The Road and the Miles to Dundee

Original Track ID

SA1975.230.A1

Original Tape ID

SA1975.230

Summary

In this popular song, the singer meets a girl who asks him the way to Dundee. Since it's easier to show her than tell her, he suggests that they make their way to Dundee together. When they arrive, they exchange tokens before going their separate ways. The singer will never forget the girl, and ends by saying that young men should never be reluctant to convoy a young lass.

Item Notes

5 verses of 4 lines. This popular song has its origins in a poem called 'Grim Winter was Howling', composed by Charles Gray (1782-1851), of Anstruther-wester, Fife, and published by him in poetry collections, first in 1811, and again in 1841. In the decades that followed Gray's death, the Dundee broadside seller The Poets' Box began printing 'The Road to Dundee' (Roud Folk Song Index no. 2300), which is in part clearly derived from Gray's song.

Gray suggested the air 'Bonnie Dundee' ('Up wi' the Bonnets o Bonnie Dundee') for his song, which fits his 3 stanzas of 8 lines. All versions of the 'Road to Dundee' however are grouped into 4-line verses, and at least one broadside suggests the air to the song 'Lucy's Flittin' (Roud 2641) by William Laidlaw (1780-1845) and James Hogg (1770-1835). This may have been either the authors' original suggestion, the tune 'Paddy O'Rafferty', or a later setting by R. A. Smith (1779-1829); neither of these correspond to the later well-known popular melody for 'The Road to Dundee', as sung here.

For 'Grim Winter was Howlin', see:
'Poems' (C. Gray, 1811) pp. 158-159
'Lays and Lyrics' (C. Gray, 1841) pp. 83-84
'The Scottish Minstrel' (C. Rogers, 1872) p. 207
'The Modern Scottish Minstrel' vol. 3 (C. Rogers, 1857) pp. 55-56

For 'The Road to Dundee', see:
Greig-Duncan vol. 5, pp. 99-104, no. 971
'101 Scottish Songs' (N. Buchan, 1962) pp. 66-67
'Bothy Songs & Ballads' (J. Ord, 1930) pp. 152-153
'Irish Street Ballads' (C. O Lochlainn, 1978) p. 188
'Kerr's Cornkisters' (W. Kemp & J. S. Kerr, 1950) pp. 68-69
Poet's Box Broadsides 13(a) & 13(b), Lamb Collection, Dundee City Library
'Till Doomsday in the Afternoon' (E. MacColl & P. Seeger, 1986) pp. 215-217
'Folk-Song of the North-East' (G. Greig, K. Goldstein & A. Argo, 1963 reprint) art. LI

Recording Location

Item Location

Language

Scots

Genre

Song

Collection

SoSS

Classification

R2300 GD971

Source Type

Reel to reel

Audio Quality

Good