Scottish Song in the James Madison Carpenter Collection
by Ian A. Olson
Folk Music Journal, Vol. 7, No. 4, Special Issue on the James Madison Carpenter
Collection (1998), pp. 421-433
Scottish Song in the
James Madison Carpenter Collection
IAN A. OLSON
When it is finally published, the collection made by James Madison Carpenter of Harvard between 1929 and 1935 will surely rank amongst the best, certainly as far as Scottish balladry and songs are concerned. Its Scottish component came largely from the North-East of Scotland.
Although this area has been assiduously researched for over two hundred years, Carpenter's material fills an important gap in the record, and shares informants with other major collections. His remarkable ability to gain the confidence and trust of informants may account for the rare, sometimes unique, song versions he found.
Introduction
SOME YEARS AFTER James Madison Carpenter (1888-1984) had returned to his base at Harvard University after extensive folksong and folklore collecting in Britain between 1929 and 1935, his papers show that he intended to publish a volume or volumes of the great story ballads-the 'classical' or 'traditional' ballads. These had become known as the 'Child' ballads, for they had been assembled and categorized some fifty years before by his famous predecessor at Harvard, Francis James Child, in The English and Scottish Popular Ballads, in which each of 305 ballad types was given a number used to this day.[1] Although Child had printed all the texts he could lay his hands on (largely from printed or manuscript sources), he had provided very few tunes.
Carpenter, however, claimed that his proposed publication, 'British and American Traditional Ballads with Tunes', would prove the most valuable ever in scope, in range, in fullness, in fidelity of recording techniques, in quality, in scholarly value, and in the demonstration of 'the greatest ballad singer of all time', one Bell Duncan.[2]
Having sampled the James Madison Carpenter Collection, I have little doubt that these claims will be fully vindicated, and not only with regard to his ballad findings. It will take many years to index, collate, and analyse all his texts and recordings in order to substantiate such claims fully, but material so far examined suggests that his findings will be of the greatest importance as far as Scottish songs and informants are concerned. Some examples will be given in this paper. Furthermore, while considering the Scottish dimension of his collecting, I intend to demonstrate that, both as a person and a collector, Carpenter had unique qualities. Not only did he have the ability to gain the trust of a people who were, and are, not naturally outgoing, but also he had the good fortune and/or the skill to unearth unique, rare and previously unrecorded song material in an area of Scotland which had been, and still is, assiduously gone over by highly experienced collectors, many themselves natives of the region.[3]
The Ballad and Song Tradition of the North-East of Scotland
Although the title of this paper refers to 'Scottish song', I propose to concentrate largely on the North-East of Scotland for two reasons. Firstly, Carpenter himself largely concentrated on this region; and secondly, his findings are thus located within a rich music and song tradition which has been thoroughly and almost continuously investigated for over two hundred years.
The region has long been famous for its traditional music and song, especially the great story ballads (the 'classical' or 'traditional' ballads) made famous by Professor Francis Child of Harvard, as mentioned above. When Child had started his great collection, he was directed to the North-East, and he was not to be disappointed.[4]
Over and above the great richness of its music and song, what has also made the area internationally famous is the number and assiduity of its collectors from the late eighteenth century to the present day. When listing such activity it may seem a little
strange to start with the 'Border ballads' of Sir Walter Scott, whose Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border had such an impact on the world when it was published in 1802, but, as David Buchan pointed out:[5]
Many of [Scott's] ballad correspondents came from the Northeast, and through them Scott had access to most of the northeastern ballads t hen collected. The Abbotsford Collection contained at one time or another s ubstantial recordings from Mrs [Anna] Brown,[6] the Old Lady[7] and James Nicol,[8] and individual ballads gathered by Hugh Irvine of Drum, James Skene of Rubislaw, and Williamson Bumet of Monboddo in the Meams.... Ironically, then, many of the Scott ballads that helped establish the Borders as the pre-eminent ballad area [and to this day gives the misleading term 'Border ballads' to the great story ballads] come from the Northeast. Moving on from these informants used by Walter Scott, we come to a collection of over sixty Child and other ballads reportedly made 'before 1818' by the Reverend Robert Scott (1778-1855) whose parish of Glenbuchat lies to the Highland edge of the North-East of Scotland.[9] In 1825, Peter Buchan (1790-1854) of Peterhead, at the opposite end of the region, brought out his first collection, Gleanings of Scarce Old Ballads, apparently based on researches from about 1815 onwards. It was followed in 1828 by Ancient Ballads and Songs of the North of Scotland.[10] Thereafter, William Christie of Monquhitter (c. 1778-1894) and his son, William Christie, Dean of Moray (d. 1885) published their considerable researches as Traditional Ballad Airs Arranged and Harmonisedfor the Pianoforte and Harmonium from Copies Procured in the Counties of Aberdeen, Banff and Moray in two volumes in 1876 and 1881.[11]
The next, and perhaps most important, collection in the region was assembled by Gavin Grieg (1856-1914), a country schoolmaster, together with a local minister, the Reverend James Bruce Duncan (1848-1917) in the decade before the Great War of 1914-18.[12] It was a superb collection of some 3500 songs, now being published by the joint efforts of the University of Aberdeen and the School of Scottish Studies, University of Edinburgh, in eight large volumes. In sheer size and quality it is probably one of the finest collections ever made.[13] Although Grieg and Duncan died before their work could be got ready for publication, the thirteen percent of the collection which comprised the 'Child ballads' was edited by Alexander Keith, under the guidance of William Walker, and published by the Buchan [Field] Club in 1925 as Last Leaves of Traditional B allads and Ballad Airs Collected in Aberdeenshire by the Late Gavin Grieg.[14]
Carpenter later collected from a number of their informants. Grieg's friend John Ord (1861-1928) collected over the same period (his Bothy Songs and Ballads of Aberdeen, Banff and Moray, Angus and the Mearns was published posthumously in 1930), but details of his informants a re very scanty.[15] A later unpublished collection, however, made between 1923 and 1950 by Harold George (1890- 1980), an English music master in the coastal town of Banff, does contain songs from Carpenter's informants.[16] In turn later researchers collected f rom George's informants. One of his most important, Willie Mathieson, was not only collected from by Carpenter but was also later recorded on tape by Alan Lomax and by Hamish Henderson of the School of Scottish Studies in the 1950s.[17] Boosted by a worldwide revival of interest in folk song, this latter period saw the arrival of North American researchers such as Kenneth Goldstein, as well as collectors from Scotland and England and local research workers such as Peter Hall.[18]
As a result, from the late eighteenth century to the present day the North-East of Scotland has an almost unrivalled folksong record, virtually unbroken in its completeness, and with many collections overlapping. This quality and uniqueness appeart o be real and not merely the result of assiduous collecting in this region which might have produced the same results if applied elsewhere. Small wonder scholars have come to conclusions such as the following:
And the North-East of Scodand is to a high degree sui generis far richer in balladry and song than any other part of the Lowlands (or, indeed, of Bntain.). .. This needst o be said.[19] Carpenter's collection, made between 1929 and 1935, helps complete the record of this remarkable area.
