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The Daemon Lover

Contributors
Date 08 September 1973
Track ID 67188
Part 1

Track Information

Original Track ID

SA1973.113.A1b

Original Tape ID

SA1973.113

Summary

In this supernatural ballad, a married woman is approached by her former sweetheart, who urges her to leave her husband and children and go with him. She is initially reluctant, but agrees when he offers her riches. She kisses her children goodbye and leaves on board her lover's ship. After a short time, she realises that the ship has no sailors and eventually sees that her lover has a cloven foot. She spies a pleasant hill on the horizon and is told that it is the hill of Heaven, where she can never go. She likewise sees some grim mountains, and is told that this is Hell, where she and he are going. A storm rises and the woman's demonic lover breaks the ship's mast, causing the vessel to sink.

Joe Rae notes that this song was collected in Tweedside at the turn of the eighteenth century.

Item Notes

17 verses of 4 lines. Recorded at a Traditional Music and Song Association Kinross Festival competition.

See:
Greig-Duncan vol. 2, p. 490, no. 332
'Ballad Book' (M. Leach, 1955) pp. 598-606
'Book of Scottish Ballads' (A. Whitelaw, 1845) pp. 222-224
'Ballads of Scotland' vol. 2 (W. E. Aytoun, 1858) pp. 341-344
'Traditional Ballad Airs' vol. 1 (W. Christie, 1876) pp. 138-139
'Ancient Ballads and Songs' vol. 2 (P. Buchan, 1828, 1875) pp. 209-213
'Folk-Song of the North-East' (G. Greig, K. Goldstein & A. Argo, 1963 reprint) art. no. CLXII

Recording Location

County - Kinross-shire

Parish - Kinross

Village/Place - Kinross

Language

Scots

Collection

SoSS

Classification

R14 GD332 C243

Source Type

Reel to reel

Audio Quality

Good