Today’s CD of Scottish Songs for William Napier (V of, hopefully, V) got off to a rousing start with tenor Jamie MacDougall belting out a bold and lively version of “My goddess woman” (Track 1). It’s a brash ode to a lass the protagonist deems, well, a goddess.

Track 2 (“Bid me not forget”) is given to soprano Lorna Anderson. And it’s not among my favorites.

Track 3 (“Ae fond kiss”) is another MacDougall song. Not a catchy melody. Music forgettable.

Track 4 (“Kelly-burn braes”) is a Huh? song. The melody is familiar. I’ve heard this before. But the lyrics…what do they mean? For that answer, I once again turn to the wonderful web site The Lied, Art Song, and Choral Texts Archive created and maintained by Emily Ezust.

Here are the lyrics to this fetching, instantly FAVORITE, song:

There liv’d ance a carle in Kellyburn-braes,
Hey and the rue grows bonnie wi’ thyme,
And he had a wife was the plague of his days,
And the thyme it is wither’d, and rue is in prime.

Ae day as the carle gaed up the lang glen,
Hey and the rue grows bonnie wi’ thyme,
He met wi’ the deil, wha said, how do ye fen?
And the thyme it is wither’d, and rue is in prime.

“I’ve got a bad wife, Sir, that’s a’ my complaint,
“Hey and the rue grows bonnie wi’ thyme;
“For, saving your presence, to her ye’re a saint!
“And the thyme it is wither’d, and rue is in prime.”

‘Its neither your stot nor your staig I shall crave,
‘Hey and the rue grows bonnie wi’ thyme;
‘But gi’e me your wife, man, for her I must have,
‘And the thyme it is wither’d, and rue is in prime.’

“O welcome most kindly, the blythe carle said,
“Hey and the rue grows bonnie wi’ thyme;
“But if ye can match her ye’re waur than ye’re ca’d,
“And the thyme it is wither’d, and rue is in prime.”

So Nickie then got the auld wife on his back,
Hey and the rue grows bonnie wi’ thyme;
And like a poor pedlar he trudg’d wi’ his pack,
And the thyme it is wither’d, and rue is in prime.

Now he’s ta’en her hame to his ain reeky den,
Hey and the rue grows bonnie wi’ thyme,
To its blackest nook he has carried her ben,
And the thyme it is wither’d, and rue is in prime.

Then straight he makes fifty, the pick o’ his band,
Hey and the rue grows bonnie wi’ thyme,
Turn out on her guard in the clap of a hand,
And the thyme it is wither’d, and rue is in prime.

The carlin gaed thro’ them like ony mad bear,
Hey and the rue grows bonnie wi’ thyme;
Whae’er she gat hands on, cam’ near her nae mair,
And the thyme it is wither’d, and rue is in prime.

A reekit wee devil looks ower the wa’,
Hey and the rue grows bonnie wi’ thyme;
O help, master, help, or she’ll ruin us a’,
And the thyme it is wither’d, and rue is in prime.

Auld Sootie then swore by the edge of his knife,
Hey and the rue grows bonnie wi’ thyme;
He pitied the man that was ty’d to a wife,
And the thyme it is wither’d, and rue is in prime.

I hae been a de’il now the feck o’ my life,
Hey and the rue grows bonnie wi’ thyme;
But ne’er was in h-ll till I met wi’ a wife,
And the thyme it is wither’d, and rue is in prime.

So Clootie was glad to return wi’ his pack,
Hey and the rue grows bonnie wi’ thyme;
And to her ain henpeck e’en carried her back,
And the thyme it is wither’d, and rue is in prime.

______

Glossary

Carle = old man
Braes = steep or sloping hillsides
Deil = devil
How do ye fen = how goes with you?
Stot = young bull, or ox
Staig = horse
Waur = worse
Nickie = one of the many names for the devil
Reeky = smoky
Carried her ben = carried her into the parlour
Carlin = stout old woman
Auld Sootie = old term for the evil
The feck = for a considerable part
Clootie = another name of the devil

Submitted by Ferdinando Albeggiani

Authorship
* by Robert Burns (1759 – 1796) , title unknown

______

Robert Burns, eh? Here’s a link to the lyrics on a Burns site.

The cool line, for me, is “And the thyme it is wither’d, and rue is in prime.” The bouncy melody of that phrase is fantastic. But the entire song appears to be a person ruing his life because of his “bad wife.” Even the devil is vexed by the woman, according to rendition of the lyrics on a web site called Dick Gaughan’s Song Archive:

He says, “A’ve been the Deivil for maist o ma life
But a ne’er wis in Hell til A met wi yer wife”

That’s hilarious.

