Uploaded November 2021 | Updated September 2026, 2 days ago
I'll Cut Off My Long Yellow Hair / My Brother Built Me a Bancy Bower / My Father Built Me a Shady Bower / Sweet William / The Small Birds Whistle / Dukes and Earls / The Border Widow's Lament / The Famous Flower of Serving Men (Child No. 106) - Sung by Belle Stewart of the Travelling Stewart family of Blairgowrie. She heard it from her cousin, Donald MacGregor. Recorded by Dr. Sheila Douglas in 1978.
Song transcription:
O, when dukes and earls tae the huntin went
There was no one left but the silly old man,
And when dukes and earls came home to dine
They asked what news he had to tell.
"O, good news, good news I have," he said,
"For your poor workman has become a maid."
But never heard of nor seldom seen
A poor working man to become a queen.
I'll Cut Off My Long Yellow Hair / My Brother Built Me a Bancy Bower / My Father Built Me a Shady Bower / Sweet William / The Small Birds Whistle / Dukes and Earls / The Border Widow's Lament / The Famous Flower of Serving Men (Child No. 106) - Sung by Belle Stewart of the Travelling Stewart family of Blairgowrie. She heard it from her cousin, Donald MacGregor. Recorded by Dr. Sheila Douglas in 1978.
Song transcription:
O, when dukes and earls tae the huntin went
There was no one left but the silly old man,
And when dukes and earls came home to dine
They asked what news he had to tell.
"O, good news, good news I have," he said,
"For your poor workman has become a maid."
But never heard of nor seldom seen
A poor working man to become a queen.
![The Mouses Wedding to the Frog (Roud 16) (1986) - Duncan Williamson (Scottish Traditional Singer)
Frog he Would a Wooing Go / Kitty Alone / Mr. Frog / The Frogs Wedding / The Wedding of Frog and Mouse / Frog Went A-Courting (Roud No. 16) / The House that Jack Built (Roud No. 20584) / The Old Woman and Her Pig (Roud No. 746) - Sung by Duncan Williamson (1928-2007), a Traveller of Furnace, Argyllshire, Scotland, later settled in Fife. Filmed and recorded by David Kotyk as part of the John D. Niles folklore research team for the Scottish Voices project in the sitting room of Duncans home at Kincraigie Farm Cottage, near Strathmiglo, Fife, where he was living with his wife Linda and their two children Betsy and Thomas, on August 8th, 1986.
00:00:00 Sings The Mouses Wedding to the Frog
00:02:46 Sings The House that Jack Built
00:06:19 Sings The Old Woman and Her Pig
00:10:45 Video Ends
The original movie can be watched here:
https://search.library.wisc.edu/digital/A77X57FFUO2N4X8J
A biography of Duncan Williamson can be read here:
https://www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/person/4292?l=en
Linda Williamsons thesis on Scottish Traveller singing can be read here, its well worth your time if youre interested in Duncan Williamsons song repertoire: https://era.ed.ac.uk/handle/1842/8223
I used my knowledge on video editing to share the films on Youtube in the highest possible quality, I used manual video upscaling (no AI was used!) for this, to further document variants of traditional ballads and songs which has been my hobby for many years. I claim no ownership of the video, all the rights belong with the University of Wisconsin which houses the John D. Niles Collection.
Note by Kevin W.:
I was delighted to discover these videos of Scotlands great tradition bearers in the John D. Niles Collection. The often poorly treated Scottish Travellers honor the memories of their ancestors through songs, music and storytelling. They are proud of their culture and kept old traditions alive for hundreds of years. Many of our most gifted traditional singers and storytellers are Travellers.
Scottish Travellers are an indigenous ethnic minority in Scotland who live or traditionally lived a nomadic lifestyle and for centuries were unfairly shunned by the settled population. For that reason the singing culture of the Travelling people had not been well documented before the 20th century when non-Travellers with an interest in folklore visited and befriended Travellers and started recording their songs, music and stories.
The videos give us an impression of what Duncan Williamson was like as a person and they show us how he performed his songs and stories to an audience. The visual aspect of performance is completely missed when we listen to sound recordings.
