Far over the Forth is a traditional ballad with a tune based on the piping tradition. It concerns a situation still common in Scotland where families are split with the need to find work. In this song the husband presumably goes to America which in those days would be quite some undertaking. The Forth is a river with a wide Firth near Edinburgh, on the east coast of Scotland. Heather Heywood does a haunting version on her CD By yon castle wa'