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GUEST,Sylvie to Malcolm et al Lyr Req: The Cruel Sister (from Pentangle) (12) RE: Chorus to Pentangle's 'The Cruel Sister' 18 Jun 01


My most sincere thanks to you and everyone - this should keep me busy for hours. Now, not to beat a dead horse (no pun intended), but Loreena McKennitt has a version of the Twa Sisters called "The Bonny Swans" from her MASK AND MIRROR cd...can anyone tell me what she's saying in HER refrain? It doesn't match the liner notes, but sounds to me like "Hee ho and me bonny dung." I doubt this is what she is saying. Did she make this up? Not to discredit McKennitt, but this version sounds sort of hokey. First, the poor, soon-to-be-dead sister is a farmer's daughter. Then, once she's dead, she's discovered by a miller's daughter wearing a red dress (I think, if I remember it right). At this point it turns into a soap opera and once she's made into a harp, suddenly she's a king's daughter (where'd the farmer go?) whose mother, the queen, is just sitting around while she was betrayed by her false sister Anne and betrothed to William, sweet and true (or something or other) - which, coincidentally, rhymes with the name of her brother, Hugh. At this point, I expect her to fit in the names of her ladies-in-waiting - say, Milly and Vanilly...? Then...."Hee ho and me bonny dung." ?


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