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BENNACHIE (2) O gin I were where Gadie rins, Where Gadie rins, where Gadie rins, O gin I were where Gadie rins At the back o' Bennachie. I wad ne'er come back again, Come back again, come back again, I wad ne'er come back again Fae the fit o' Bennachie. [Cho., = first 4 lines] I never had but twa richt lads, But twa richt lads, but twa richt lads, I never had but twa richt lads, And so dearly's they loe'd me. The tane was killed at Lowrin Fair, At Lowrin Fair, at Lowrin Fair, The tane was killed at Lowrin Fair, The tither drooned in Dee. [cho.] Gin they'd gien my lovie man for man, Man for man, man for man, Gin they'd gien my lovie man for man, Or yet a man for three, He wadna lien sae low the day, Sae low the day, sae low the day, He wadna lien sae low the day At the fit o' yon arn tree. [cho.] But they croodit in sae thick on him, Sae thick on him, sae thick on him, They croodit in sae thick on him That he couldna fecht nor flee; And wasna that a dowie day, A dowie day, a dowie day, And wasna that a dowie day, A dowie day for me. [cho.] He bocht for me a braw new goon, A braw new goon, a braw new goon, He bocht for me a braw new goon, And ribbons to busk it wi'. I bocht for him the linen fine, The linen fine, the linen fine, I bocht for him the linen fine, His windin' sheet to be. [cho.] The day they're lyin' aneath the mools, Aneath the mools, aneath the mools, The day they're lyin' aneath the mools, That dearly lovit me. It's noo that twice I've been a bride, I've been a bride, I've been a bride, It's noo that twice I've been a bride, But a wife I'll never be. [cho.] This is as given by Gavin Greig (Folk-Song of the North-East, article x): [The above corrects a couple of misprints.] -- Greig assigns this to about the middle of the 18th century (at the latest). There's plenty of other sets of words written later. The tune is evidently "The Hessian's March", presumably brought to Scotland from the continent (at the time of the Marlborough wars?); but it first appears in 1816. Lowrin or Lowren Fair, BTW, is "Lawrence Fair", the name of two fairs, one held in Rayne, Aberdeenshire [which is what is meant here] and the other at Laurencekirk, Kincardineshire, in mid-August. The arn-tree is the alder. "Dowie" (rhymes with "Maui"; where did they get that "dewy" from???) = doleful. "The day" = "Today". The rest of it is straitforward. MS @Scottish filename[ BENNACH2 MS oct99 |
Bennachie (2) (midi from the notation given in John Ord's Bothy Songs and Ballads (1930, reprinted 1995). lyrics from Greig) |