Scottish Song Types
Before considering Carpenter's material in detail, it is first necessary to consider what may be called 'Scottish song', for it should be said that one of the first things that Greig and Duncan recognized was that most of the songs in their vast collection in fact transcended local, national (Scottish and British) and even international boundaries.[20] Greig and Duncan had followed the convention of dividing their songs into two main groupings:( a) the 'great', 'classical',' traditional' s tory ballads a s catalogued by Professor Child, and (b) the songs. The latter he subdivided into those concerning 'life, work and character', and 'love songs'.[21]
Within both groupings, there were indeed songs which were purely Scottish in origin, together with a number which had originated uniquely in the North-East of Scotland itself.[22] These included the great North-East 'historical b allads'.[23] Just as important, within the 'song' category, there was a group which Greig considered was 'indigenous', 'showed a minimum of intrusive elements', 'illustrated the vemacular in a special way' and were 'altogether the most characteristic kind of folk-song we have'.[24] He further noted that this type of song 'retains a certain measure of vitality.
Its record indeed is not yet closed.[25] He finally called them the 'bothy ballads', [26] applying the term to 'that kind of ditty which recounts the experiences of a farm servant while fulfilling his half-yearly engagements at some "toon" [farm unit]. Its form is largely stereotyped. It deals mainly in characterisations'.[27] As with the historical ballads, these songs can be localized in time and place and the subjects identified. But, even better, in many instances the composers are also known.[28]
Carpenter's Specific Reasons for Concentrating on the North-East
Child had died before his own great work was completed, and it had been left to the Harvard ballad scholar G. L. Kittredge to see the final parts through publication. Kittredge in tum was Carpenter's teacher and mentor. Carpenter's initial interest,however, had been sea shanties (his doctoral thesis of 1929 was on 'Forecastle Songs and Chanties') and it appears that he first travelled up the north-east coast in search of them. Travelling around in a tiny open-topped Austin (Figure 1) wearing two sets of thick wooUy underwear to combat the chmate, he recorded songs on a cylinder Dictaphone powered by a six-volt battery. He heard his first Child ballad in Dundee; this prompted him to explore also inland and to look for folk song in general, especially the Child ballads." [30] He appears to have been a remarkably hard-working and thorough coRector who underwent considerable privations, such as eating and sleeping in his [31] car in all weathers, to achieve his aims on a very limited budget.
Now Greig and Duncan's collection had been assembled in this area some thirty
years previously. It was originaUy meant to appear as a volume pubhshed by the New
Spalding Club, but both men had died before their material was ready for pubhcation;
the Club itself was to be wound up on the death of its Secretary, P. J. Anderson, in
32 1926. Anderson, fortunately, had also been the Aberdeen University Librarian and
had ensured that the collection was at least collated, indexed and placed safely on the
33 shelves of the University Archives.
In 1925, furthermore, friends of Greig and Duncan from another local research
association, the Buchan [Field] Club, had brought out the Child baUads in the collection
(some thirteen percent of the whole) in a beautiful volume with the stran ly
elegiac tide of Last Leaves of TraditionalB allads and Ballad Airs Colleaed in Aberdeenshire
by the Late Gavin Greig.
Figure 1
Carpenter in his car [Aberdeen, c. 1930. Photographer unknown].
Courtesyo f thejamesM adisonC arpent"C ollectionA, rchiveo f Folk CultureA, mericanF olklifeC enter,L ibraryo f Congress
(AFC 19721001, PIOI)
This book also appeared as Number 100 in the Aberdeen [31] University Studies Series and had an intemational circulation. It is very likely that Carpenter would have seen a copy, which had detail and locations of the informants but, although he does eventually refer to it in the synopsis of his proposed British and American ballad book (written after his return to America), he does not refer to it in his actual list of sources and informants for his collection. The Gavin Greig publication to which he does refer quite often in such papers is Folk-Song of the North- East.[35]
Between 1907 and 1911 Greig had published a series of weekly folksong articles in the Aberdeenshire newspaper, the Buchan Observer. He used them to present his findings and ideas, and asked in turn for comments and contributions. The articles
were then bound (initially in two volumes) under the title Folk-Song of the North- East; the second volume appeared only weeks before his death in 1914. [36]
Sets of these volumes went not only to majorc ontributorsb ut also to Edinburgh, Glasgow and Berlin, as well as to the Folk-Song Society and its important collectors, such as Lucy Broadwood, Frank Kidson and Cecil Sharp. Later in 1914, a limited
edition of the combined volumes was published with an index by William Walker (1840-1931), the Scottish ballad authority who had assisted Child. Walker was to influence greatly the 1925 publication of Last Leaves.
Carpenter's Leads into the North-East Song Tradition
Thus when Carpenter arrived in the North-East of Scotland in 1929, he potentially had three printed s ources a vailable t o him which could have provided d etails o f recent collecting activity in the area: (a) Last Leaves (probably available to him in Harvard then) (b) Folk-Song in the North-East (certainly a vailable in Aberdeen Public Library),[37] and (c) the Greig-Duncanm anuscripts (in the Aberdeen University Archives). Information concerning informants, including their locations, is to be found in all three sources but Carpenter's papers refer to Folk-Song of the North-East and, very surprisingly, as we shall see, to James Duncan's family papers.
