Young Emslie
Track Information
Original Track ID
SA1979.141.B3
Original Tape ID
Summary
In this tragic ballad, Emslie's sweetheart, Edward, returns from sea with a lot of money. Fearing for his safety, she warns him not to tell her parents. She then has a foreboding dream that Edward has been murdered, and on waking confronts her parents. They admit murdering him, and the girl has them executed.
Stanely Robertson explains that there are many versions in England and Scotland and gives some variant titles.
Item Notes
8 verses of 4 lines; song performed twice - first performance cut short due to tape error, then song and preamble repeated in full. Also known as 'Young Emma' or 'Edwin (or Edmund) in the Lowlands Low'.
See:
'Tocher' 9 (1973) pp. 16-17
Greig-Duncan vol. 2 pp. 14-21, no. 189
'Folksongs Sung in Ulster' (R. Morton, 1970) pp. 53-54
'Jeannie Robertson' (J. Porter & H. Gower, 1995) pp. 234-236
'Sam Henry's Songs of the People' (G. Huntington, 1990) p. 434
'Folk-Song of the North-East' (G. Greig, K. Goldstein & A. Argo, 1963 reprint) art. CXXIII
Recording Location
County - Aberdeenshire
Parish - Aberdeen
Village/Place - Aberdeen
Language
English
Genre
Collection
Source Type
Reel to reel
Audio Quality
Good