My main interest are the songs and ballads from Traveller tradition which Duncan kept alive. His interest in folklore led him to seek out other Traveller singers and storytellers and learn songs and stories from them, many of which were on the verge of being lost forever. In a way Duncan was a folklore collector himself.
Song transcription:
Oh, a froggie would a-wooing ride
Oh-ho-ho-ho
A froggie would a-wooing ride,
With sword and buckle by his side,
Oh-ho-ho.
Oh, first he came to a mouses den
Oh-ho-ho
First he came to a mouses den
He said, Miss Mouse, would you let me in?
Oh-ho.
He took Miss Mousie on his knee
Oh-ho-ho
He took Miss Mousie on his knee
He said, Miss Mouse would you marry me?
Oh-ho.
She said, Where will the marriage supper be?
Oh-ho
Where will the marriage supper be?
Down in the hollow by the old oak tree
Oh-ho.
[People begin to join in on the refrain. Betsy or Thomas starts to sing along.]
Well, the first came in was Mrs. Moth
Oh-ho-ho
The first came in was Mrs. Moth
She came to lay the table cloth
Oh-ho-ho.
The next came in was Major Dick
Oh-ho-ho
The next came in was Major Dick
He et so much that he fell sick
Oh-ho-ho.
Then they had to send for Doctor Fly
Oh-ho-ho
They had to send for Doctor Fly
For fear that Major Dick would die
Oh-ho-ho.
Then came a squirrel with a big, long, curly tail, tail
Then came a squirrel with a curly tail
He tore his head on a rusty nail
Oh, ho, ho.
Oh, next came in was a big, brown snake
Oh, ho, ho
Next came in was a big, brown snake
He coiled hisself round the wedding cake
Oh-ho-ho.
So they all went sailing down tae the lake
Oh-ho-ho
They all went sailing down tae the lake
They were gobbled up by a big fat drake
Oh-ho-ho. The Mouses Wedding to the Frog (Roud 16) (1986) - Duncan Williamson (Scottish Traditional Singer)](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/M-BxPB0u8QA/mqdefault.jpg)
![Gentle Fair Jenny (Child 277) (1953) - Jean Ritchie
Dandoo / The Wee Cooper o Fife / The Scolding Wife / Gentle Fair Jenny / Jennifer Gentle / As the Dew Flies over the Green Vallee / Robin-a-Thrush / Rissolty Rossolty / Hobblety Bobblety / Nickety Nackety / The Wife Wrapt in Wethers Skin (Child No. 277) (1953) - Sung by Jean Ritchie of Viper, Kentucky, USA. From Songs from Kentucky (1953).
Song transcription:
I married me a wife and took her home,
Gentle fair Jenny, fair Rosy Marie,
I ofttimes wished that Id let her alone
As the dew flies over the green valley.
All in my kitchen she would not use,
For fear of spoiling her new cloth shoes.
First day at noon I come in from the plow,
My dearest wife is my dinner ready now.
Get out of here you dirty thief, [usually elf]
If you want any dinner you can cook it yourself.
Second day at noon I come in from the plow,
My dearest wife, is my dinner ready now.
Theres a little piece of corn bread layin on the shelf,
If you want anymore you can cook it yourself.
I got my knife and went out to the barn,
I cut me a hickory as long as my arm.
I took my limb and I bent back,
Around her back I made it crack.
Ill tell my father and all of my kin,
You whupped me with a hickory limb.
You can tell your father and all your kin
I whupped you once and Ill whup you again. Gentle Fair Jenny (Child 277) (1953) - Jean Ritchie](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/MQX7Xzs6KbM/mqdefault.jpg)

![John of Hazelgreen (Child 293) - Victoria Shifflett Morris
John of the Hazelgreen / Johnny o Hazelgreen / Jock o Hazeldean / John of Hazelgreen (Child No. 293) - Sung by Mrs. Victoria Shifflett Morris (s.p Shiflett) (1895–1964) of Mount Fair, Albemarle County, Virginia, USA. Recorded by Arthur Kyle Davis Jr. on March 19, 1933.