Did Carpenter see the manuscripts in the University Archives? The papers a nd notebooks were carefully guarded and he probably gained only limited access, if any.[38] What he did learn, however, was that Katharine Duncan, the Reverend James B ruce Duncan's somewhat eccentric daughter, had asked to see the Grieg-Duncan Collection in 1921. To the dismay of the University, she had insisted on removing her father's contribution (perhaps horrified by his numerous entries in shorthand of
'unsuitable' verses, many in song versions got from Duncan's mother and sister), claiming they were family property. They were never to be seen again until the University made enquiries after her funeral in 1959 and, indeed, everyone thought
she had destroyed them.[39]
This brings us to Carpenter'ss pecial qualities.L ettersa mongst his paperss how that he sought out Miss Duncan, drew her out of her reclusiveness, and charmed h er not only into showing him the Duncan manuscripts but also into assisting h im freely
with his enquiries in later years, and giving him permission to publish. Carpenter also appears to have ensured that the Duncan family papers were retrieved, properly examined (by Carpenter), and safely guarded for posterity, as Katharine later
acknowledged:
I gave you a "scare"a boutF ather'ps apers.... You did not resto ne minuteu ntily ou went right
into town [Aberdeena] nd madeM r Cameronl ook for the parcela nd fetchedi t out ever so late.
It was too good of you but I never would have got him to look for it! I was and am so grateful
to you! ... They are now at Head Quarters of the Aberdeen Savings Bank-you suggested I
should put them in such keeping.[40]
The Child Ballads in the Carpenter Collection and his Unique Versions
The Child ballads appear to have been Carpenter's main interest, judging by the synopsiso f his proposedb ook found amongsth is papers. A n abbreviated v ersion r eads as follows:[41]
British and American Traditional Ballads will be the most valuable collection of Child ballads with
tunes ever published,
I In scope:
(A) the largest since Child['s] . .. 305 ballads- 1295 texts-55 tunes (of 46 ballads)
(B) My collection compnses ... 131 ballads-786 texts-876 tunes (of 114 ballads)42
(C) Last Leaves, Gavin Greig, 108 ballads- 118 texts-252 tunes (of 79 ballads)43
II In range:
British versions collected during forty thousand miles of travel through Britain, placing side
by side versions from Land's End to John o Groats . . .44
III In fullness:
[e.g.] The Laird o Drum 26 texts, 44 tunes
The Dowie Dens o Yarrow 28 texts, 45 tunes45
IV In fidelity to folk material ... texts typed from dictation, tunes recorded on dictaphone and
phonograph records.... Rarer ballads and ballads from important singers recorded three or
four times over....
V In quality a strictly traditional collection, with tunes, escapes the 'editing' of earlier collections
and ... spurious non-traditional material.... [Collected from] British peasants, often bom
near the spot celebrated in the ballad, hence familiar with British places and traditions. A
large percentage of tunes, from the Scottish Highlands or near them, are in the ancient modal
minors.
VI In the discovery of the greatest ballad singer of all time. Bell Duncan (eighty-five) sang sixtyfive
Child ballads with tunes, never a single reference to manuscript ... leamed mainly from
her mother, sixty-five to seventy years ago [1855-1860] ...
VII In its inplications for ballad study and criticism ... It throws light on the 'Peter Buchan
question' 6 and other problems of British collections.... It places side by side for study and
comparison British and American texts and tunes ...
Taking Carpenter'sn umbersa lone, this is a considerableC hild balladc ollection and
random sampling suggests that his general claims will be well sustained when detailed
analysis is eventually undertaken, following proper indexing, collation and tune
transcription. A preliminary examination of the ballad texts alone shows that well
over 730 were from informants in the North-East of Scotland.47
With regard to Carpenter's claim for 'fullness' in Section III, it is noteworthy that
he cites two Scottish ballads; all their texts and tunes come from the North-East.
With regard to 'fidelity' (Section IV), it is clear from his description of his working
methods in an interview late in life that they were indeed meticulous and painstaking.
This is certainly supported by my random sampling. As far as 'range' (Section II) is
concerned, he collected, for example, from a wider area of the North-East than Greig
and Duncan; the remarkable Bell Duncan (no relation of the latter) who is referred
to in Section VI, and who shows every sign indeed of being 'the greatestb allads inger
of all time', certainly as far as Scotland is concerned,49 was discovered in the parish
of Insch, outwith the southern edge of their 'territory'.
But it is with regard to 'quality' (Section V) that those who have researched his
song types have already been well rewarded for, in addition, Carpenter's Collection
also contains rare and unique material which should have a considerable influence on
future ballad scholarship. Two examples are David Atkinson's study, "'The Two
Sisters' , and my 'The Dreadful Death of the Bonny Earl of Murray'.51
ScottishS ongi n theJ amesM adisonC arpenteCr ollection 427
Atkinson provides a thorough examination of the international ballad of 'The
Two Sisters' (in which a jealous-in-love elder sister murders her better-endowed
younger sister). He commences by reminding us that the ballad was thought to
have spreadf irst throughoutS candinaviap, robablyf rom Norway, before crossingt o
Scotland and England (where it was eventually collected and categorized by Child as
his ballad number 10). As there have been close connections between the North-
East of Scotland and Scandinaviaf or many centuries,t his spreadi s understandable,
yet the British and North American versions commonly omit the denunciation of
the elder sisterb y supernaturaml eans (such as a singing harp)w hich is prominenti n
the Scandinavianv ersions.E ven more surprisinglyt,h e twenty-two versionsf rom the
Greig-DuncanC ollection all come to a close before any supernaturaslc enariou nfolds.
