Queen Among the Heather

Original Track ID

SA1960.169.A11

Original Tape ID

SA1960.169

Summary

The singer meets a shepherdess and falls in love with her.

Item Notes

4 verses.

This song is a broadside derivative of a piece by James Hogg (1770–1835) entitled 'Song I' and published by him in 1801. In discussing 'The Queen Among the Heather', Hamish Henderson remarked on Hogg's piece but assumed it was a transitional form modelled on an old ballad; it seems more likely that Hogg's song was loosely inspired thematically by other traditonal songs, but was essentially an original composition. The broadside press of the 19th century regularly lifted songs from poets' publications and amended the language for wider appeal, making them easier to sing and better in keeping with the popular folk idiom. This is evident when comparing Hogg's song to a broadside called 'The Shepherd's Daughter', published in Dundee in the late 19th century. Chris Wright presents a detailed discussion of this process of adapting songs from poets to sell as street literature, including several songs to be found on this website.

See:

James Hogg, 'Song I', 'Scottish Pastorals, Poems, Songs, etc., Mostly Written in the Dialect of the South (Edinburgh: John Taylor, 1801), pp. 56-58.

Hamish Henderson, notes to 'The Stewarts Of Blair' LP (Topic RecoSrds 12T138, 1966)

'The Shepherd's Daughter' (Dundee: Poet's Box, before 1885), Dundee City Library Local History Centre, Lamb Collection 421(60).

Chris Wright, 'Forgotten Broadsides and the Song Tradition of the Scots Travellers' in 'Street Ballads in Nineteenth Century Britain, Ireland, and North America', Steve Roud and David Atkinson (eds) (Farnham: Ashgate, 2014), pp. 77-104.

Recording Location

Language

English, Scots

Genre

Song

Collection

SoSS

Classification

R375 GD962

Source Type

Reel to reel

Audio Quality

Good