Liner notes to "Jeannie Robertson: The Queen Among the Heather. The Alan Lomax
Collection".
1. The Reel of Tullochgorum
A fragment of Skinner of Lonmay's "Reel of Tullochgorum" that Jeannie
was wont to sing at frequent gatherings and ceilidhs at her house in Aberdeen.
This was recorded at a song swap at Alan Lomax's London apartment. The other
guests included Jean Ritchie, Margaret Barry and Isla Cameron.
2. When My Apron Hung Low
This song is known variously as "I Wish, I Wish"
and "What a Voice" by which name it appeared on Jeannie's album for
England's Topic label Jeannie Robertson: The Great Scots Traditional Ballad
Singer (now reissued as Ossian OSS CD92). The second verse may seem today a
rather euphemistic reference to the girl's pregnancy, but it was plain enough to
the ballad audience. Many Anglo-American songs
express similar sentiments. The last line of the third voice, 'And he tellt her
a tale which he once told me" is similar to "They'll tell you some
loving story,/ They'll tell to you some far-flung lie" in the American
"Come All You Fair and Tender Ladies"; while the overall tone recalls
the bitterness of "Careless Love".
3. She'd a Lot of Old Song
(interview).
4. Son David
Francis James Child reckoned this ballad, also known as
"Edward", (Child Ballad no 13) as "one of the noblest and most
sterling specimens of the popular ballad". Before Jeannie sang it for
Hamish Henderson and Peter Kennedy, it was thought to have died out in Scotland,
although it survived elsewhere. Jeannie's version is close to one sung by her
aunt, Margaret Stewart.
This tale of fratricidal
jealousy may not be for the faint of heart today, but as Jeannie's explanation
makes clear, it was readily appreciated by the ballad audience of Scotland, who
were familiar with the blood feuds and rivalries within and between participants
that often gave rise to such violence.
5. It's A True Song
(interview).
6. The Battle of Harlaw
This song (Child Ballad no 163) commemorates the great battle
of Harlaw, fought on July 24, 1411, a grim and decisive showdown between the
forces of Highland and Lowland Scotland. It was here that Donald MacDonald,
"Donald of the Isles", claiming the Earldom of Ross, invaded the
Scottish Lowlands with 10,000 islanders and men of Ross. He was met at Harlaw,
north of Aberdeen, by Lowland forces under the Earl of Mar, who carried the day
and inflicted 900 casualties on Donald's army.
7. Wi' My Rovin' Eye
Occasionally, a wily young woman gets the better of her would-be lover in a
song. This is a derivation of the ballad "The Trooper and the Maid"
(Child no 29) that is especially widespread and popular among the traveling
people.
8. Never Wed an Old Man
A favourite Scots theme - the old man who can't satisfy his young wife.
9. The Moon Shined on my Bed Last Night
As Jeannie notes below in her comments on "Andrew Lammie" (tracks 15 -
17), few sins are greater than to come between true lovers.
10. The Laird of the Dentidoonbye
This ballad is also known as "The Lady of the Dentidoonbye," from the
last line in the song.
11. The Handsome Cabin Boy
English history books record several instances in the seventeenth and eighteenth
century of young women passing as men and joining the army or navy, so this tale
of maritime cross-dressing may not be as far fetched as it seems.
12. I Doubt she could have been a good girl!
(interview).
13. She Was a Rum One
(...).
14. Lord Lovatt.
(...).
15. Introduction to Bonnie Annie and Andrew Lammie.
(interview).
16. Bonnie Annie and Andrew Lammie.
Few songs are more vivid in their description of the characters and situations
of the classic tragic Scots ballad than this one (Child no. 233). Perhaps the
survival of actual physical evidence of the events depicted in it ensures it a
special place in the canon. If other ballads were thought to be generally
truthful - reflecting the world as the singers and their audience knew it - here
was a song whose veracity was unquestioned.
In his notes to the album "The Muckle Sangs: Classic Scots Ballads" (Tangent 119/D), Hamish Henderson has this to say about "Andrew Lammie" and its importance in Scotland:
The ballad of "Mill of Tifty's Annie" alias
"Andrew Lammie" has been with us since the start of our collecting.
Old Willie Mathieson had 50 verses written in his ledger books; Jean Elvin in
Fyvie sang a fragment; John Strachan at Critchie, and Jeannie Robertson in
Aberdeen both assured us it was a "true ballad" and Arthur Argo
(great-grandson of Gavin Greig, and at that time a cub reporter on the Turriff
Advertiser) convoyed us across country ("the lowland leas of Fyvie")
to point out the actual whereabouts of the ruined mill itself, half hidden by
foliage and luxuriant undergrowth. Annie's flat gravestone in Fyvie kirkyard,
dated 1673, and surmounted by a nineteenth century monumental stone on which are
carved the leaves of two intertwining trees, made her story both as real and
unreal for us as the lives of any of the forgotten villagers whose gravestones
surround hers. Fyvie Castle was nearby, with the stone figure of the trumpeter
on one of the turrets, but Andrew was not alone there; other stone figures, as
impersonal as gargoyles, kept him company on the other turrets. History and myth
seemed to intertwine in that beautiful place.
17. Commentary on Bonnie Annie and Andrew Lammie.
(interview).
18. The Queen Among the Heather.
(...).
Last updated on 03/02/2011