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WILL YE GO TO THE EWE-BUGHTS, MARION 1
121
O Marion's a bonnie lass,
And the blythe blink's in her e'e ;
And fain wad I marry Marion,
Gin Marion wad marry me.
There's gowd in your garters, 2 Marion,
And silk on your white hause-bane ;
Fu' fain wad I kiss my Marion,
At e'en, when I come hame.
There's braw lads in Earnslaw, Marion,
Wha gape, and glow'r 3 wi' their e'e,
At kirk, when they see my Marion ;
But nane o' them lo'es like me.
I've nine milk-ewes, my Marion,
A cow, and a brawny quey ; 4
I'll gi'e them a' to my Marion
Just on her bridal-day.
And ye'se get a green sey 5 apron.
And waistcoat o' the London brown ;
And wow but ye will be vap'rin'
Whene'er ye gang to the town
I'm young and stout, my Marion ;
Nane dances like me on the green :
And gin ye forsake me, Marion,
I'll e'en gae draw up wi' Jea»-
Sac put on your pearlins, 6 Marion,
And kyrtle o' the cramasie ;'
And soon as the sun's down, my Marion,
I shall come west, and see ye.
> " At the time when the ladies wore hoops, they also wore finely embroidered garters for exhibition ; because, especially in dancing, the
hoop often shelved aside, and exposed the leg to that height." — R. CHAHSBB& (See Traditions of Edinburgh, vol. ii. p. 57.)
3 Stare. * Heifer. 5 A home-made woollen stuff. 6 Ornaments of lace, (Jil perte, hard twisted thread.) 7 Crimson.
" Will ye go to the ewe-bughts, Marion ? " The song and the air appear to be both old. The song is marked
in Ramsay's Tea-Table Miscellany (1724) as an old song with additions. It cannot now be ascertained who wrote
the song, or who composed the air ; but it seems very evident that the air has been hitherto wrongly given in its
notation in all printed copies ; and there is no existing ancient MS. containing the air to which we can refer. The
printed copies of the air give an unrhythmical melody, not suitable to the beseeching expression of the song. The
prominent word and name " Marion," (pronounced as two syllables, " Maron") is associated with short and jerking
notes, which, besides being ill suited to the words, throw the melody into an irregular rhythm. In the present
edition, the air is reduced to regular rhythm, without changing one of the sounds of the received melody ; while
it is believed that the original melody is thus restored in its true supplicatory accentuation and emphasis on the
word " Marion." Any good singer who tries the present set, will at once perceive the improvement in point of
expression and of rhythmical construction. As to this point, we are willing to abide by the opinion of all the best-
educated musicians of Europe. That there was extreme carelessness and ignorance on the part of the persons
who noted down our old Scottish melodies in MS. books, we are prepared to prove from the oldest MSS. of our
airs existing. In many cases appears barring at random, without the slightest regard to the true rhythm and
melodic structure of the airs ; and with no indication whatever of the relative duration of the sounds indicated by
the letters of the old tablature. In cases of this kind, rational interpretation must be used. It does not follow,
that because an air is wrongly noted, or tablatured, by ignorant writers, the air is wrong in its true and original
form. This observation applies to MSS. and printed works of much greater importance than any that we allude
to as containing wrongly written or printed Scottish airs. In the second volume of Thomson's Orpheus Caledo-
nius, (1733,) we find an air under the title of " Will ye go to the ewe-bughts ?" which bears a remote resemblance
to the generally received air. It is by no means so vocal or melodious as the latter ; but it affords another proof
of the strange transformations that old Scottish airs have undergone in passing through the hands of different
publishers. We have repeatedly alluded to these transformations. The air in the Orpheus Caledonius is in a
pseudo-major key, while all other sets that we have seen are in a minor key.
121
O Marion's a bonnie lass,
And the blythe blink's in her e'e ;
And fain wad I marry Marion,
Gin Marion wad marry me.
There's gowd in your garters, 2 Marion,
And silk on your white hause-bane ;
Fu' fain wad I kiss my Marion,
At e'en, when I come hame.
