> Folk Music > Songs > The Dowie Dens of Yarrow
The Dowie Dens of Yarrow
[
Roud 13
; Child 214
; G/D 2:215
; Ballad Index C214
; trad.]
Norman Buchan: 101 Scottish Songs Edith Fowke: The Penguin Book of Canadian Folk Songs Alexander Keith: Last Leaves of Traditional Ballads and Ballad Airs Frank Kidson: Traditional Tunes James Kinsley: The Oxford Book of Ballads Ewan MacColl: Folk Songs and Ballads of Scotland Ewan MacColl, Peggy Seeger: Travellers’ Songs From England and Scotland Alison McMorland: Up Yon Wide and Lonely Glen John Jacob Niles: The Ballad Book of John Jacob Niles John Ord: Bothy Songs and Ballads Sir Walter Scott: Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border Stephen Sedley: The Seeds of Love Peter Shepheard: Jock Duncan: The Man and His Songs
The border ballad The Dowie Dens o’ Yarrow was in the repertoire of many traditional and revival singers:
Davie Stewart sang The Dowie Dens of Yarrow to Alan Lomax in Dundee in 1951. Six verses of this recording were included on the anthology The Child Ballads 2 (The Folk Songs of Britain Volume 5; Caedmon 1961; Topic 1968). Another Alan Lomax recording made in 1957 at Lomax’s London apartment was included in 2002 on Stewart’s Rounder Records CD Go On, Sing Another Song. Stewart also sang The Dowie Dens of Yarrow in a recording made by Hamish Henderson in 1954/55 or 1962; it was released in 1978 on his eponymous Topic LP Davie Stewart. The first album’s booklet noted:
Davy Stewart has been a wanderer all his life, travelling the roads of Ireland and Scotland, selling small goods and singing ballads and songs at the fairs, and to football and cinema queues. He plays his modern piano accordion like some ancient non-tempered instrument, teasing strange chords out of it that suit his outlandish tunes.
Here he sings an ancient ballad still popular among the folk of the North, and little known in England or the United States. It is a tale of prophetic dreaming and of blood vengeance. Early versions have the girl drinking the blood of her dead love and strangling herself with her own long hair. A hint of incest or at least of fraternal authority is the key to the story, for in one form the girl is already married and pregnant by her ploughboy lover, yet he is still attacked and slain.
… and the Rounder booklet:
The young Pullman fights nine noblemen for the love of a lady and wins, until the girl’s brother fights foul. The Yarrow Water runs far to the south, in the Scottish Border country, flowing through Selkirk and Melrose to join the River Tweed. Greig and Duncan noted down no less than 25 tunes and 11 sets of words in the Northeast. ‘Dowie dens’ could be rendered as ‘dismal narrow wooded valleys’. As usual, Davie’s text is a bit mangled, but none the less thrilling for that.
Hamish Henderson noted on the Topic album:
Davie’s performance of a classic Border Ballad (Child 214) seems to me to be—instrumentally, at least—the most extraordinary and the most impressive thing in the present album. It alone would provide evidence that at his best Davie was a folk musician of immense creative power.
The Dowie Dens (which Child called The Braes of Yarrow) is still one of the best-loved ballads in the Scottish countryside. It has been collected quite literally from the Border to the Pentland Firth. Willie Scott’s Dumfriesshire version can be heard on The Shepherd’s Song (Topic 12T183), and a North-East version (from Morayshire) is on John MacDonald’s The Singing Molecatcher of Morayshire LP (Topic 12TS263). The listener is referred to Child and Bronson for exhaustive articles on the textual and musical records of this world famous ballad.
Jimmy McBeath sang The Dowie Dens o’ Yarrow on 14 November 1953 to Alan Lomax in London. This recording was released in 2002 on McBeath’s Rounder Records anthology Tramps and Hawkers. Hamish Henderson noted:
Jimmy’s fine version of this ancient ballad from the Scottish Borders, which was found widely in the Northeast, omits the buildup to the fight: the nine noble suitors being challenged by one commoner who has been equipped for the battle by his beloved. Instead Jimmy stresses the tragedy of the loss. The tragic hero is a ploughboy, perhaps one reason why the ballad was sung in the farms. Both Jimmy and Davie Stewart give the same name to the hero and the villain. Davie names him John, but Jimmy gives the puzzling name of ‘Joon’, and on one occasion ‘Jool’. Some texts name only the brother, others call the hero John and the brother George.
