Search

Busk, Busk, Bonnie Lassie

Date 10 July 1961
Track ID 37193
Part 1

Track Information

Original Track ID

SA1961.44.B1

Original Tape ID

SA1961.044

Summary

In this song, the singer invites a young woman to leave with him: "Busk, busk [get ready], bonnie lassie, and come awa wi me / And I'll tak ye tae Glenisla near bonnie Glenshee." He points out to her the shepherds with their plaids and the soldiers marching with their broadswords. Of the mountain, he tells her, "It's parted mony's a true love / Aye, and will part us twa."

Item Notes

3 verses and choruses of 4 lines. The melody belongs to a tune family including 'The Bloody Fields of Flanders', which Hamish Henderson used for his 'Freedom Come-All-Ye'.

The progenitor song 'Oh, No, No' features a soldier explaining to his sweetheart why she cannot follow him when he goes away - hence his drawing her attention to the soldiers, telling her that they must be parted, etc. This contrasts with the 'invitation' refrain in 'Busk, Busk, Bonnie Lassie', which is more than a little at odds with the sentiment of the verses.

See:
Greig-Duncan vol. 5, pp. 494-498
'Bothy Songs & Ballads' (J. Ord, 1930) pp. 136-137
'The Scottish Folksinger' (N. Buchan & P. Hall, 1973) p. 111
'Till Doomsday in the Afternoon' (E. MacColl & P. Seeger, 1986) pp. 207-208
'Folk-Song of the North-East' (G. Greig, K. Goldstein & A. Argo, 1963 reprint) art. CVII & CXLI
'Jeannie Robertson: Emergent Singer, Transformative Voice' (J. Porter & H. Gower, 1995) pp. 173-174

Recording Location

County - Angus

Parish - Dundee

Village/Place - Dundee

Item Location

County - Angus

Parish - Glenisla

Village/Place - Glenisla

Language

Scots

Genre

Song

Collection

SoSS

Classification

R832 GD1053

Source Type

Reel to reel

Audio Quality

Fair