00:00:00 John over the Hazelgreen - Victoria Shifflett Morris
00:03:02 John of the Hazelgreen - Lloyd Fitzgerald
00:05:16 John of Hazelgreen - Robert Shiflett
An excellent article by Mike Yates on Cecil Sharps and Maud Karpeles Appalachia trip in the 1910s can be read here: https://www.mustrad.org.uk/articles/sharp.htm
A selection of 1930s phonograph recordings made by folklorist Arthur Kyle Davis Jr. (1897–1972) of Virginia ballad singers has been digitised and made available for listening online: https://avalon.lib.virginia.edu/collections/7m01bk901
We get a chance to listen to some of the very same people Cecil Sharp and Maud Karpeles met and noted songs from in the 1910s.
The audio quality of these recordings is relatively poor, being made with portable equipment at that time, but the songs are interesting and worthy of attention. I had the idea of creating small compilations of related versions of each song for these videos. This is because I noticed that I often had more than one recording of each song available from singers who were related or lived in the same area.
Arthur K. Davis Jr. published the hundreds of Virginia ballads he collected in two books, Folk-Songs of Virginia (1949), and More Traditional Ballads of Virginia (1960) with the editorial assistance of Paul Clayton Worthington.
Note by Kevin W.:
A traditional Virginia version of John of Hazelgreen (Child 293), the ballad upon which the Scottish poet Sir Walter Scott based his 1816 poem Jock of Hazeldean. Recordings of the traditional ballad are scarce. It had some currency in Albemarle County, Virginia and was noted from members of the Shiflett family and other singers in the area. Scotts poem which shares only the first stanza with the original song has mostly replaced it and is much better known nowadays.
George Foss account of the Browns Cove, Albemarle County singers is well worth a read: http://www.klein-shiflett.com/shifletfamily/HHI/GeorgeFoss/whall.html
This article is also helpful: http://www.bluegrassmessengers.com/john-of-the-hazelgreen morris-va-1933-davis-aa.aspx
Song transcription:
As I were walking one fair May morning,
All down by the greenwood side,
And there I spied a pretty fair miss,
And all alone she cried.
Youre welcome home, my pretty fair miss,
Youre welcome home with me,
And you may have my oldest son,
A husband for to be.
Oh, I dont want your oldest son,
For hes neither lord nor king,
I never intend to be the bride of none,
John over the Hazelgreen.
As I were riding an ink black road,
The road run near to the town,
All up stepped John my Hazelgreen,
And helped his lady down.
His hair were long, his shoulder were broad,
He was the flower of all his kin,
His hair hang down like links of gold,
John over the Hazelgreen.
Tis forty times he kissed her cheeks,
And forty times her chin,
And forty times her red and rosy lips,
And led his lady in.
If ever I a vow break on you my love,
Oh, heaven will forsake on me,
And send me down to the torment place,
Where never returntity. [*]
[*] Davis suggests Where I never return to thee but the line isnt clear. Robert Shifletts version has it as Forever and eternity. The last stanza is a floater from The Blackest Crow / Dearest Dear / The Time Draws Near (Roud 422) John of Hazelgreen (Child 293) - Victoria Shifflett Morris](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Mbl6eW-kQ9Y/mqdefault.jpg)


![Clydes Water (Child 216) - John Strachan
The Clattering of the Clyde Waters / The Clattering o Clyde Waters / Clydes Water / Clydes Waters / Willie and May Margaret / The Drowned Lovers / The Mothers Malison (Child No. 216) - Sung by John Strachan of Fyvie, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Recorded by Alan Lomax and Hamish Henderson on July 16th, 1951. From Scottish Tradition 5: The Muckle Sangs Classic Scots Ballads (1975) Tangent Records TNGM 119/D (2 LP, UK, 1975).
Note by Kevin W.:
A malison is a curse. And the bleeding at the nose is a bad omen, a sign of bad things about to happen.
