The Smith's a Gallant Fireman/Bonnie Lass Come Owre the Burn
Track Information
Original Track ID
SA1952.34.A13
Original Tape ID
Summary
A piece of mouth music sung to the tune of 'The Smith's a Gallant Fireman':
Lang lang wid Ah [?]
[?] I had a hireman
An aa the tune that he could play
'The Smith's a Gallant Fireman'
Bonnie lass come owre the burn
Dinna stand there an' murn
For Ah'm the faither o yer bairn
Now what the Devil ails ye?
Bonnie lass come doon the street
Whaar got ee that bairn?
Ah got it fae a country chiel
Comin thro Auldearn
Bonnie lass come owre the burn
Dinna stand there an' murn
For Ah'm the faither o yer bairn
Now what the Devil ails ye?
Item Notes
4 verses of 4 lines; song performed three times at various speeds and pitches.
This is a conflation of two normally distinct songs: the first stanza is from a version of 'The Smith's a Gallant Fireman' (Roud 5899), the melody of which is used for the whole song; the remainder belongs to 'Bonnie Lass Come Owre the Burn' (Roud 3359). The first line of the former is typically: 'Lang lang wad I want ere I had a hireman', or similar.
For 'The Smith's a Gallant Fireman', see:
Greig-Duncan vol. 3, pp. 228-229, no. 461
'Folk-Song of the North-East' (G. Greig, K. Goldstein, A. Argo, 1963 reprint) art. LXXIII
For 'Bonnie Lass Come Owre the Burn', see:
'The Scottish Folksinger' (N. Buchan & P. Hall, 1973) p. 70
'Jeannie Robertson' (J. Porter & H. Gower, 1995) pp. 177-178
'Till Doomsday in the Afternoon' (E. MacColl & P. Seeger, 1986) p. 209
cf. 'Bonnie Lass Blink Owre the Burn' (Roud 6136) by Rev. James Honeyman (1703-1780)
Language
Scots
Genre
Collection
Source Type
Reel to reel
Audio Quality
Good