My Bonnie Highland Lassie sea shanty

Under the title Hieland laddie (Highland lassie) a series of texts are grouped with the same melody (a traditional Scottish air) entitled “If thou’t play me fair play” or “The Lass of Livingston”

Leggi in italiano

“Tune first published under the title “Cockleshell” in Playford‘s “Apollo’s Banquet” (London, 1690) and “Dancing Master”, 11th edition of 1701. It then appears in the “Drummond Castle Manuscript”, inscribed “A collection of Country Dances written for the use of His Grace the Duke of Perth, By Dav. Young, 1734.”
Earliest printing in Robert Bremner (1720 – 1789, music seller in Edinburgh) ‘s 1757 Collection” (from here)

MILITARY MARCH

In Scotland, the “marcing song” is synonymous with bagpipes! “Hieland laddie” was the march of all Scottish regiments before “Scotland the Brave”.

THE SCOTTISH DANCE

A particularly energetic dance competition

The melody was also used as a capstan and a “stamp and go” shanty, and (without the grand chorus) as a halyard shanty. It was popular on the Dundee Whalers, then later used (c. 1830’s and 40’s) as a work song for stowing lumber and cotton in the Southeastern and Gulf ports of the United States. Highland Laddie was used for long and slow maneuvers: hoisting sails above (2 pulls per chorus) or hauling up the anchor. It was sung in two voices: a solo asking the question (Where have been ye all the day, my Bonnie Laddie Hieland?) and the answer given in chorus by the crew (Way hay and away we go, Bonnie Laddie, Laddie Hieland). (from here)

SEA SHANTY: Bonny Laddie, Heiland Laddie (My Bonnie Highland Lassie)

I
Was you ever in Quebec?
Bonny laddie, Highland laddie,
Stowing timber on the deck,
My bonny Highland laddie.
CHORUS
High-ho, and away we goes,
Bonny laddie, Highland laddie,
High-ho, and away we goes,
My bonny Highland laddie.

II
Was you ever in Aberdeen
Prettiest girls that you’ve ever seen(1).
III
Was you ever in Baltimore
Dancing on the sanded floor?
IV
Was you ever in Callao(2)
Where the girls are never slow?
V
Was you ever in Merasheen(3)
Where you stayed fast to tree(4)?
FOOTNOTES
(1) scottish song and so on with scottish beauty
(2) large port of Peru
(3) Merasheen or Merrimashee: there is an island of Merasheen in Newfoundland (Canada), but more likely is Miramichi, a small town in Canada, located in the province of New Brunswick; Merrimashee is also a large river that gives its name to the bay where flows into the Gulf of San Lorenzo. Often the sailors crippled the names of the places that they  did not know.
Italo Ottonello found this note: Merasheen, located on the southwestern tip of Merasheen Island in Placentia Bay, was one of the larger and more prosperous communities resettled. Settled by English, Irish and Scottish in the late 18th century, the community eventually became predominantly Roman Catholic with families of Irish descent. In an ideal location to prosecute the inshore cod fishery along with the herring and lobster fisheries in the ice-free harbour during winter and spring, it appeared that Merasheen would not succumb to the same fate as other small resettled communities.
This is how Ottonello observes: “it seems to hint at a generic stormy place, rather than a particular site”.
(4) or “you tie up to a tree”, “Where you make fast to a tree”;

Pete Seeger live
Gibb Schreffler
Jerzy Brzezinski

Songs of American Sailormen(p95),
Shantymen & Shantyboys(p50-1),
Songs of the Sailor and Lumberman(p50-1),
Shanties from the Seven Seas(II)(p115-7),
Shanties from the Seven Seas (complete)(II)(p143-5),
The Seven Seas Shanty Book(p56)

Folk Revival: Laddie or Lassie?

Was you ever in Quebec
Bonny Laddie, Hielan’ laddie
Stowing timber on the deck
Bonny Hielan’ Laddie
Was you ever in Dundee
There some pretty ships you’ll see
“This Boston town don’t suit my notion
And I’m bound for far away
So, I’ll pack my bag and sail the ocean
And I’ll see you on another day”
Was you ever in Mobile Bay
Loading cotton by the day
Was you ever ‘round Cape Horn
With the Lion and the Unicorn (1)
“One of these days and it won’t be long
And I’m bound for far away
You’ll take a look around and find me gone
And I’ll see you on another day”
Was you ever in Monterey
On that town with three months pay
Was you ever in Aberdeen
Prettiest girls that you’ve ever seen
“Farewell, dear friends, I’m leaving soon
And I’m bound for far away
We’ll meet again this coming June
And I’ll see you on another day”

