Scots Laredo

Subject: Scots Laredo
From: Robin
Date: 15 Feb 03 - 07:44 PM

This is a bit of a flyer ...

A quatrain came up on scots-lang:

"As I gaed in tae Turra market,
Turra market for tae fee;
I met in wi the wealthy fairmer ­
Barnyards o Delgaty."

It struck me that this is bloody close to The Streets of Laredo, both in rhythm and tune.

Anyone got any input on this?

My best-guess is that it's a post-Laredo rewrite -- the locution "for tae fee" doesn't ring right to my ear, and I was around the hiring fairs in Moffat in the sixties.

Robin

Subject: RE: Scots Laredo
From: Leadfingers
Date: 15 Feb 03 - 07:53 PM

Apart from the fact that its a totally different tune,or at least as far as i know,I know of no connection between Delgaty and Laredo.The
latter I know is from the same roots as The Sailor cut down in his Prime or The Rakes lament.Barnyards of Delgaty was a popular chorus in the early sixties when I got involved in folk and I agree COULD be
sung to the same tune as Streets of Laredo,but this has never been done in my presence even as a joke number.I look forward to other input on this thread.

Subject: RE: Scots Laredo
From: masato sakurai
Date: 15 Feb 03 - 08:09 PM

BARNYARDS OF DELGATY is in the DT, with midi. I don't think they are related. See also The Traditional Ballad Index: Barnyards o' Delgaty, The.

~Masato

Subject: RE: Scots Laredo
From: Snuffy
Date: 15 Feb 03 - 08:21 PM

"the locution "for tae fee" doesn't ring right to my ear"

Try this (Bogie's Bonny Belle):
At market day in Huntley toon, an' it was there I did agree
Wi' Bogieside the farmer a twelvemonth for to fee

Subject: RE: Scots Laredo
From: Robin
Date: 15 Feb 03 - 08:37 PM

"
Barnyards of Delgaty was a popular chorus in the early sixties when I got involved in folk and I agree COULD be sung to the same tune as Streets of Laredo
"

Oh yup, just what I want to hear -- somebody tell me it was written in the fifties/sixties by some bampot who had a faint echo of Laredo kicking aroun his heid. [Honest -- no sarcasm]

But there are two problems:

"As I gaed in tae Turra market"

... is close to the intro line of Rake/Sailor/Laredo/Bad Girl E.T.C.

Ah, cannae remember what the second point was --

But is it definite that "Barnyards of Delgaty" is a sixties rehash of an An Ancient Scottish Toon?

Oh, yeah, second point -- still think the bugger who wrote the song fucked up the idiom of "feed".

Damn it all to hell, as a cheil, I watched guys in Wamfry hingin aroon waitin fur a fee.

Robin

(NOT a good idea to pour Bells on top of Abbey Royal sherry.

:-(

Honest, Leadbelly, I'd sell ma granny to prove this is simply a sixties rewrite.

CP30

Subject: RE: Scots Laredo
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 15 Feb 03 - 09:06 PM

Number 2136 in the Roud Folk Song Index. Late 19th century, so far as can be told. Numerous versions found in tradition during pretty much the whole of the 20th century. No relation at all to The Streets of Laredo.

Subject: RE: Scots Laredo
From: Strupag
Date: 16 Feb 03 - 09:24 AM

If you listen to the tune of "Streets of Loredo", it has only got about two notes different to "The Road To Dundee"
This was recognised and credited on the excellent album by Dave Wilkie,Cowboy Celidh.

Subject: RE: Scots Laredo
From: Kaleea
Date: 16 Feb 03 - 12:17 PM

When I was playing in a certain ceili band, the (button) accordian player commented that he had learned the tune I knew as "Streets of Laredo" when he was a boy in Northern Ireland, & it was called "The Road to Dundee" when he learned it. He said it was also known by a couple of other titles which he couldn't remember. As he led us from one tune to another, during barn dances--or what some would call "contra dances"--we also played tunes like "Turkeys in the Straw" and many others which are considered "Traditional American" tunes. Traditional tunes of the early immigrants to America! Funny thing about the band was that I was the only "American born" member. The boys were all from ye ould sod. Boy did I ever get informed about the origins of everything!

Subject: RE: Scots Laredo
From: Metchosin
Date: 16 Feb 03 - 12:49 PM

Only similarity I can observe between The Barnyards of Delgaty and the Streets of Laredo is the word "street". However, "The Streets of Laredo" is definitely a clone of "Pills of White Mercury" and others of that ilk.