The Band o Shearers

Original Track ID

SA1956.45.A18

Original Tape ID

SA1956.045

Summary

A recited fragment of the song 'The Band o Shearers':

Bonnie lassie, will ye gang,
And shear wi me the hale day lang?
And efter a' the shearin's done
We'll hae a rantin roarin fun
An forget a' the toils o the shearin.

Item Notes

1 stanza of 5 lines; the first 2 lines are usually the start of a chorus, the last 3 lines are usually the gist of the last verse.

There is a degree of debate over the origin of this song: Robert Hogg (1799-1834), nephew of the famous 'Ettrick Shepherd', James Hogg, is sometimes credited with the authorship, given the obvious connection with his song 'When Autumn Comes' (C. Rogers, 'The Modern Scottish Minstrel' vol. IV, 1857, p. 132; J. G. Wilson, 'The Poets and Poetry of Scotland' vol. 2, 1876, p. 523; R. Ford, 'Vagabond Songs & Ballads' vol. 1, 1899, pp. 238-239). Greig however disagrees, maintaining that the variety found in oral tradition suggests that the song is older (Greig-Duncan vol. 3, pp. 118-122).

For another variant, see Ord's 'The Gallant Shearers' ('Bothy Songs & Ballads', 1930, p.267; Roud Folk Song Index no. 5593).

See also:
'Come Gie's a Sang' (S. Douglas, 1995) p. 112
'Bothy Songs & Ballads' (J. Ord, 1930) pp. 268-269
'Herd Laddie o The Glen' (A. McMorland, 2006) p. 64

Recording Location

Language

Scots

Genre

Song

Collection

SoSS

Classification

R1524 GD406

Source Type

Reel to reel

Audio Quality

Good