The Kingston Trio -The quoted verses are an addition of the group

FOOTNOTES
(1) the royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom, the lion symbolizes England and the unicorn of Scotland;

Bonnie Highland Lassie

I
Were you ever in Roundstone Town (1)?
Bonnie Lassie Hieland Lassie,
Were you ever in Roundstone Town?
My bonnie hieland lassie-o
I was often in Roundstone Town
Drinking milk and eating flour(2)
Although I am a young maid
Come lately from my mammy-o
II
Were you ever in Bombay
Bonnie Lassie Hieland Lassie,
Were you ever in Bombay
My bonnie hieland lassie-o
I was often in old Bombay
Drinking coffee and bohay (3)
Although I am a young maid
Come lately from my mammy-o

III
Were you ever in Quebec?
Bonnie Lassie Hieland Lassie,
Were you ever in Quebec?
My bonnie hieland lassie-o
I was often in Quebec
Stowing timber up on deck
Although I am a young maid
Come lately from my mammy-o
IV
Are you fit to sweep the floor?
Bonnie Lassie Hieland Lassie,
Are you fit to sweep the floor(2)?
My bonnie hieland lassie-o
I am fit to sweep the floor
As the lock is for the door
Although I am a young maid
Come lately from my mammy-o

Nils Brown, Sean Dàgher, Clayton Kennedy, John Giffen, David Gossage from Assassin’s Creed Rogue (sea shanty edition)

FOOTNOTES
(1) Roundstone is a small fishing village near Connemara (County Galway)
(2) double meaning?
(3) bohea is a blend of black tea originating in the Wuyi mountain region of southeastern China; in practice it was once synonymous with tea

WHALING SONG: Hieland laddie

Another ship, another text but the same melody and title for the shanty favorite on whaling boats “In his ‘Voyage of the Aurora’ in 1804, Dr David Moore Lindsay described how, when the Aurora was moving up Lancaster Sound, an Eskimo was spotted on the ice singing the song. It was thought that he had heard it from his parents in the old sailing ship days.” (from here)
There is a fair number of songs from Scotland on life aboard the whaling boats, see for example Farewell to Tarwathie.

Whaur hae ye been a’ the day,
bonnie laddie, Hieland laddie
Whaur hae ye been sae lang away,
my bonnie Hieland laddie
I’ve been seeking fortune’s road,

bonnie lassie, Hieland lassie
An’ there’s money at the whalin’ so I’ve been told,
my bonnie Hieland lassie
I sailed for the north in a Dundee whaler,

bonnie lassie, Hieland lassie
I sailed for the north as a whalin’ sailor,

my bonnie Hieland lassie
But Greenland shores are grey and cold,

bonnie laddie, Hieland laddie
There’s plenty o’ ice but not much gold,

my bonnie Hieland laddie
When will you come back again,
bonnie laddie, Hieland laddie
You an’ a’ the whaling men,
my bonnie Hieland laddie
Well, I’ll be glad when I get hame,

bonnie lassie, Hieland lassie
And I’ll gie up this whalin’ game,
my bonnie Hieland lassie

Archie Fischer
Jerzy Brzezinski: Stan Hugill version

LINK
http://chrsouchon.free.fr/hielladd.htm
http://ontanomagico.altervista.org/danze-scozzesi.html
http://www.musicanet.org/robokopp/shanty/wasuever.htm
http://cornemusique.free.fr/ukhighlandladdie.php
https://thesession.org/tunes/1524
http://www.rampantscotland.com/songs/blsongs_laddiegone.htm
http://compvid101.blogspot.it/2009/11/ktpete-seegertommy-makemludwig-von.html
http://cornemusique.free.fr/ukhighlandladdie.php
https://mainlynorfolk.info/folk/songs/donkeyriding.html
http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=41062
http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=54643
http://mysongbook.de/msb/songs/h/hielandl.html

Hieland Laddie (A) – Traditional Sea Shanties (traditionalshanties.com)
Hieland Laddie (B) – stevedores chant – Traditional Sea Shanties (traditionalshanties.com)

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Pubblicato da Cattia Salto

Amministratore e folklorista di Terre Celtiche Blog. Ha iniziato a divulgare i suoi studi e ricerche sulla musica, le danze e le tradizioni d'Europa nel web, dapprima in maniera sporadica e poi sempre più sistematicamente sul finire del anni 90

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