Reading through the thread, I don't think anyone has dealt with the meaning of what was printed above as "the homes of Yarrow", which makes no particular sense, if one means a familial dwelling.

McColl sings (phonetically) "hums of Yarrow". Looking in my unabridged, I find the following, which I believe is the same word:

holm n. Brit. Dial.
1. a low, flat tract of land beside a river or stream
2. a small island, esp. one in a river or lake

I take it that "hums" is "holms", in the first meaning given.

Dave Oesterreich