The Dowie Dens o Yarrow
Track Information
Original Track ID
SA1962.69.B12; SA1962.69.B13
Original Tape ID
Summary
A lady was courted by nine noblemen and a ploughman. He fought the nobles and killed three, while three retreated and three were wounded. However, her brother stabbed him in the back. The ploughman rebuked the brother for treachery. The lady told her brother she had dreamed he was spilling blood. She went to Yarrow, wrapped her hair round her lover's body and carried him home. Her father told her to stop weeping and he would get her a rich husband, but she said he could find brides for his sons but she would never love anyone but her ploughman.
Willie Scott saw the song in the local newspaper, and also heard his parents singing it. He first heard his father sing it in about 1907, when he was ten. Willie sang the song at a charity concert in Dunfermline during the First World War.
Item Notes
8 verses.
See:
Greig-Duncan vol. 2, pp. 99-113
Ord pp. 426-427
Language
English, Scots
Genre
Collection
Source Type
Reel to reel
Audio Quality
Good