Lyrics & Knowledge Personal Pages Record Shop Auction Links Radio & Media Kids Membership Help
The Mudcat Cafesj



User Name Thread Name Subject Posted
Jim McLean Origins: Wild Mountain Thyme/Braes o' Balquhidder (62* d) RE: Origins: Wild Mountain Thyme/Braes o' Balquhidder 30 Jun 21


There are two threads running at the moment and so I will copy in my posting from the other relevant thread.
Let’s clear this up.

There are three distinct tunes associated with The Braes o’ Balquhither.

A) The commonly accepted melody used by Burns for ‘An I’ll Kiss Ye Yet’ and printed by R A Smith under the title The Braes o’ Balquhither, Smith’s Scotish (sic) Minstrel, Vol. 1, 1822.
B) The Three Carles o’ Buchanan, the tune chosen by Tannahill in his letter to Smith, 1810.
C) The Wild Mountain Thyme, first recorded by the McPeakes in 1956.

All tunes are COMPLETELY different.

The tune Rory referenced, New York publication, is tune B also published by Smith Vol lV 1824 2nd edition, titled The Three Carles o’ Buchanan and not the same as Daniel referenced (A).

Tune C is completely original and credited to the McPeakes.

Daniel, John Hamilton was know to Tannahill so he probably deliberately chose the tune tune (B) to distance himself from Hamilton’s Braes o Bowhether which has a familiar theme. Hamilton, by the way, copies many lines from Burns’ An I’ll Kiss Ye Yet, including the tune (A).m

I am an ethnomusicologist, degree from the university of Edinburgh, 2008, Thesis title “A Study of Two Tunes: The Three Carles O’ Buchanan and the Braes O’ Balquhither in their cultural contexts from 1740 to the present day”.

Daniel, I suggest you listen again to tunes A and B and take note of the differences.
Rory, both your New York referenced tune (B) and the one you referenced earlier form the Scotish (sic) Minstrel (A) are different.


Post to this Thread -

Back to the Main Forum Page

By clicking on the User Name, you will requery the forum for that user. You will see everything that he or she has posted with that Mudcat name.

By clicking on the Thread Name, you will be sent to the Forum on that thread as if you selected it from the main Mudcat Forum page.
   * Click on the linked number with * to view the thread split into pages (click "d" for chronologically descending).

By clicking on the Subject, you will also go to the thread as if you selected it from the original Forum page, but also go directly to that particular message.

By clicking on the Date (Posted), you will dig out every message posted that day.

Try it all, you will see.