Origins: Gairdner and the Plooman (Jean Redpath)

Subject: Bush of Rue (Jean Redpath)
From: GUEST,Pat
Date: 04 Jul 06 - 10:32 PM

I have searched unsuccessfully for the Jean Redpath recording of a song that I would call "Under a Bush of Rue". Does anyone know of the song or how to obtain a recording of it? I found it very lovely and would like to be able to learn and sing it. In the 1990's I borrowed a homemade compilation tape of Jean Redpath songs, made by a dedicated Jean Redpath fan (my then-boyfriend's former girlfriend). Some time later, and now, I'm unable to find any indication of this song's existence. Maybe Jean Redpath only performed it live and this track was bootlegged. This is what I recall of the lyrics:

The firsten time I saw my love
It was under a boosh [bush] a' rue
And aye the sweeter that ye (he?) sang
The nearer the bush I drew, drew
The nearer the bush I drew

A goatherd lad that loves [i.e. lives] nearby
Long has he wooed me
And he's given me his hairt [heart] to keep
A pledge o' love to be, be
A pledge o' love to be

{Key verse about seeing someone else, a ploughman?, off on a green hill and falling in love with them at first sight}

Mock [make] up your goon [gown]
My bonnie lassie
And mock it neat and fine
For ye shall be the ploughman's wife
And ne'er a __________ o' mine

It was performed with a thick accent, as I've indicated somewhat in my transcription.

Subject: RE: Bush of Rue (Jean Redpath)
From: Peace
Date: 04 Jul 06 - 10:37 PM

www.folk-legacy.com/store/ scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=89


Google that or

Jean Redpath - Frae My Ain Countrie :American Folk Music, Music CD ...


Lyrics there and info about the CD it's on.

Subject: Lyr Add: GAIRDNER AND THE PLOOMAN (Jean Redpath)
From: Peace
Date: 04 Jul 06 - 10:39 PM

Jean Redpath

THE GAIRDNER AND THE PLOOMAN
^^ Side 1, Band 2.

Murray Shoolbraid, originally from Leslie in Fife, was living in Vancouver, B. C., when we met. I envy him his card index of Scottish songs and his ability to provide a text with a mel¬ody like this. The words are found in Greig's Folk-Song of the Northeast, the original text being from Mrs. Jaffray of Mintlaw. The apparent con¬fusion of this version as it stands (who is saying what and to whom?) is cleared up by the second text in Greig which, although fragmentary, has a more complete story line:

Awyte I keepit the gairdner's hert,
But leet my ain gae free,
Till by it cam' the plooman lad,
And he's stown my hert fae me.

But woe be to the plooman lad,
And woe be till 'im noo;

And he's left me sair to rue.

The plooman heard his bonnie love's moan,
As he was at the ploo;
The plooman heard his bonnie love's moan,
Near to yon bush he drew.

Lat oot yer goon, my bonnie love,
And mak' it neat and new,
And ye shall he the plooman's bride,
And ye'se never hae cause to rue.

It's braw bein' a gairdner's wife,
In the gairden amo' the thyme;
But it's better bein' in the plooman's airms,
Faur I've been mony a time.

The first time that I saw my love,
It was under a bush o' rue.
And aye the sweeter that she sang,
The nearer the bush I drew.

A gairdner lad that lives near by,
Lang has he woo'd me,
And he's gi'en me his heart tae keep,
A pledge o ' love tae be.

Lang did I keep my gairdner's heart,
My ain was aye free,
Or the blithe blink o' the plooman lad
Has stown the heart frae me.

The firstan time I did him see,
He was plooin' on yon brae broo,
And I could neither haud nor ca',
Twas a' for the love o' you.

The neistan time I did you see,
It was under a bush o' rue,
And aye the sweeter that ye sang,
The nearer the bush I drew.

Mak' up yer goon, my bonnie lass,
And mak' it neat and fine,
And ye shall be the ploomanrs wife,
For the gairdner's changed his mind.

The plooman lad, he's hearin' this,
Just in a bush near by;
Says, "Say nae mair, my bonnie lassie
For ye ken better why. "

The first time that I saw my love,
It was under a bush o' rue,
And aye the sweeter that she sang,
The nearer the bush I drew.

lang - long or - until
stown - stolen
brae - hill
broo - brow
haud - hold
ca' - call or drive (as of a horse)
neistan - next
goon - gown
mair - more
ken - know

Subject: RE: Bush of Rue (Jean Redpath)
From: GUEST,Pat
Date: 04 Jul 06 - 11:10 PM

Thanks, I'll get going on it!

Subject: RE: Bush of Rue (Jean Redpath)
From: GUEST,Pat
Date: 04 Jul 06 - 11:20 PM

Thank you, Peace! No wonder I never found it--not even on mudcat tonight--because my best guesses about the title were all off. Thank you so much!

