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Braes of Yarrow/ Brae's O'Yarrow/ Dowie Dens of Yarrow
Traditional Song;
CATEGORY: Traditional and Public Domain Bluegrass Songs
ARTIST: Richard Matteson
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCjFgBauQpQ
TAB for Youtube video:
DATE: 1800’s. 1909 in US Collected by Niles (3 texts)
OTHER NAMES: "Dowie Dens of Yarrow;"
RECORDING INFO: Brae's of/o Yarrow [Ch 214]
Rt - Dowie Dens of/o' Yarrow ; Lady and the Shepherd
Friedman, Albert B. (ed.) / Viking Book of Folk Ballads of the English-S, Viking, sof (1963), p 99 [1770s]
Fannie, Eagan. Cox, John Harrington (ed.) / Folk-Songs of the South, Dover, Sof (1967/1925), p137/# 24 [1917/02]
Hadley, Sarah Jane. Niles, John Jacob / Ballad Book of John Jacob Niles, Bramhall House, Bk (1961), p294/N 54C [1933] (In the Lonely Glens of Yarrow)
Insch, W. M.. Moore, Ethel & Chauncey O.(ed.) / Ballads and Folk Songs of the Southwes, Univ. of Okla, Bk (1964), p105/# 42B [1930s]
MacArthur, Margaret. MacArthur, Margaret / Ballads Thrice Twisted, Whetstone WR 05, CD (1999), trk# 8
Niles, John Jacob. Best of John Jacob Niles, Tradition S-2055, LP (196?), trk# A.03 (Dreary Dream)
Strachan, Mary. Moore, Ethel & Chauncey O.(ed.) / Ballads and Folk Songs of the Southwes, Univ. of Okla, Bk (1964), p104/# 42A [1930s]
Unidentified Singer. Niles, John Jacob / Ballad Book of John Jacob Niles, Bramhall House, Bk (1961), p291/N 54B [1909] (Dreary Dream)
RECORDING INFO: Dowie Dens of/o' Yarrow [Ch 214]
Rt - Brae's of/o Yarrow ; Rare Willie Drowned in the Yarrow
Rm - Dear Companion
Cahn, Rolf. Night at the Ash Grove, World Pacific WP 1254, LP (1958), trk# B.03 (Yarrow)
Calvert, Mrs.. Kidson, Frank (ed.) / Traditional Tunes. A Collection of Ballad Airs, S.R. Publishers, Bk (1970/1891), p 21 [1880s]
Carlin, Richard. In Come a Bumblebee, Folkways FW 8846, CD (1977), trk# B.07
Cazden, Joanna. Folk Songs of the Catskills. A Celebration of Camp Woodland, Cob's Cobble 1005, CD (2001), trk# 13 (Dewey Dens/Dells of Yarrow)
Corries. Strings and Things, Fiesta FLP 1832, LP (1970), trk# B.05
Edwards, George. Cazden, Norman, et.al. / Folk Songs of the Catskills, SUNY Press, sof (1982), p181/# 45 [1940s] (Dens of Yarrow)
Edwards, George. Cazden, Norman / Abelard Folk Song Book, Abelard-Schuman, Bk (1958), p 40 (Dens of Yarrow)
English, Logan. American Folk Ballads, Monitor MF 388, LP (1962), trk# A.02 (Dewey Dens/Dells of Yarrow)
Hanly, Mick. As I Went Over Blackwater, Green Linnet SIF 3007, LP (1981), trk# 4 (Dewey Dens/Dells of Yarrow)
Hester, Carolyn. Carolyn Hester, Columbia CL 1796, LP (1962), trk# A.04 (Yarrow)
Hunter, Max. Ozark Mountain Folksongs, Folk Legacy FSA 011, Cas (1963), trk# A.02 (Dewey Dens/Dells of Yarrow)
MacColl, Ewan. World Library of Folk and Primitive Music: Scotland, Vol 3, Rounder 1743, CD (1998), trk# 6 [1951]
MacColl, Ewan. MacColl, Ewan / Folk Songs and Ballads of Scotland, Oak, Sof (1965), p30
MacColl, Ewan. Clayre, Alasdair (ed.) / 100 Folk Songs and New Songs, Wolfe, Sof (1968), p 85
MacColl, Ewan. English and Scottish Popular Ballads (The Child Ballads) Vol. 5, Washington WLP 719, LP (1963/1956), trk# B.01
MacDonald, John. Fowke, Edith (ed.) / The Penguin Book of Canadian Folk Songs, Penguin, Sof (1973), p178/#77 [1961] (Dewey Dens/Dells of Yarrow)
Miller, William. Buchan, Norman (ed.) / 101 Scottish Songs, Collins, poc (1962), p132
Redpath, Jean. Song of the Seals, Philo PH 1054, LP (1978), trk# B.01
Stewart, Davie. Folk Songs of Britain, Vol 5. The Child Ballads, Vol. II, Caedmon TC 1146, LP (1961), trk# A.10 [1950s]
SOURCES: Mudcat Discussion Forum; Folk Index
NOTES: The "Braes of Yarrow" or the "Dowie Dens o Yarrow" is categorized as Child Ballad #214. Teh song was first published in Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, 1803. The Yarrow Water is a river in the Borders in the south east of Scotland. Brae is the Lowland Scots word for the slope of a hill. The word 'Brae' in Shetland dialect has a different meaning; it may come from the Old Norse word breiðr meaning broad. "a slope to the river Yarrow".
