The Blackbird
Track Information
Original Track ID
SA1956.121.A2
Original Tape ID
Summary
In this song a maiden laments the loss of her young sailor lad who has gone to sea. She wishes that she were a blackbird and could follow his ship, or that she could write him a letter to tell her of her pain.
Belle Stewart heard the song from her cousin Jimmy Whyte, who had eight or ten verses, but she heard it at the age of six or seven, and did not pick it all up. She later learned it from her brother Donald MacGregor, who has much more of it.
Item Notes
4 verses; verse 4 truncated by one line. 'Till Doomsday in the Afternoon' contains an extended version with an extra verse and a repeat of verse two (MacColl & Seeger, 1986, pp. 203-204).
Recording Location
County - Perthshire
Parish - Blairgowrie
Village/Place - Blairgowrie
Language
English
Genre
Collection
Source Type
Reel to reel
Audio Quality
Good