English and other Versions 14. Babyon; The Bonnie Banks o Fordie
CONTENTS:
Babylon; The Bonnie Banks o' Fordie- 1827 Child A
The Banishd Man- Herd (Edinburgh) 1770s Child B
Bonnie Banks o Fordie- Goldie 1825; Child C
Three Sisters- Agnes Lyle- Kilbarchan 1825 Child D
Duke of Perth's Three Daughters- 1827 Child E
Bonny Banks of Airdrie Oh- Groome 1881 Child F
Bonnie Banks o' Airdrie- Bell Robertson c. 1840
Bonnie Banks o Fordie- Gaughan; Lochaber c. 1930s
Three Sisters- Briggs (Glasgow) 1942 Opie
Bonnie Banks o Airderie O- Peasie (Burnam) 1953
The Banks of Airdrie- Campbell (Perthshire) 1967
The Banks of Airdrie O- Reid (Fife) 1967
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Scottish Tinker Songs
Author(s): Peter A. Hall
Source:
Folk Music Journal,
Vol. 3, No. 1, Music of the Travelling People (1975), pp. 41-62
Published by: English Folk Dance + Song Society
It is instructive to compare the Bell Robertson fragment
published in Last Leaves with the corresponding verses from the
Jessie McDonald set.
Jessie McDonald, a traveller born in 1876.
Bell Robertson: 1. "Will ye be a rank robber's wife?
Aiken ay so bonnie, 0.
Or will ye die by my penknife?
On the bonnie banks o Airdrie, O."
2. "I winna be a rank robber's wife,
Aiken ay so bonnie, 0.
But I'd rather die by your penknife,
On the bonnie banks o Airdrie, O."
Jessie McDonald: 3. "Would ye be a rank robber's wife,
Eek in aye sae bonnie-o!
Or would ye die by my penknife?
On the bonnie banks o' Airdrie-ol"
4. "I'll not be a rank robber's wife,
Eek in aye sae bonnie-o!
I'd rather die by your penknife,
On the bonnie banks o' Airdrie-o!"
Bell Robertson heard her version sung by "a tinker boy nearly
70 years ago". This would be about 1840, and suggests a distinctive
version in the mouths of travellers for upwards of a century,
the locale being given as Airdrie as is the case with a set in
Groome's book The Gypsy Tents (1880). The ballad seems to be
much more common than was thought hitherto, or perhaps a
lack of investigation into the tinker repertoire has hidden its
existence from us.
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Recent-- "Banks of Airdrie" sung by Mary Campbell 1967 Perthshire
Bronson addenda
1. (forgotten)
2. He took the first pretty sister by the hand
Hey win sa bonnie
He whirled her round an' he made her stand
On the dewy banks o' Airdrie O
3. Will you be a rank robber's wife
Hey win sa bonnie
Or will you die by my penknife
On the dewy banks o' Airdrie O
4. I won't be a rank robber's wife
Hey win sa bonnie
So I will die by your penknife
On the dewy banks o' Airdrie 0
5. He took the next pretty sister by the hand
He whirled her round-an' he made her stand
[Refrain lines sung with each verse.]
6. Will you be a rank robber's wife
Or will you die by my penknife
7. I won't be a rank robber's wife
So I will die by your penknife
8. He took the third pretty sister by the hand
He whirled her round an' he made her stand
9. Will you be a rank robber's wife
Or will you die by my penknife
10. I have three brothers who pass this way
If you kill me it's they'll kill you
11. Pray tell me your three brothers, names
William, Peter, an' the other's named John
12. Pray tell me what's this I have done
Hey win sa bonnie
I've killed my three pretty sisters all but one
On the dewy banks-o' Airdrie O
"On singing the song again 10 April 1969, she sang the first: refrain Hey win sa bonnie O (this was without any comment from myself.)
[Shepheard't MS, note.)
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