The folk song "The Dowie Dens o Yarrow" (English: "the dismal, narrow wooded valleys of Yarrow") refers to an ambush and murder that takes place in the locality. According to Walter Scott the song is based on a real incident that took place in the seventeenth century, although some modern scholars are sceptical about this story as one of the origins of the song. These include a poem by William Hamilton of Bangour called "The Braes of Yarrow" first published in Edinburgh in 1724 and said to be "written in imitation of an old Scottish ballad on a similar subject". The Dowie Dens of Yarrow: A woman implores her love to stay at home on account of a dream she has had which foretold his death.
In the United States a version was collected in West Virginia by Cox in 1917. The text found in West Virginia is not derived from any of the English versions. John Jacob Niles, born in Louisville, reported three versions. One he titles the "Dreary Dream," another the "Lonely Glens of Yarrow":
Lonely Glens of Yarrow
Oh gentle Wind oh tender wind
How blow ye north or south,
Go take this kiss to her true love
And Place it on his Mouth
BALLAD INDEX: Dowie Dens o Yarrow, The [Child 214]
DESCRIPTION: Many men feel that a woman (their sister?) should be separated from her lover/husband. They set out in a band to kill the lover. He manages to kill or wound most of them, but one of them kills him from behind. In many texts the lady dies of sorrow
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1768 (Percy collection)
KEYWORDS: courting fight death family
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber,Bord,High)) US(MA,NE,SE) Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES (24 citations):
Child 214, "The Braes o Yarrow" (18 texts)
Bronson 214, "The Braes o Yarrow" (42 versions+2 in addenda)
Greig #57, pp. 1-2, "The Dowie Dens o' Yarrow" (1 text)
GreigDuncan2 215, "The Dowie Dens o' Yarrow" (20 texts, 25 tunes) {A=Bronson's #16; to B compare #1; D=#25?; E=#23; F=#9; G=#10 or #31?; H=#4; I=#5; J=#13; K=#8; L=#11; M=#12; N=#7; O is probably #18; P=#3; Q=#6; S=#14; T=#20; U=#17; W=#15; X=#22}
Dixon XIII, pp. 68-70, "The Braes o' Yarrow" (1 text)
BarryEckstormSmyth pp. 291-293, "The Braes of Yarrow" (1 short text plus a fragment, 1 tune; the "A" text is a composite lost love song with single stanzas from "The Braes o Yarrow," "The Curragh of Kildare," and others beyond identification; as a whole it cannot be considered a version of Child #214) {Bronson's #37}
Flanders/Olney, pp. 235-237, "The Dewy Dens of Darrow" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #42}
Flanders-Ancient3, pp. 255-259, "The Braes of Yarrow" (2 texts, 2 tunes) {A=Bronson's #42}
Leach, pp. 568-571, "The Braes o Yarrow" (1 text, with a Scandinavian text for comparison)
Friedman, p. 99, "The Braes o' Yarrow" (1 text which incorporates most verses of "Rare Willie Drowned in Yarrow")
OBB 150, "The Dowie Houms of Yarrow" (1 text)
FSCatskills 45, "The Dens of Yarrow" (1 text, 1 tune)
JHCox 24, "The Braes o Yarrow" (1 text, which Cox lists here though it is so worn down that it might as well be considered a lyric piece; the plot is entirely gone, compare the Hamilton text in Percy)
Ord, pp. 426-429, "The Dowie Dens o' Yarrow" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #2}
MacSeegTrav 17, "The Braes o' Yarrow" (3 texts, 3 tunes)
Karpeles-Newfoundland 19, "The Dowie Dens of Yarrow" (1 text, 1 tune)
Fowke/MacMillan 77, "The Dewy Dells of Yarrow" (1 text, 1 tune)
TBB 10, "The Braes O' Yarrow" (1 text)
Niles 54, "The Braes o Yarrow" (3 texts, 3 tunes)
Darling-NAS, pp. 54-55, "The Dewy Dens of Yarrow" (1 text)
HarvClass-EP1, pp. 115-116, "The Dowie Houms o Yarrow" (1 text)
Silber-FSWB, p. 179, "The Dowie Dens of Yarrow" (1 text)
cf. Percy/Wheatley II, pp. 362-367, "The Braes of Yarrow" (1 text, said to be William Hamilton's adaption of this song)
DT 214, YARROW1*
Roud #13
RECORDINGS:
Liam Clancy, "Dowie Dens of Yarrow" (on IRLClancy01)
Ewan MacColl, "The Dowie Dens of Yarrow" (on Lomax43, LomaxCD1743) {Bronson's #33}
John MacDonald, "The Dewie Dens of Yarrow" (on Voice03)
Willie Scott, "The Dowie Dens O' Yarrow" (on Voice17)
Davie [Davy] Stewart, "The Dowie Dens of Yarrow" (on FSB5, FSBBAL2) {Bronson's #24}
BROADSIDES:
NLScotland, RB.m.143(120), "The Dowie Dens of Yarrow," unknown, c. 1890 [scan largely illegible but probably this piece]
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Rare Willie Drowned in Yarrow" [Child 215]
ALTERNATE TITLES:
The Lady and the Shepherd
The Dreary Dream
In the Lonely Glens of Yarrow
Notes: Several scholars, among them Norman Cazden, have claimed that this song is the same as Child 215, "Rare Willie Drowned in Yarrow." Certainly there has been exchange of verses. However, I (following Leach), would maintain that there is a difference: "The Dowie Dens" is about opposition to a marriage; "Willie Drowned" is about the loss of a love.
A brief summary of the whole discussion is found in Coffin's notes in Flanders-Ancient3. It's not clear what he believes, except that the two songs are a mess and quite mixed. Which can hardly be denied. - RBW
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