She's Awa tae be Wed tae Anither

Original Track ID

SA1960.141.A15

Original Tape ID

SA1960.141

Summary

In this song, a young man goes to the wedding of his former sweetheart. He toasts the bride as the lass that should have been his, but says [to the groom] that she is only his old shoes. He is asked how many blackberries grow in the sea and he replies as many as ships sail in the forest.

Item Notes

7 verses of 4 lines, hesitation in verse 4; last line of each verse repeated. This song is commonly known by names such as 'The False Bride', 'I Once Had a Lass' or 'It Wisna My Fortune to Get Her'. In some versions, the man dies of grief, and in others he simply shrugs off the rejection in the sure knowledge that he will find another partner.

See:
Greig-Duncan vol. 6, pp. 310-327, no. 1198
'Bothy Songs & Ballads' (J. Ord, 1930) p. 175
'Traveller's Joy' (M. Yates, 2006) pp. 109-110
'Come Gie's a Sang' (S. Douglas, 1995) pp. 24-25
'Singing Island' (E. MacColl & P. Seeger, 1960) p. 31
'The Sang's the Thing' (S. Douglas, 1992) pp. 226-227
'Last of the Tinsmiths' (S. Douglas, 2006) pp. 173-174
'Irish Street Ballads' (C. O Lochlainn, 1978) pp. 170-171
'Folksongs of Britain & Ireland' (P. Kennedy, 1975) p. 352
'Scottish Studies' 16 (J. Porter & H. Gower, 1972) p. 149
'Jeannie Robertson' (J. Porter & H. Gower, 1995) pp. 244-245
'Traditional Ballad Airs' vol. 2 (W. Christie, 1881) pp. 134-135
'Everyman's Book of English Country Songs' (R. Palmer, 1979) pp. 152-153
'Folk-Song of the North-East' (G. Greig, K. Goldstein & A. Argo, 1963 reprint) art. XXIV

Recording Location

Language

Scots

Genre

Song

Collection

SoSS

Classification

R154 GD1198

Source Type

Reel to reel

Audio Quality

Good