Subject: RE: Bush of Rue (Jean Redpath)
From: Peace
Date: 04 Jul 06 - 11:25 PM

You are most welcome. Actually, I got lucky with a google of


"The nearer the bush I drew"

Both with and without quotations, the site at the top of the google page is the one that had the song. Looks like a song with an interesting history.

Subject: RE: Bush of Rue (Jean Redpath)
From: GUEST,Pat
Date: 04 Jul 06 - 11:33 PM

For anyone not familiar with this song, the recording I heard starts off with this verse (the earlier verses must the fragmentary Grieg version):

The first time that I saw my love,
It was under a bush o' rue.
And aye the sweeter that she sang,
The nearer the bush I drew.

And includes all those below it, except perhaps the second to last one, which I don't recognize.

Subject: RE: Bush of Rue (Jean Redpath)
From: Peace
Date: 04 Jul 06 - 11:44 PM

I hope Q, Malcolm or Masato see this thread.

Subject: RE: Bush of Rue (Jean Redpath)
From: Peace
Date: 05 Jul 06 - 12:13 AM

It struck me after I left the computer that I left out another fellow (I think of these guys in my head as "The Four Horsemen of Finding Out About Songs"): Namely, the dynamite Jim Dixon. My apologies, Jim. I write it off to old age on my part--either that or too much aluminium in my diet.

Subject: RE: Origins: Gairdner and the Plooman (Jean Redpath)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 24 Apr 17 - 12:31 AM

There's a Traditional Ballad Index entry on this song, so there are more versions to be found:

Gairdner and the Plooman, The

DESCRIPTION: A gardner has long courted the girl, "But the blythe blink o the plooman lad Has stown my hairt frae me, me, Has stown my hairt frae me." The singer first saw her love singing "under a bush o' rue." She finally turns to the plooman
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1925 (Grieg)
KEYWORDS: love courting farming
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Bronson 219, "The Gardener" (9 versions+3 in addenda, but #1 at least is "The Gairdner and the Plooman")
Ord, p. 94, "The Gairdner and the Ploughman" (1 text)
Roud #339
NOTES: This song sometimes is listed as a version of "The Gardener" [Child #219], including by Bronson, who counts one of Grieg's versions there. This is understandable, as the song is very diverse (Bronson himself says that "The Gardener" "rests uneasily in Child's collection. It is both too little of a ballad... and too sophisticated").
Nonetheless, I think they should be separated. "The Gardener" seems to have at its root a dialog involving flowers and courting. This piece mentions a gardener, but he isn't wandering around waving flowers in the girl's face, really, and she has a separate love interest. - RBW
File: Ord094

---

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---

Here are the lyrics we have in the Digital Tradition. I think it's taken from the post above from Peace, but originally from the album notes from the Jean Redpath Folk-Legacy album, Frae My Ain Countrie.

THE GAIRDNER AND THE PLOOMAN

Awyte I keepit the gairdner's hert,
But leet my ain gae free,
Till by it cam' the plooman lad,
And he's stown my hert fae me.

But woe be to the plooman lad,
And woe be till 'im noo;
-------
And he's left me sair to rue.

The plooman heard his bonnie love's moan,
As he was at the ploo;
The plooman heard his bonnie love's moan,
Near to yon bush he drew.

Lat oot yer goon, my bonnie love,
And mak' it neat and new,
And ye shall he the plooman's bride,
And ye'se never hae cause to rue.

It's braw bein' a gairdner's wife,
In the gairden amo' the thyme;
But it's better bein' in the plooman's airms,
Faur I've been mony a time.

The first time that I saw my love,
It was under a bush o' rue.
And aye the sweeter that she sang,
The nearer the bush I drew.

A gairdner lad that lives near by,
Lang has he woo'd me,
And he's gi'en me his heart tae keep,
A pledge o ' love tae be.

Lang did I keep my gairdner's heart,
My ain was aye free,
Or the blithe blink o' the plooman lad
Has stown the heart frae me.

The firstan time I did him see,
He was plooin' on yon brae broo,
And I could neither haud nor ca',
Twas a' for the love o' you.

The neistan time I did you see,
It was under a bush o' rue,
And aye the sweeter that ye sang,
The nearer the bush I drew.

Mak' up yer goon, my bonnie lass,
And rnak' (mak') it neat and fine,
And ye shall be the ploomanrs (plooman's) wife,
For the gairdner's changed his mind.

The plooman lad, he's hearin' this,
Just in a bush near by;
Says, "Say nae mair, my bonnie lassie
For ye ken better why. "

The first time that I saw my love,
It was under a bush o' rue,
And aye the sweeter that she sang,
The nearer the bush I drew.

(mistakes underlined, with corrections following in italics).