There's braw lads in Earnslaw, Marion,
Wha gape, and glow'r 3 wi' their e'e,
At kirk, when they see my Marion ;
But nane o' them lo'es like me.
I've nine milk-ewes, my Marion,
A cow, and a brawny quey ; 4
I'll gi'e them a' to my Marion
Just on her bridal-day.
And ye'se get a green sey 5 apron.
And waistcoat o' the London brown ;
And wow but ye will be vap'rin'
Whene'er ye gang to the town
I'm young and stout, my Marion ;
Nane dances like me on the green :
And gin ye forsake me, Marion,
I'll e'en gae draw up wi' Jea»-
Sac put on your pearlins, 6 Marion,
And kyrtle o' the cramasie ;'
And soon as the sun's down, my Marion,
I shall come west, and see ye.
> " At the time when the ladies wore hoops, they also wore finely embroidered garters for exhibition ; because, especially in dancing, the
hoop often shelved aside, and exposed the leg to that height." — R. CHAHSBB& (See Traditions of Edinburgh, vol. ii. p. 57.)
3 Stare. * Heifer. 5 A home-made woollen stuff. 6 Ornaments of lace, (Jil perte, hard twisted thread.) 7 Crimson.
" Will ye go to the ewe-bughts, Marion ? " The song and the air appear to be both old. The song is marked
in Ramsay's Tea-Table Miscellany (1724) as an old song with additions. It cannot now be ascertained who wrote
the song, or who composed the air ; but it seems very evident that the air has been hitherto wrongly given in its
notation in all printed copies ; and there is no existing ancient MS. containing the air to which we can refer. The
printed copies of the air give an unrhythmical melody, not suitable to the beseeching expression of the song. The
prominent word and name " Marion," (pronounced as two syllables, " Maron") is associated with short and jerking
notes, which, besides being ill suited to the words, throw the melody into an irregular rhythm. In the present
edition, the air is reduced to regular rhythm, without changing one of the sounds of the received melody ; while
it is believed that the original melody is thus restored in its true supplicatory accentuation and emphasis on the
word " Marion." Any good singer who tries the present set, will at once perceive the improvement in point of
expression and of rhythmical construction. As to this point, we are willing to abide by the opinion of all the best-
educated musicians of Europe. That there was extreme carelessness and ignorance on the part of the persons
who noted down our old Scottish melodies in MS. books, we are prepared to prove from the oldest MSS. of our
airs existing. In many cases appears barring at random, without the slightest regard to the true rhythm and
melodic structure of the airs ; and with no indication whatever of the relative duration of the sounds indicated by
the letters of the old tablature. In cases of this kind, rational interpretation must be used. It does not follow,
that because an air is wrongly noted, or tablatured, by ignorant writers, the air is wrong in its true and original
form. This observation applies to MSS. and printed works of much greater importance than any that we allude
to as containing wrongly written or printed Scottish airs. In the second volume of Thomson's Orpheus Caledo-
nius, (1733,) we find an air under the title of " Will ye go to the ewe-bughts ?" which bears a remote resemblance
to the generally received air. It is by no means so vocal or melodious as the latter ; but it affords another proof
of the strange transformations that old Scottish airs have undergone in passing through the hands of different
publishers. We have repeatedly alluded to these transformations. The air in the Orpheus Caledonius is in a
pseudo-major key, while all other sets that we have seen are in a minor key.
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Special collections of printed music > Inglis Collection of printed music > Printed music > Songs of Scotland adapted to their appropriate melodies > Volume 1 > (137) Page 121 |
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Permanent URL | https://digital.nls.uk/94708616 |
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Shelfmark | Ing.127 |
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More information |
Description | Scottish and English songs, military music and keyboard music of the 18th and 19th centuries. These items are from the collection of Alexander Wood Inglis of Glencorse (1854 to 1929). Also includes a few manuscripts, some treatises and other books on the subject. |
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Description | The Glen Collection and the Inglis Collection represent mainly 18th and 19th century Scottish music, including Scottish songs. The collections of Berlioz and Verdi collected by bibliographer Cecil Hopkinson contain contemporary and later editions of the works of the two composers Berlioz and Verdi. |
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