But when Atkinson examines the Carpenter Collection he finds nineteen texts of
'The Two Sisters',a nd three of them incorporatet he supernaturael xposure of the
murder. A detailed consideration of the implications of this finding follows, from
which he concludes that 'the ballad may, therefore, be suggestive of ways in which
national( or local) and internationapl erspectiveso n traditionalc ulture can illuminate
one another'.52
There are two ballad versions (Child 181A and 181B) surrounding the dreadful
murder of the second, ('Bonny') Earl of Moray in 1592. The commonly sung A
version gives no details of the murder as such but historians have so far agreed that
the Earl was cut down after fleeing from a house besieged and set on fire by his
enemy the Earl of Huntly. When I examined the forensic evidence of the wounds
portrayedi n a detailedc ontemporaryd eathp ortraito f Morayi t turnedo ut to support
the neglected B version of the ballad, in which the Bonny Earl is described as having
been treacherouslym urderedi n his bed. But, from the unique version, 'The Bonny
Earlo f Murry',g iven by one of Carpenter'sin formants,i t would appeart hat Child's
A and B versions are in fact but part of one longer ballad, thus emphasizing the
'ahistorical' story it tells. A close re-examination of the 'contemporary' historical
accounts shows that they were mostly written long after the event, by people who
had a vested interest in blackening the name of Moray's supposed murderer, the Earl
of Huntly, and that in reality there are no first-hand eye-witness accounts. Thus these
important clues from the Carpenter Collection not only advance ballad scholarship
but face historians with the need to re-examine the entire event and its significance
in Scottish history.
The Scottish Songs in the Carpenter Collection
Carpenter collected a considerable number of what Greig called simply 'songs' (as
distinctf rom 'ballads')M. any of these, of course, are the sea shantiesw hich brought
him originally to Scotland, especially the north-east coast. It must, however, be
admittedt hat these 'songs'o ther than shantiesd o presentp roblemso f analysisW. hen
Carpenter interviewed singers, for example, did he attempt to get their complete
repertoires?O r did he insteada sk for their greatb alladsa nd record any other songs
he was given almosti ncidentally?C an we, in other words, assumet hat the 'songs'i n
his Collection reflect the repertoireso f his singersa nd their geographicala reas?
If, for example, we turn to the songs of farm workers, especially those that
Greig had categorized as the 'bothy ballads', it is disappointing to find only some
428 IAN A. OLSON
twenty-five versions of some fifteen such song types in the Carpenter Collection, as
opposed to around three hundred versions of almost one hundred song types amassed
by Greig and Duncan some twenty years beforehand.53A t least two possibilities
present themselves: either Carpenter was not very interested in collecting them, or
they were dramaticallyin decline.
The latter possibility is a very real one. The heyday of the bothy ballads corresponded
to the effects of the agriculturalr evolution on the North-East, and the
nineteenth-century farming booms (such as resulted from the terrible Civil War in
which Americans fought themselves to the death across their own corn fields). It
lasted from around 1830 to 1890 (some would say until the Great War, when it
received a final fillip). Thereafter there was a decline in farming and an exodus of
folk from the countryside into cities such as Aberdeen. Such 'exiles' had a deep
nostalgia for their old way of life (despite the harsh reality of its cold, unremitting
drudgery)a nd this was assuagedb y a serieso f concert-halls ingersa nd musiciansw ho
performed sanitized bothy ballads and comic songs in the music-hall tradition which
were based on an imaginary vision of farm life in the past. Two of these performers
especially, George Morris and Will Kemp, released a series of gramophone recordings
of such songs from the 1920s onwards and before long hardly a household or 'bothy'
was without a wind-up gramophonea nd a pile of these recordings.5O4 nly a handful
of the nineteenth-century bothy songs survived this onslaught, and they were the
handfult hat such performersa s Kemp and Morrish ad performeda nd recorded.W hen
Carpenter came on the scene in the 1930s, he recorded only some twenty-five
nineteenth-century songs, half of them provided by a single Aberdeenshire singer,
William Mathieson, born around 1880.
Mathieson was in turn recorded some twenty years later, in the early 1950s, by
both Harold George and Hamish Henderson. In the Harold George Collection there
are also only a couple of farm-life songs, again sung by Mathieson in 1950, but the
significance of this is hard to estimate as George was primarily interested in rescuing
sea songs;h is collection, furthermorec, ompriseso nly final musicalt ranscriptionws ith
no working notebooks.
When Hamish Henderson recorded him in 1952, Mathieson was, admittedly, in
poor health. He only sang some fifteen of the older bothy ballads (out of a total 260
songs performed); this was virtually the same number as Carpenter had collected.55
Now Mathieson also had three notebooks in which he had written down 644 songs
from February1 926 onwards56(a n earliern otebook he had starteda round 1890 had
been borrowedb y a trampi n 1902 and never returned).5B7 ut even this huge catholic
compilation (containing everything from Victorian music-hall songs to Child ballads)
only had some twenty older bothy ballads written down before January 1932 and
only another handful after that date. Carpenter's small number of 'bothy ballad'
records, therefore, appears to reflect a general trend and not a lack of interest on his
part.P erhapst his appliest o the rest of his non-Child-balladm aterial.B ut, once again,
it should be noted that the Carpenter Collection scores in uniqueness. It contains,
for example, the only known source and version of the bothy ballad 'A Fairm Toon'.58
As can be imagined, the nineteenth-century 'genuine' bothy ballads that passed
into gramophonev ersions( performeda lso on the earlyr adio)s urvivedw ord for word
in fixed forms, as would-be singers learned them from the same recordings. One of
these, called 'Drumdelgie' or 'The Hash o' Drumdelgie', which is unusual in describing
events in a single day on a harsh working farm, is now almost invariably sung
ScottishS ongi n theJamesM adisonC arpenteCr ollection 429
with the opening verse:
There's a fairm toon up in Caimie,
Its kent baith faur and wide;
It's ca'd the Hash o' Drumdelgie,
On bonnie Deveronside.59
Or, interestinglye nough, a version is sung from the bothy ballad' bible', Ord's Bothy
Songs and Ballads (which has seldom been out of print since issued in 1930), which
goes:
There'sa fairmeru p in Cairnie,
Who's kent baith far and wide
To be the great Drumdelg,e,
Upon sweet Deveronside.
There are eight 'pre-gramophonev' ariantso f this verse in the Greig-DuncanC ollection
alone, but only Carpenter has ever recorded:
There's a toonie up in Caimie
It's kent be far and wide
Tae be the rochest fairm toon [roughest/harshestf arm unit]
Upon Sweet Deveron Side.6'
A small matter, perhaps,b ut it demonstrateso nce again the point that Carpenter's
informants had many unusual song variants which they had held on to despite the
bombardmento f the gramophone,r adio,s ongbooksa nd otherw idely availablep rinted
sources.
