Please translate: making his mane

Subject: Please translate: making his mane
From: steve t
Date: 01 Sep 98 - 10:32 AM

In The Fair Flower of Northumberland, the first verse runs:

The provost's aye daughter was making her lane
Oh but her love was easy won
And she heard a Scots prisoner a making his mane
And she's the fair flower of Northumberland

I never could guess what making his mane was all about. I've also heard a version that went "when she spied a Scots prisoner..." which implies that it can be seen or heard. Hmmm.

Subject: RE: Please translate: making his mane
From: Jon W.
Date: 01 Sep 98 - 11:07 AM

My guess would be that 'mane' means 'moan'. Often when translating from Scots to English a long A sound becomes a long O sound or even a short O sound (bane = bone, ane = one, twa = two, etc). Making his moan would mean lamenting his fate or something similar.

Subject: RE: Please translate: making his mane
From: Barbara
Date: 01 Sep 98 - 12:00 PM

And "lane" might actually be "lone". I know a medieval round that begins: "Musing, my own self all alone/I met a maid making great moan."
Blessings,
Barbara

Subject: RE: Please translate: making his mane
From: Jerry Friedman
Date: 01 Sep 98 - 12:30 PM

I'm convinced Jon is right. Compare "As I was walking all alane,/ I heard twa corbies making a mane." [That is, making a moan.]

Subject: RE: Please translate: making his mane
From: steve t
Date: 01 Sep 98 - 09:47 PM

How unexpected. Aren't men lamenting their fate were exceptionally unattractive? Ah well. :-)

Subject: RE: Please translate: making his mane
From: Kiwi
Date: 02 Sep 98 - 02:20 AM

Jerry - Hm.. for "Twa Corbies" that line was translated for me as 'having a conversation' rather than the negative mood connotation of 'making a moan'. Is there an overlap?

Slán, Kiwi

Subject: RE: Please translate: making his mane
From: Murray on Saltspring
Date: 02 Sep 98 - 02:59 AM

Which version are you quoting there? In several others, it's plainly said "making his moan". BTW "making her lane" has to be misprint or mishearing or some mixup, and should be "walking her lane", i.e. "walking by herself". As for the corbies, I'd say Kiwi is probably close at least, the birds are just chatting; though I suppose you could say they're grousing about lack of good pickings in the neighbourhood till one recalls the corpse beyond the dyke.

Subject: RE: Please translate: making his mane
From: Alan of Australia
Date: 02 Sep 98 - 04:51 AM

G'day,
Child's versions B and E have "She heard a poor prisoner making his moan". Bronson's (The Singing Tradition of Child's Popular Ballads) version 5 has:

There was a young lady was walking alone,
Wat ye, my love, in the life that she wan!
She heard a poor prisoner making his moan;
And she's the brave heir of Northumberland!

Cheers,
Alan

Subject: RE: Please translate: making his mane
From: Rosy
Date: 02 Sep 98 - 08:27 AM

Remember that Child was collecting ballads from a number of sources. In broad Scots (a true dialect), and even several plain old northern accents, the lyric is certainly "walkin' her lane...makin' his mane". And, sure, you can both see and hear a prisoner complaining about his fate, especially if he's putting on a deliberate act to get you to set him free, as in the song.

Remember, Child wasn't quite as willing as, say, Robert Burns, to get down and dirty with commoners. Wealthy, well-educated Scottish and English contributors knew broad speech from their area, but likely spoke to scholars intending to publish in standard English ("If you go to the pub, you'd hear it sung broad, but in *our* home, we use the King's English."). So some of Child is very Anglicised, and some is not.

I think in "The Twa Corbies" the birds are definitely griping, from context, and that two birds' cawing certainly resembles human moaning or whining, just by the sound.

Subject: RE: Please translate: making his mane
From: steve t
Date: 03 Sep 98 - 12:21 AM

The first verse I included is a direct cut and paste from the database.

Thanks for the help everyone. Think I can memorize it very well by Friday? I think so :-)

Subject: RE: Please translate: making his mane
From:
Date: 04 Sep 98 - 09:24 AM