Lines Notes by Hamish Henderson:
Child printed only three versions of this noble ballad, which has been carried forward strongly into our own day by oral transmission; all three are of surpassing interest to anyone wishing to survey the influence of remaking of various sorts on our balladry. Childs A [...] is a magnificent example of supple and flexible ballad Scots. His C (Peter Buchan), which is by far the longest (29 verses) [is] in its own way a powerful piece of work. [...] Childs B is from Mrs. Brown of Falkland [...].
Gavin Greig published a version - Peter Buchan nearly word for word - in his column in The Buchan Advertiser, and this may well have helped to keep the ballad in circulation in some areas; however, both versions you can hear now depend on family and local tradition going back before Gavin was born.
John Strachan opens with the omen of ill fortune (nose bleeding) which is also to be found in Peter and the Buchanie, but his text is markedly different from theirs. It omits the motif of Willies mothers curse which has provided the name for one of the titles given to the ballad (The Mothers Malison) although it might be argued that the curse is implicit in her strongly expressed disapproval.
Willie Edwards version, a superbly enunciated example of auld style ballad Scots, gives us the second half of the ballad. He starts at the point where Willie appeals to Maggie to let him in, and Maggies mother (counterfeiting her daughters voice, like another cruel mother in The Lass of Roch Royal) turns him away. Again, the text is different from both Peter and The Buchan Observer [sic].
Both our versions have the episode of Willies brother standing on the river bank and telling him to turn to his high horse heid and learn how to swim. This episode, which is in Peter Buchans text but not in Mrs. Browns, is dismissed by Child as absurd. However, if we look at the structure of the ballad, we can see that it is not so absurd after all. The opening scene of Clydes Water is really a variant of a familiar folktale lead-in; Willie is offered his mothers warning (by implication with her blessing) but takes instead his much-prized horse, with her curse. It is therefore wholly in accordance with the techniques of oral composition that Willie, in extremis, should be reminded of his earlier trust in his ain horse heels. And why should it be his brother who gives him this reminder? To an audience of earlier days, the minds of all its members saturated with the elemental folk motifs which link ballads and tales, there would have been no mystery - and no absurdity - about this one either. There are several ballads in which a mothers curse is associated with the death of one brother and the survival of another; [e.g. The Twa Brithers].
Song transcription:
Willie stood at the stable door,
A-leaning ower his steed,
A-looking at his white fingers
Till his nose began tae bleed.
“O bring some corn to my horse,
And gie my young man meat,
And I’ll awa to Maggie’s bower,
I’ll be there afore she sleeps.”
“O Wilie, Wilie, dinna gang,
It’s sair against my wil,
Ye’ve the deepest pot in the Clyde to cross,
And it’s there that ye will droon.”
“The horse that I’m to ride upon
Cost me twice thirty pound.
And I’ll put trust in my ain horse heels,
And he’ll cairry me safe and soun.”
So he rid o’er hills and rid doon dales
And doon yon dowie den,
But the rush that rose in Clyde’s water
Wad have feared a hundred men.
“O Clyde, ye Clyde, ye rollin Clyde,
Yer waves are wondrous strong,
Mak me a wreck as I come back,
But spare me as I gyang.
“O Maggie, Maggie, Maggie, dear.
O rise and lat me in,
For my boots are fu o Clyde’s waters
And I’m shiverin tae the skin.”
“My stables are full o horses,
My sheds are fu o hay,
My beds are fu o gentlemen
That winna leave till day.”
Maggie wakened in the morning
An to her mother she run,
Says, “I dreamed that Willie was here last nicht
An ah widna lat him in.”
So he rid ower hills and he rid doon dales
And doon yon dowie den,
But the rush that rose in Clyde’s water
Took Willie’s cane fae him.
Leanin ower his saiddle bows
Tae catch his cane through force,
The rush that rose in Clyde’s water
Took Willie fae his horse.
Willie’s brother stands on the bank,
“Now, how can Willie droon?
O turn ye to yer high horse heid
And he’ll learn ye how to sweem.” Clydes Water (Child 216) - John Strachan](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/NLxLNfJEZ5I/mqdefault.jpg)