Summary
As far as Scottish song is concemed, and especially with regard to the Child ballads,
preliminary examination strongly suggests that Carpenter's claims for his collection
will be fully vindicated in matters such as scope, range, fullness, fidelity of recording
techniques, quality, and scholarly value. Furthermore, the Collection contains rare
and unique ballada nd song variantsw hich have alreadyf ormed the basiso f in-depth
research which has in tum provided fresh scholarly insights.
But perhapst he most noteworthya nd attractivef eatureo f this splendidc ollection
is Carpenterh imself,a man of outstandinga bilitya nd enthusiasmw, ith a capacityf or
sheer hard work. His warm, genuine and open personality enabled him to gain the
confidence and trust of a normally reserved and cautious community, and its singers,
to an almost unprecedented degree. Let us hope full publication of his achievement
is not long in coming.
Acknowledgements
I am grateful to the staff of Aberdeen University Archives and Special Collections, Aberdeen City Library
Reference and Local Collection, the School of Scottish Studies, University of Edinburgh, and especially
the VaughanW illiamsM emorialL ibrary,C ecil SharpH ouse, whose LibrarianM, alcolm Taylor, introduced
me to the CarpenterC ollection over twelve yearsa go, and whose longstandingd eterminationt o
see a speciali ssue of FolkM usicJournadle voted to Carpenterh as finallyb orne fruit. I am indebted also
to Stuart Aitken of Morrison & Richards, the late David Buchan, the late Peter Hall, Hamish Henderson,
Margaret Mackay, Jim Pratt and Rhona Talbot. Paul S. Duncan has kindly given permission to quote
from his aunt Katharine'ps apers.I am especiallyg ratefult o JuliaB ishop and Roy Palmerf or generously
providing help from their own Carpenter researches.
430 IAN A. OLSON
Notes
1 The Englisha nd ScottishP opularB allads,e d. by FrancisJ ames Child, 5 vols (Boston: Houghton,
Mifflin, 1882-1898; repr. New York: Dover, 1965).
2 The James Madison Carpenter Collection, AFC 1972/001, Archive of Folk Culture, American
Folklife Center, Libraryo f Congress.A microfilmc opy of the manuscriptsa nd tape copies of the discs
are held at the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library, Cecil Sharp House, London, VWML Microfilm
Reels 46-55 and VWML Reel Tape Collection 303-324. Copies of the microfilm only are in Aberdeen
City Library,t ogether with ten volumes of 'A Guide to the CarpenterM anuscripts'w, hich list the
contents of the microfilmr eels (one volume per reel). Carpenter'so utline prospectusi s located in AFC
1972/001, Folder6 7 (Box 3A); on MicrofilmR eel 5. As Carpentera ppearst o have collected 'American'
ballads only after his return from Britain, it was probably drafted while he was at Duke University
between 1938 and 1943.
3 Carpenter'sr emarkablec ombinationo f thoroughness,i nformalitya nd enthusiasms hines throughi n
an interview conducted by Alan Jabboura t Carpenter'sh ome in Booneville, Mississippi,o n 27 May
1972, AFC 1972/001, Reel Tapes, AFS 14,762-14,765. An unpublishedt ranscripto f the interview is
contained in AFC 1972/001, Folder 256 (not on the Microfilm). There are copies of the interview tapes
in the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library (VWML Cassettes 121-122).
4 LastL eaveso f TraditionaBl alladsa nd BalladA irs Collectedin Aberdeenshibrye the Late GavinG reig,e d.
by Alexander Keith (Aberdeen: The Buchan [Field] Club, 1925), states: 'Child ... allots the place of
honour, the A or prime text, of 91 out of the 305 balladsg iven him, to Aberdeenshirev ersions.O ne
in every three of his texts from Scottish sources belong to the same county. No other district . . . can
boast of so rich a contribution' (p. xv).
5 David Buchan, The Ballad and the Folk (London and Boston: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1972; repr.
East Linton: Tuckwell Press, 1997), p. 6.
6 Mrs Anna Brown (nee Gordon) of Falldand (1747-1810) was the daughter of the Professor of
Humanity at King's College in Old Aberdeen. She was not a collector as such but learned her ballads
in childhood from her mother and her mother's side of the family. Many of her songs found their way
into RobertJ amieson'sP opularB alladsa nd Songs( EdinburghC: onstable,1 806). See Buchan, pp. 62-73.
7 The 'Old Lady', whose balladry was obtained for Walter Scott by his friend, James Skene of
Rubislaw (an area now within the boundary of Aberdeen), has not been identified.
8 James Nicol (d. 1840) was an enterprisinga nd intelligent man who spent three years in America
before returning to the North-East village of Strichen to work at his trade as a cooper 'before setting
up in a shop where he dispensed books and ballads along with the groceries'. His relatively small
collection was judged to be of considerablei mportance,a nd examplesa lso found their way into other
important collections such as Motherwell's (see Buchan, pp. 223-43). Carpenter claimed to have been
given a picture of Nicol when in Strichen (CarpenterI nterview).
9 Ian A. Olson, 'Editingt he GlenbuchatB allads:D avid Buchan'sL egacy',A berdeenU niversitRy eview,
57 (1997), 29-45.
10 Peter Buchan, Gleaningos f ScarceO ld BalladsC hieflyT ragicaaln dH istoricaMl, anyo f ThemC onnected
with the Localitieosf Aberdeenshiarne d To Be Foundi n No OtherP lace( Peterhead:P . Buchan, 1825; repr.
Aberdeen: D. Wylie, 1891); AncientB alladsa nd Songs of the North of ScotlandH ithertoU npublished
(EdinburghL: ainga nd Stevenson, 1828). For detailso f his collecting, see WilliamW alker'sP eterB uchan
and OtherP aperso n Scottisha nd EnglishB alladsa nd Songs( Aberdeen:D . Wyllie, 1915).
11 W. Christiea nd Wm. Christie, TraditionaBla lladA irsA rrangeadn dH armonisedfotrh e Pianofortaen d
Harmonium,froCmo piesP rocureidn theC ountieos fA berdeenB, anffandM oray2, vols (EdinburghE: dmonston
& Douglas, 1876, 1881).
12 The GreigDuncanF olk Song Collectione,d . by PatrickS huldham-Shawa nd Emily Lyle, vols 1-4
(Aberdeen:A berdeen University Press, 1981-1990); vols 5-6 (Edinburgh:M ercat Press, 1995); vol. 7
(Edinburgh:M ercatP ress, 1997). [Volume 8 remainst o be published.]