A great song, lots of fun.

After doing a bit of poking around, I discovered that I truly had heard this song before, on Haydn CD 62: Scottish Songs For George Thomson II. My blog entry for that CD can be found here. The difference is the previous rendition (from Day 62), is a slower tempo and a duet between MacDougall and Anderson. That combination (slower tempo, and two voices) didn’t register with me as something really cool.

The version on today’s CD is lively, and beautifully performed by Anderson. Her soaring voice, without accompaniment from another singer, allows the cleverness of the lyrics to shine through.

But I knew I’d heard that melody before. Mind like a steel trap, mine.

The subsequent few tracks don’t fare as well for me.

Track 5 (“The weary pound o’ tow”), performed by MacDougall, although powerfully sung with a hint of sarcasm in the lyrics, isn’t a worthy successor to “Kellyburn Braes.”

Track 6 (“A cold frosty morning”), also performed by MacDougall, also pales by comparison.

Track 7 (“What can a young lassie do”), performed by Anderson, is much better. Her voice soars. The song is upbeat and fun. Another Favorite.

Track 8 (“Now westlin winds”), another MacDougall song, is also forgettable for me. Great performances from all concerned. But it’s not a song that grabs me.

Track 9 (“The tears I shed”), performed by Anderson, is abysmally slow. I was shedding a few tears waiting for this one to end, I’ll tell you that for nothing.

Track 10 (“Lass gin ye lo’e me, tell me now”), performed by MacDougall, is another passable song. Next.

Track 11 (“She’s fair and fause”), performed by MacDougall, is nothing special. Too slow. Lyrics too maudlin.

Track 12 (“The ewy wi’ the crooked horn”), performed by Anderson, is livelier. And her voice soars beautifully. Truly. She shines in this track. But it’s not one of my favorites.

Track 13 (“The rose bud”), performed by MacDougall, is slow of tempo but big of voice. This is MacDougall’s chance to shine. It’s a very nice performance.

Track 14 (“Nithsdall’s welcome hame”), an Anderson song, is tremendously interesting. Her voice soars and soars and soars. This is the sweet spot range for me. Nice. Sadly, the song is only :58 long, over before it begins.

Track 15 (“Fair Eliza”), a MacDougall song, is too slow for me, especially after the brisk-and-crystal-breaking performance in the previous track.

Track 16 (“Donald and Flora”), an Anderson song, is pretty in spots. But not fulfilling, overall.

Track 17 (“On a bank of flowers”), performed by Anderson, is another very pretty song. Anderson’s voice is really growing on me. Another Favorite.

Track 18 (“Yon wild mossy mountains”), performed by MacDougall, is another fine performance by the Scottish tenor.

Track 19 (“Lady Randolph’s complaint”), is too slow a song to follow Track 18. The tempo is about the same, along this time it’s performed by Anderson.

Track 20 (“O’er the hills and far away”), an Anderson song, is interesting, mostly because the title is the same as one from the Finnish Folk-Metal band Nightwish. Give it a listen:

Obviously, it’s not the same song. But that’s what I think of when I hear that song title. Either Nightwish, or this performance from the late Irish guitarist Gary Moore who wrote the song Nightwish covered in the YouTube clip above:

I get chills watching the Gary Moore version. It gets my toes, arms, legs, and head tapping, bouncing, slapping, and smiling. I must look a mental patient sitting here this morning.

Nightwish and Gary Moore aside, here’s what I listened to this morning:

Haydn CD 78 features the same singers and musicians as on the previous folk-song selections:

Lorna Anderson and tenor Jamie MacDougall, both of whom actually are Scottish. They have fine voices.

Haydn Trio Eisenstadt, which consists of:

Harald Kosik piano
Verena Stourzh violin
Hannes Gradwohl cello

Also, as with the previous CDs of Scottish and Welsh Songs for George Thomson, William Whyte, and William Napier, these were recorded where they were likely first performed, or even composed: Haydn Hall, Esterhazy Palace, Eisenstadt.

The recording is perfect. The musicianship is magical. The entire performance is superb. Typical Brilliant Classics excellence. (Seriously, you really ought to buy box sets from Brilliant Classics. They are first-rate in every way. Here. I’ll make it easy for you. Just click on this link and it’ll take you to the listing on Amazon. Buy the Haydn Edition that I’ve been listening to for 71 days now. You’ll thank me for it later.)