Murray Shoolbraid, originally from Leslie in Fife, was living in Vancouver, B.C., when we met.
I envy him his card index of Scottish songs and his ability to provide a text with a melody like this.
The words are found in Greig's Folk-Song of the Northeast, the original text being from Mrs. Jaffray of Mintlaw.
The apparent confusion of this version as it stands (who is saying what and to whom?) is cleared up
by the second text in Greig which, although fragmentary, has a more complete story line

Recorded by Jean Redpath on Frae My Ain Country
filename[ BUSHRUE
PX
Feb07

Here's the Redpath recording from Frae My Ain Countrie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkmSXB-hI4g

Subject: RE: Origins: Gairdner and the Plooman (Jean Redpath)
From: leeneia
Date: 24 Apr 17 - 03:06 PM

I find the lyrics baffling.

And why a bush of rue? The site ediblewildplants.com has this to say:


"In large quantities all parts of this plant (rue) are not safe to take. Rue should not be used at all by pregnant women as it can induce abortions. The sap contains furanocoumarins which sensitize the skin to light and can cause blisters or dermatitis in sensitive people."

Not to mention that if you look at images of rue, it is hard to imagine an adult fitting under a bush of it.

Subject: RE: Origins: Gairdner and the Plooman (Jean Redpath)
From: Gallus Moll
Date: 24 Apr 17 - 06:36 PM

--- unless she found herself with an unwanted pregnancy?

Subject: RE: Origins: Gairdner and the Plooman (Jean Redpath)
From: Gallus Moll
Date: 24 Apr 17 - 06:38 PM

--- seem to be a few comments about her goon -- which may have become too tight due to the above suggestion? Plooman offering her a way out of the situation----

Subject: RE: Origins: Gairdner and the Plooman (Jean Redpath)
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 24 Apr 17 - 09:38 PM

Sure, I think we can factor in a pregnancy, but...

1. Mak' up yer goon, my bonnie lass,
And mak' it neat and fine,
And ye shall be the plooman's wife,
For the gairdner's changed his mind.

2. The plooman lad, he's hearin' this,
Just in a bush near by;
Says, "Say nae mair, my bonnie lassie
For ye ken better why. "

If the plowman is nearby and hears verse 1, then who's singing it?
========
The plooman lad, he's hearin' this,
Just in a bush near by;
Says, "Say nae mair, my bonnie lassie
For ye ken better why. "

What's that supposed to mean? If it's supposed to be a proposal, it's more frightening than comforting. Then the story stops at that ambiguous moment.

Subject: RE: Origins: Gairdner and the Plooman (Jean Redpath)
From: GUEST,Dom
Date: 25 Apr 17 - 06:13 PM

Thanks for posting this song "Gairdner and the Plooman". It's one of my favorites. She sings it so beautifully the way only Jean Redpath can deliver a song.

There is a very nice recording on Kist O Riches, in fact there are 72 search results for Jean Redpath aficionados.

Found here:
http://www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/fullrecord/85379/1

Guitar accompaniment. Recorded at the Scott Conference Ceilidh 1971.
Says Melody learned from Murray Shoolbraid, originally from Leslie in Fife.

In this song a woman is seduced by a false gardener, but later finds happiness with a ploughman.

Jean was such a tremendous asset to the folk revival and a lovely person. 2008 inductee in the Scottish traditional music hall of fame. Coming up to her third anniversary this year, 21 August.

Subject: ADD Version: The Gairdner and the Plooman
From: Joe Offer
Date: 26 Apr 17 - 04:01 AM

THE GAIRDNER AND THE PLOUGHMAN.

A GAIRDNER lad that lives near by, Lang he has wooed me;
And he's gi'en me his hert to keep,
A pledge o' love to be-be,
A pledge o' love to be.

Sae lang's I keep't my gairdner's hert,
I lat my ain gang free;
But the blithe blink o' the plooman lad
Has stown my hert frae me-me.
Has stown my hert frae me.

The first time that I saw my love,
I was ploughin' on yon brae broo,
And I could neither haud nor ca,
It was a' for the love o' you-you,
It was a' for the love o' you.

The next time that I did you see,
You were under a bush o' rue;
And aye the sweeter that ye sang
The nearer the bush I drew-drew,
The nearer the bush I drew.

Mak' up your goon my bonnie lass,
And mak' it neat and fine;
And ye shall be the plooman's wife,
For the gairdner's changed his min'-min',
For the gairdner's changed his min'.

The plooman lad he hearin' this,
Just in a bush near by:
Says, "Say nae mair, my bonnie lassie,
O, ye ken better why-why,
O, ye ken better why.

The last time that I did you see,
You were under a hush o' rue;
And aye the sweeter that ye sang
The nearer the bush I drew-drew,
The nearer the bush I drew.

Source: Ord's Bothy Songs and Ballads (1930) page 94

Subject: RE: Origins: Gairdner and the Plooman (Jean Redpath)
From: Gallus Moll
Date: 26 Apr 17 - 12:43 PM

Thanks Dom -- we all miss Jean so much! Many of us attended the Heritage of Scotland summer schools at Stirling University with her and they were truly memorable years.
Brainchild of the late Robert Innes- - another sad loss.
Met so many wonderful singers (Scots and Gaelic, fiddlers, various other musicians, dancers -- Amazing memories, experiences - --