13 See, for example, Steve Roud, 'Review Essay: Books on Traditional Song in Britain and Ireland',
Folklore, 108 (1997), 124-25.
14 Ian A. Olson, 'The Greig-Duncan Folk Song Collection: Last Leaves of Local Culture?', Review
of ScottishC ulture,5 (1989), 79-85. The Buchan Field Club, which is still active, dropped the 'Field'
from its title from 1910 to 1978.
15 John Ord, Bothy Songsa nd Balladso f AberdeenB, anffa nd MorayA ngus and the Meams( Paisley:
Gardner,1 930). See his obituaryn otices in GlasgowW eeklyH erald2, 8 April 1928, and AberdeenW eekly
Journal2, 6 April 1928. This GlasgowP olice Superintendentb, orn in the North-East,w as a close friend
ScottishS ongi n theJ amesM adisonC arpenteCr ollection 431
of Greiga nds haredm uchm ateriawl ith him.T he collectiono f somet hreeh undredso ngsc ontainfse w
tunesa nde ven fewerd etailso f informantbsu t hass eldomb een out of print.S urprisinglOy,r d'sb ook
containso nly a scoreo f 'Childb allads'.
16 lan A. Olson,' TheH aroldG eorgeF olkS ongC ollection'E, nglisDh ancea ndS ong5, 5. 2 (Summer,
1993), 6-8. His main interesta ppeartso have been songs concerningfi shingb ut he left carefillly
transcribetdu nest o accompaneya chv ersion.
17 Recordingsin the Archiveo f the Schoolo f ScottishS tudiesU, niversityo f Edinburgha,p pear
underS A/1951( AlanL omax)a nd SA/1952( HamishH enderson)S. ee alsov ariouse ssaysi n Hamish
Henderson'sA lias MacAlias:W ritingos n Songs,F olk and Literatur(eE dinburgh:P olygon, 1992).
18 See, for examplei,n sertedn otest o TheE nglisha nd ScottishB alladse, d. by KennethS . Goldstein(8
L.P.r ecordsR, iversideR LP 12-621-628,1 965).A lso[ IanA . Olson],' PeterH all'[ obituaryT], heT imes,
14 December1 996.
19 T. J. Byers,' ScottishP easantasn dt heirS ong'[ review]J,o urnaolf PeasanSt tudies3, (1975),2 36-
251 (p. 238).
20 Cecil Sharpi,n his questf or 'Englishf'o lk song,s aw thisp henomenond ifferentlyc,l aimingth at
'the ScottishB allad. .. is no othert hant he EnglishB alladin northernd ress'S. ee 'Folk-SongNs oted
in Somerseat ndN orthD evon',J ournaolf theF olk-SonSgo ciety2, (1905),1 -60 (p. 3).
21 Almosto ne halfo f the songsi n the Greig-DuncanC ollectionm, adef romt he supposedldy our,
undemonstratinvae tiveso f the North-Eastc,o nsistso f 'loves ongs'.
22 Evens o, cautioni s requiredT. he perenniaNl orth-Easfta vourite'T he BonnyL asso ' Fyvie',f or
examplem, ightj ust have startedli fe as 'The BonnyL asso f Derby'( 'BonnyB arbarOa '). See Gavin
Greig,' Folk-Songo f the North-Easta',r ticleX V, BuchanO bserve1r1, March1 908.
23 See DavidB uchan,' The HistoricaBl alladryo f the North-East'A, berdeeUnn iversiRtye view5, 5
(1994),3 77-87, togetherw ith his 'TheB allada ndt he Folk:S tudiesin the Balladrayn dt he Societyo f
the North-Easot f Scotland'A, ppendixt o 'The HistoricaBl alladso f the North-East('u npublished
doctoradl issertatioUn,n iversityo f Aberdeen1, 965).A mongsth eb alladsf,o r examplea, numberc ould
be classeda s 'historicabla llados f the North-Easot f Scotland'f,o r theyw ere clearlyb asedo n eventsi n
thatr egion'sh istorye, specialltyh osea risingfr omf eudsc oncerningth e memberos f the greatG ordon
familyw, hose Normanf orebearhsa db een broughti nto the regiont o maintainth e King'sP eacea nd
whoset urbulendt escendanthsa d increasedth eirp owera ndp rosperitbyy dint of continuouws arfare
with theirn eighbourtsh ereafterM. osto f these' Gordonb' alladcs anb e preciselylo calizedb othi n time
andp lace,a ndt he protagonisctsle arlyid entified.
24 See Ian A. Olson, 'The Greig-DuncanF olk Song Collectiona nd the CarnegieT rustf or the
Universitieosf Scotland'A, berdeeUnn iversiRtye view5, 1 (1985),3 7-73 (pp. 54 and5 7).
25 Gavin Greig, Folk-Songin BuchanR: etiringP residentiAald dresgsi veno n 15 Decembe1r9 05 (Peterhead:
P. Scrogie, 1906), repr. from Transactionosf the BuchanF ield Club, 9 (1906-07), xi and 2-76; repr.
togetherw ith Folk-Sonogf theN orth-Eawsti th a Forewordb y K. Goldsteina nd A. Argo (Hatboro,
Penn:F olkloreA ssociates1,9 63),p . 43.
26 His initialt ermf or the groupw as 'ploughmanso ngs'o r 'ploughmand itties'.I n Greig'st ime,
'bothy'w as the generict ermf or the sorto f temporarayc commodatiouns edb y the 'lowest'm embers
of society- railway navviest,i nkersl,a bourerist,i neranfta rmw orkersa, nds o on -and it is nots urprising
thati n earlierw ritingsh e hadd ismissedth e 'ribaldd itties'e mergingfr oms uchs helteras s 'mereb othy
ballads'G. avinG reig,' LyricB uchan'i,n TheB ooko f Ellone, d. by A. I. McConnochi(eE llon:V ictoria
HallC ommittee1, 901),p p. 84-102 (p. 86).
