi baken bread,

An twall an twall wi the goud sae red.

6

Sweet Willy was a widow’s son,

An at her stirrup-foot he did run.

7

An she was dressd i the finest pa,

But ay she loot the tears down fa.

8

An she was deckd wi the fairest flowrs,

But ay she loot the tears down pour.

9

‘O is there water i your shee?

Or does the win blaw i your glee?

10

‘Or are you mourning i your

meed That eer you left your mither gueede?

11

‘Or are ye mourning i your tide

That ever ye was Gil Brenton’s bride?’

12

‘The[re] is nae water i my shee,

Nor does the win blaw i my glee:

13

‘Nor am I mourning i my tide

That eer I was Gil Brenton’s bride:

14

‘But I am mourning i my meed

That ever I left my mither gueede.

15

‘But, bonny boy, tell to me

What is the customs o your country.’

16

‘The customs o’t, my dame,’ he says,

‘Will ill a gentle lady please.

17

‘Seven king’s daughters has our king wedded,

An seven king’s daughters has our king bedded.

18

‘But he’s cutted the paps frae their breast-bane,

An sent them mourning hame again.

19

“But whan you come to the palace yate,

His mither a golden chair will set.

20

‘An be you maid or be you nane,

O sit you there till the day be dane.

21

‘An gin you’re sure that you are a maid,

Ye may gang safely to his bed.

22

‘But gin o that you be na sure,

Then hire some woman o youre bowr.’

23

O whan she came to the palace yate,

His mither a golden chair did set.

24

An was she maid or was she nane,

She sat in it till the day was dane.

25

An she’s calld on her bowr woman,

That waiting was her bowr within.

26

‘Five hundred pound, maid, I’ll gi to the,

An sleep this night wi the king for me.’

27

Whan bells was rung, an mass was sung,

An a’ man unto bed was gone,

28

Gil Brenton an the bonny maid

Intill ae chamber they were laid.

29

‘O speak to me, blankets, an speak to me, sheets,

An speak to me, cods, that under me sleeps;

30

‘Is this a maid that I ha wedded?

Is this a maid that I ha bedded?’

31

‘It’s nae a maid that you ha wedded,

But it’s a maid that you ha bedded.

32

‘Your lady’s in her bigly bowr,

An for you she drees mony sharp showr.’

33

O he has taen him thro the ha,

And on his mither he did ca.

34

‘I am the most unhappy man

That ever was in christend lan.

35

‘I woo’d a maiden meek an mild,

An I’ve marryed a woman great wi child.’

36

‘O stay, my son, intill this ha,

An sport you wi your merry men a’.

37

‘An I’ll gang to yon painted bowr,

An see how’t fares wi yon base whore.’

38

The auld queen she was stark an strang;

She gard the door flee aff the ban.

39

The auld queen she was stark an steer;

She gard the door lye i the fleer.

40

‘O is your bairn to lai...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Original Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• The Oral Tradition
• The Tradition in Transition
• The Modern Tradition (i)
• The Modern Tradition (ii)
• Tunes
• Notes
• Glossary
• Index