The Green Linnet
Track Information
Original Track ID
SA1971.196.7
Original Tape ID
Summary
This song laments the exile of Napoleon Bonaparte on the island of St Helena, from the perspective of his wife Marie-Louise, and describes his wide-ranging career in battle.
Preceded by some cajoling from fellow performers and self-deprecation by the singer.
Item Notes
3 verses. Performed live in concert at the Scott Conference, held as part of the bicentennial celebrations of Sir Walter Scott's birth. The full song has 7 verses.
The song was printed as 'Maria Louisa's Lamentation for the Loss of her Lover', c. 1830, by W. Kelly of Waterford; a copy is in the National Library of Ireland. It also exists in the Bodleian Library broadsides collection under the title 'Maria Louisa's Lamentation. The Green Linnet.' It is one of a large body of Irish songs in support of Napoleon Bonaparte.
See:
'Songs of Irish Rebellion' (G. D. Zimmerman, 1966, rep. 2002) pp. 184-186
Bodleian Library Broadsides Collection, shelfmark: Johnson Ballads 227
Item Subject/Person
Bonaparte, Napoleon [Napoleon I]; Von Habsburg-lothringen, Marie-Louise (Archduchess of Austria)
Recording Location
County - Midlothian
Parish - Edinburgh
Village/Place - Edinburgh
Language
English
Collection
Classification
Source Type
Reel to reel
Audio Quality
Good