27 GavinG reig,' IV.P loughmaSno ngs'[ BuchaOn bserve2r4, Februar1y9 07]i n Folk-Sonogf t heN orth-
East: Reprintso f Articlesc ontributetdo the BuchanO bserverfromDe cembe1r 907 to May 1911. With Special
Indexp reparebdy WilliamW alkerA, berdeen(P eterhead:P . Scrogie, 1914); repr. together with Folk-Song
in Buchanw, ith a Forewordb y K. Goldsteina ndA . Argo( HatboroP, enn:F olkloreA ssociates1,9 63).
The extremeb awdryo r eveno bscenityo f bothys ongsa sd escribeidn HamishH enderson'Ts heB allad,
the Folka ndt he OralT raditioni'n, TheP eople'Psa st,e d. by E. J. Cowan( EdinburghP:o lygon,1 980),
pp. 69-107, seemst o haveb een muchl essa featureo f these' ploughmasno ngs'.
28 See PeterA . Hall, 'Folk Songso f the North-EasFt armS ervantisn the NineteenthC entury'
(unpublishemd aster'tsh esis,U niversityo f Aberdeen1, 985),a ndh is introduction'F, armL ifea ndt he
FarmS ongs', to The Greig-DuncanF olk Song Collectionv,o l. 3, pp. xxi-xxxv.
29. Forb iographicdale tailss,e eJ uliaB ishop's" 'Dr Carpentefrr omt he HarvarCd ollegei n America":
An Introductiotno JamesM adisonC arpentearn dh is Collection'i,n thisi ssueo f FolkM usicJournaanl,d
her "'The Most ValuableC ollectiono f ChildB alladws ith TunesE verP ublished"T: he Unfinished
432 IAN A. OLSON
Work of James Madison Carpenter',i n Balladsi nto Books:T he Legacieos f FranciJsa mesC hild:S elected
Papers from the 26th Intemational Ballad Conference (SIEF Ballad Commission), Swansea, Wales, 19-
24 July 1996, ed. by Tom Cheesman and Sigrid Rieuwerts (Bern: Peter Lang, 1997), pp. 81-94.
30 Carpenter interview. I cannot, however, find any mention of a Dundee version of this first ballad
('The Dowie Dens of Yarrow') in the microfilm copy of the Carpenter Collection.
31 See, for example, descriptions of his lifestyle and working methods in Hamish Henderson, 'John
Strachan',T ocher3, 6/7 (1981-82), 410-30 (pp. 417-18), and in the Carpenteri nterview. On the other
hand, he did have money enough both to purchase private cars and to pay for private nursing homes
when he fell ill, prerogatives only of the relatively wealthy, especially in the economically depressed
1930s.
32 Ian A. Olson, 'The Greig-Duncan Folk Song Collection and the New Spalding Club', Aberdeen
UniversitRy eview,5 0 (1984), 203-28.
33 Ian. A. Olson, 'Scottish Traditional Song and the Greig-Duncan Collection: Last Leaves or Last
Rites?', in TheH istoryo f ScottishL iteratureV. olume4 : TwentiethC enturye, d. by CairnsC raig (Aberdeen:
Aberdeen University Press, 1987), pp. 37-48.
34 In this latter version it appeared, misleadingly, as edited by G. Greig and A. Keith, Last Leaves of
TraditionaBla lladsA, berdeenU niversitSyt udiesN: o 100, generale ditor, P. J. Anderson( Aberdeen:U niversity
of Aberdeen, 1925), although Greig had died in 1914 and had played no part in the final production.
The Universityh ad an exchangec irculationl ist of twenty-five universitiesa nd institutionsf or its Studies,
including Uppsala, St Petersburg, Berlin, Amsterdam, Paris, Calcutta and Tokyo. In North America
alone the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian Institute, the National Academy of Sciences and the
Royal Society of Canada received copies. See AberdeenU niversityM inuteso f Senatus( 1901-1908)
(Aberdeen: Aberdeen University Press, 1908), pp. 158-64. Last Leaves was reviewed extensively, and
favourably, on both sides of the Atlantic.
35 This had first appearedi n two parts:F olk-Songo f the North-EastA: rtidesC ontributetdo the Buchan
Observeirn 42 WeeklyI nstalmentsfroDme cembe1r9 07 untilS eptembe1r9 09 (Peterhead:P . Scrogie, 1909),
and Folk-Songo f the North-EastA: rtidesc ontributetdo the BuchanO bserve(rS econdS eriesf)r om September
1909 toJune1 911 uwthG eneraIln dex[ preparedb y JamesB ooth Thomson] (PeterheadP: . Scrogie, 1914).
A combined volume, Gavin Greig, Folk-Songo f theN orth-EastR: eprintos f Articlecs ontributetod theB uchan
Observefr om December1 907 to May 1911. With SpecialI ndexp reparedb y WilliamW alkerA, berdeen[a
limited edition of only twelve copies] (Peterhead: P. Scrogie, 1914), was later published. See also Ian
A. Olson, 'Greig-DuncanP rovisionalB ibliography',F olklore9, 5 (1984), 204-09.
36 For Greig's reasons for embarking on a newspaper series, see Olson, 'The Greig-Duncan Folk
Song Collection and the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland', pp. 37-73.
37 Aberdeen Public Libraryt ook a considerablei nteresti n the publication,f or its generali ndex was
prepared by James Booth Thomson, their Sub-Librarian.
38 David Buchan recounted a catch-22 situation when attempting to work on the Greig-Duncan
Manuscripts as a research student in the 1960s. He claimed he was permitted to have anything he
specified but, as he did not know what the manuscriptsc ontained, he did not know what to specify!
See Olson, 'Editing the Glenbuchat Ballads', p. 34 and Ian A. Olson, Foreword to the 1997 reprint of
The Ballad and the Folk, pp. xiv-xv.
39 See Ian A. Olson, 'The Influence of the Folk Song Society on the Greig-Duncan Folk Song
Collection: Methodology', FolkM usicJourna5l,. 2 (1986), 176-201 (p. 191).
40 KatharineD uncan toJ. M. Carpenter,1 9 June 1937, CarpenterC ollection, AFC 1972/001, Folder
122 (Box 5, Packet 2C), on Microfilm Reel 4. The genuine warmth of this letter is matched in
Carpenter's undated reply (AFC 1972/001, Folder 122 (Box 5, Packet 2A); on Microfilm Reel 7). I
have not so far been able to identify 'Mr Cameron', despite enquiries to Katharine Duncan's solicitors,
Morrison & Richards, and former members of the Aberdeen Savings Bank where her deposit box was
located.
