The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #79811 Message #1451448
Posted By: Roberto
04-Apr-05 - 04:00 AM
Thread Name: Lyr Req: Binnorie (from Elizabeth Stewart, #10)
Subject: Lyr Add: THE SWAN SWIMS SO BONNIE O (Lucy Stewart)
Yes, the Folkways lp (now available on cd) by Lucy Stewart dedicated to the Child Ballads has a beautiful recording of this ballad, and there is a booklet with the texts.
Here is Lucy Stewart's:
THE SWAN SWIMS SO BONNIE O Lucy Stewart, Traditional singer from Aberdeenshire, Scotland, volume 1, Child Ballads, Folkways FG 3519, 1961
Oh, there were twa sisters lived in this place Heigh ho, my nannie O Een was fair an' the ither was deen An' the swan swims so bonnie-O
Oh dear sister, dear sister, wid you take a walk Heigh ho, my nannie O Wid ye take a walk down by the miller's dam? An' the swan swims so bonnie-O
Dear sister, dear sister, put you your foot on yon marble stone Heigh ho, my nannie O An' so slyly as she pushed her in An' the swan swims so bonnie-O
Dear sister, dear sister, lend me your hand Heigh ho, my nannie O An' I will gie ye my gowd an' my land An' the swan swims so bonnie-O
Oh I didna come here for to lend you my hand Heigh ho, my nannie O I come here for to see you drown An' the swan swims so bonnie-O
Noo, the millert had a daughter an' she bein' the maid Heigh ho, my nannie O She came down for some water for to bake An' the swan swims so bonnie-O
Dear father, dear father, swims in your milldam Heigh ho, my nannie O Either a maid or a white milk swan An' the swan swims so bonnie-O
(…)
The king's three harpers, they been passin' by Heigh ho, my nannie O They've ta'en three locks o' her bonnie yellow hair An' the swan swims so bonnie-O.
The verse omitted, that Lucy doesn't actuallt sing in the Folkways recording, is the one with the miller who "took a click and he clicked her out".
Matthew Edwards is helping me a lot with this transcription, that I think we're going to post soon. R