Lyr Req: Bonny Susie Clellan?

Subject: maybe traditional, maybe not, i don't care
From:
Date: 19 Mar 99 - 01:49 AM

hello there...i'm a member of the Society for Creative Anachronism, and a couple other ladies in my local group have decided to become "singing wenches"...and it seems that a few years back, i heard a song somewhere that i think was called "Bonny Susie Clellan", by a couple ladies from a ren faire somewhere called Wench Works...i've never forgotten the tune to the song, but i can't remember the words to save my life...i would practically give an arm to have them...help??

Subject: RE: maybe traditional, maybe not, i don't care
From: Banjer
Date: 19 Mar 99 - 02:01 AM

In the upper right hand corner at the top of the screen type in Bonnie Susie Clelland and you will find the words to the song in the Data. If yu want other songs dealing with "bonnie" anything, type in just "bonnie", (without the qoutes)

Subject: RE: maybe traditional, maybe not, i don't care
From: Sandy Paton
Date: 19 Mar 99 - 02:02 AM

Go to the DT box above and simply type in cleland. The title there is spelled Bonnie Susie Cleland.

As they say, welcome to the Mudcat!

Sandy

Subject: RE: maybe traditional, maybe not, i don't care
From: Sandy Paton
Date: 19 Mar 99 - 02:04 AM

Spelling is everything!

Subject: RE: maybe traditional, maybe not, i don't care
From: Banjer
Date: 19 Mar 99 - 02:08 AM

Whoops, Sandy is right...Clelan with one L! (must have been a shortage of L's that year!)

Subject: RE: maybe traditional, maybe not, i don't care
From: AlistairUK
Date: 19 Mar 99 - 09:08 AM

If you want the tune go out and get The Oyster Band and June tabor's cd 'Freedom and Rain' on the Cooking Vinyl label.

Good Luck

Subject: RE: maybe traditional, maybe not, i don't care
From: Alice
Date: 19 Mar 99 - 10:03 AM

Banjer, aren't there two 'l's in Clelan? I know, picky, picky, picky.....

Subject: RE: maybe traditional, maybe not, i don't care
From: Jerry Friedman
Date: 19 Mar 99 - 12:21 PM

A shortage of L's? Was that the year Jesus was born?

Subject: RE: maybe traditional, maybe not, i don't care
From: Susan A-R
Date: 19 Mar 99 - 10:57 PM

SPELLING!!!!! ARRRRGGH

Subject: RE: maybe traditional, maybe not, i don't care
From: Susan A-R
Date: 19 Mar 99 - 10:58 PM

OOH, and take a listen to some "Silly Sisters" recordings while you are at it. They do wonderful stuff. (Is it June Tabor and Matty Prior?)

Subject: RE: maybe traditional, maybe not, i don't care
From: Banjer
Date: 20 Mar 99 - 05:04 AM

About the L's: I would have thought that there should be two L's in Clellan, but to my surprise there was but the one. (Two if you count them both, but only a single L for the second syllable) It must be a Scottish song, having learned from my lovely bride, whose mum was born in ole Scotland, that the Scots are a very frugal folk and would not use two when one would do! NOI!!!

Subject: RE: maybe traditional, maybe not, i don't care
From: AlistairUK
Date: 20 Mar 99 - 07:12 AM

Susan: Yep June Tabor and Maddy Prior.

Subject: RE: maybe traditional, maybe not, i don't care
From: Susan of DT
Date: 20 Mar 99 - 10:17 AM

Beware searching for bonnie. I used to think there were only two spellings for that word - bonnie and bonny and then found some older songs with bonie and (maybe)bony. So this is not a great word to include in searches.

Subject: RE: maybe traditional, maybe not, i don't care
From: Ferrara
Date: 20 Mar 99 - 12:36 PM

I don't think there can be a "right" spelling for proper nouns in traditional songs, for 2 reasons: 1, There were no standardized spellings at the time the songs were written, and 2, there are variants in the way names were sung.

Also there are no fixed names for some songs, people just use a phrase from the song. There's a Carter song which I've seen as either "My Barque of Life" or "You've Been a Friend to Me," for example.

Finally, there may be typos in the title, so sometimes you can find a song via an unusual phrase in the song. I agree -- the shorter the better on search phrases, and try several spellings.

Yeah, Susan, "bonnie" is spelled "bony" lots of places. I have that spelling in two books in the song "Silver Tassie" or "My bony Mary" by Robert Burns. Here "bony" is pronounced "bon-nie" and means "pretty," not "skinny."

Jean Redpath and Helen Schneyer both sing "Bonnie Susie C." I don't know whether Helen recorded it. Maybe Sandy Paton could tell us.

Subject: RE: maybe traditional, maybe not, i don't care
From: Sandy Paton
Date: 20 Mar 99 - 05:28 PM

Not that I know of, but Lisa Null did a splendid rendition on (was it?) her recording titled "Feathered Maiden." That was my introduction to the ballad. Guess I stopped reading Child's versions of "Lady Maisry" too soon.

Regarding the spelling of Cleland: if it's pronounced Clee-land, as I've always heard it, one "L" would be correct, as in Paton -- one "T" and pronounced Pay-ton. Caroline always says "Like the writer of Cry the Beloved Country, not the General!" We know where our preferences are.

Sandy

Subject: RE: maybe traditional, maybe not, i don't care
From: Pete M
Date: 21 Mar 99 - 05:02 PM

Two 'ell with the lot of you.

Pete M

Subject: RE: maybe traditional, maybe not, i don't care
From: Sandy Paton
Date: 21 Mar 99 - 11:02 PM

No, Pete. It's all been about having only one ELL!

Subject: RE: maybe traditional, maybe not, i don't care
From: catspaw49
Date: 21 Mar 99 - 11:10 PM

Perhaps we could just postpone this whole damn thing til Christmas when we could have NO-ELL. Oughta' suit Sandy to a "T"

catspaw