41 Typescript entitled 'British and American Ballads with Tunes', AFC 1972/001, Folder 67 (Box
3A); on Microfilm Reel 5.
42 Carpenter gives two sets of figures for his collection, with much overwriting of the typescript. I
have given the greater figures.
43 He then listsb alladsf rom Southem Appalachia( Cecil Sharp),V irginia( A. K. Davis,J r.), and Maine
(Phillips Barry).
44 This astonishingm ileage is repeatedi n a publicityb rochure( 'Copyright1 938'), entitled 'Exploring
Britain'sL ore-Hoards'a nd 'PhotographingA ncient Landmarks'f,o r illustratedl ectures by Carpenter.
ScottishS ongi n theJ amesM adisonC arpenteCr ollection 433
The brochurew as not foundi n a recente xaminatioonf the CarpenteCr ollectionb ut the Vaughan
WilliamsM emoriaLl ibrarhy as a photocopyl istedu nderA L/CarpenteAr.l thoughit musth aveb een
considerablteh, erei s no cleari ndicationin his papers(o rt he Intervieww) hata mounto r proportioonf
his timea nde ffortw enti nto balladrrye searcihn Scotlanda ndi ts North-Eastf,o rt he brochurae lsol ists
accountsa ndp hotographosf 'Folkp laysb elievedt o go backt o pagant imes.D ruidC ircles,C ornish
cromlechsm, oatedc astlesR. omanv illas,R omanB athsR, omang old-hoards'.
45 TheG reig-DuncCano llectiohna s2 6 textsa nd1 6 tunesf or 'TheL airdo Drum'( Volume4 ) and3 2
textsa nd2 5 tunesf or 'TheD owie Dens o Yarrow(' Volume2 ).
46 Summarizeind LastL eaveps,p .x ix-xxxi.W illiamW alkert,h e eminencegrbieshe indt hisp ublication,
spenta lifetimev indicatinPg eterB uchana nde nsuredth ate ven thisp ublicationof Greig'sw orkw as
distortedto his purposeS. ee alsoW alker'Ps eterB uchaann dO thePr aperas,n dO lson,' LasLt eaveso r Last
Rites?'p, p. 42-45.
47 Priort o the Collection'bs eing properlyin dexedi t is necessartyo be guardedT. herei s much
duplicatioinn the listingsw, hoses ongt itlesa ren ot alwaysin alphabeticoarl derR. oy Palmerh asr ightly
describedth e stateo f the Collectiona s 'chaotici'n 'The CarpenteCr ollection'F, olkM usicJourn5a.l5,
(1989), 620-23.
48 CarpenteIrn terview.
49 Bell RobertsonG, reig'sp rincipainl formangt,a veh imm a",yte xtsb ut no tunes.T he greaJt eannie
Robertsonh ad only some twentyC hildb alladsin her repelLoire.S ee ElaineP etrie,' Whata Voice!
Women,R epertoirea ndL ossi n the SingingT raditioni'n, A Historoyf ScottisWh omenW's ritinged, . by
DouglasG ifforda ndD orothyM cMillan(E dinburghE:d inburgUh niversityP ress,1 997),p p. 262-73.
50 DavidA tkinson", 'The Two Sisters"T: he IntemationaBla llada nda Versionf romt he Carpenter
Collection'i,n Visionasn dI dentitieesd, . by Ey5unA ndreasse(nT orshavnT:u ngulis[t1 996])p, p. 61-72.
511anA . Olson,' TheD readfuDl eatho f the BonnyE arlo f MurrayC: luesf romt he CarpenteSro ng
Collection'F, olkM usicJourn7a.l3, (1997),2 81-310.
52 Atkinsonp, . 71.
53 Largelyc ontainedi n The Greig-DuncaFn olk SongC ollectionv,o lume 3.
54 Actuallyf,e w North-Easfta rms ervantlsi vedi n 'bothies('s elf-caterinagc commodationm);o sth ad
theirm ealss uppliedin the farmk itchenf romw hencet heyr eturnedto their( usualluy nheatedo)u thouse
'chaumers(c' hambres?)-the'k itchies' ystemC. onfusinbg ut true.S ee IanC arterF, armL ifei n Northeast
Scotland1 840-1914 (EdinburghJ: ohn Donald, 1979; repr. 1997), p. 3.
55 See 'WillieM athiesonY's oungD ays',T oche4r,3 (1991),2 2-25. Thisi s a transcripotf a recording
by HamishH endersonS, choolo f ScottishS tudiesS, A 1952/5A 10. The Mathiesonre cordingasr et o
be foundi n SA 1952 (togetherw ith a few songsc ollectedb y AlanL omaxi n 1951i n SA 1951).
56 Photocopieos f the notebookas reh eldi n the Schoolo f ScottishS tudieAs rchivesB. ook 1 is dated
6 Februar1y9 26t o 18 August1 930.B ook 2 wass tarted1 7 Februar1y9 29.B ook 3 is dated1 0January
1932 to 11 March 1952.
57 SA 1952/6/B4.
58 Froma Mrs Pirie of KirksideB, anffshireA, FC 1972/001,F older2 4 (Box 1, Packet2 B); on
MicrofilmR eel 1. I haven ot so fari dentifieda nym usict o thisi n the CollectionA. lthoughth e farmer
is identifiedb y namea s 'fause[ falseS] hearert',h e farmi s disguiseda s 'A . .. ah'.T he songs houldn ot
be confusedw ith Laird'bs urlesqube othyb allad', Oor FairmT oon', notedb y Greig,f or examplei,n
Folk-Songo f the North-Easta, rticleX CII [from BuchanO bserver1,4 September1 909].
59 From Kerr's" Cornkisters("B othyB allads)a s Sunga nd Recordebdy WillieK emp( Glasgow:J ames S.
Kerr, 1950), pp. 52-53.
6 Ord. pp. 209-11.
61 AFC 1972/001,F older1 7 (Box 1, Packet1 E);o n MicrofilmR eel 1. Versionf rom a Hector
Campbel(la ddresnso t given).