Ewan MacColl sang The Dowie Dens o’ Yarrow in 1956 on his and A.L. Lloyd’s Riverside anthology The English and Scottish Popular Ballads (The Child Ballads) Volume III. This and 28 other ballads from this series were reissued in 2009 on MacColl’s Topic CD Ballads: Murder·Intrigue·Love·Discord. Kenneth S. Goldstein noted in the album’s booklet:
Child printed nineteen texts of this beautiful Scottish tragic ballad, the oldest dating from the 18th century. Sir Walter Scott, who first published it in his Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border (1803), believed that the ballad referred to a duel fought at the beginning of the 17th century between John Scott of Tushielaw and Walter Scott of Thirlestane in which the latter was slain. Child pointed out inaccuracies in this theory but tended to give credence to the possibility that the ballad did refer to an actual occurrence in Scott family history that was not too far removed from that of the ballad tale.
In a recent article, Norman Cazden discussed various social and historical implications of this ballad (and its relationship to Child 215, Rare Willie Drowned in Yarrow), as well as deriding Scott’s theories as to its origin.
The ballad still exists in tradition in Scotland. It has been reported rarely in America, a fine text having been collected in New York State.
Ewan MacColl also sang The Dowie Dens o’ Yarrow in 1961 with two more verses (3 and 7) on his Folkways album The English and Scottish Popular Ballads: Vol. 1. The liner notes state that he learned the song from his father.
Isla Cameron sang The Dowie Dens of Yarrow in 1959 on the anthology The Jupiter Book of Ballads. She also sang it in 1966 on her eponymous Transatlantic album Isla Cameron where she noted:
I recorded this song for Nat Joseph who gave me the opportunity to make this record. Learned from Ewan [MacColl], it is one of my favourite ballads.
Peggy Seeger sang The Dewy Dewy Dens of Yarrow in 1962 on her Prestige album A Song for You and Me. She noted:
This ballad, from New York, is one of the few versions reported in America. The ballad is still current in Scotland, although more detailed. complete with a duel between lovers to gain the girl, with the consequent death of her favourite. The piece was first published in Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border (1803) by Sir Walter Scott, who believed that if referred to a duel fought at the beginning of the 17th century between John Scott of Tushielaw and Walter Scott of Thirlestane, in which the latter was slain. In the present version, the story has been fragmented and much of the fine detail lost, but it remains, nevertheless, an excellent ballad. Ir comes from the singing of George Edwards, traditional singer from the Catskill Mountains of New York State.
Ian Campbell sang Dowie Dens of Yarrow in 1968 on his and his sister Lorna’s Transatlantic album of ballads from Scotland, The Cock Doth Craw. He noted:
This is the version of the ballad as sung by William Miller and published in Scotland Sings and 101 Scottish Songs, but with one extra verse and a few minor alterations. The outmoded practice among scholars of trying to add significance to such ballads as this by attempting to give the protagonists an accurate historical identity is now generally rejected as being not only futile but irrelevant.
Mícheál Ó Domhnaill sang The Heathery Hills of Yarrow in 1974 on his and Mick Hanly’s Polydor album Celtic Folkweave. His sister Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill sang The Heathery Hills of Yarrow at a Bothy Band concert at the Palais Des Arts, Paris, in June 1978. This concert’s recording was released in the same year on The Bothy Band’s Mulligan album Afterhours.
Belle Stewart sang The Dowie Dens o’ Yarrow on the 1965 Topic record The Stewarts of Blair. This track was also included in 1966 on the Topic Sampler No 5, A Prospect of Scotland. Hamish Henderson noted:
Gavin Greig wrote in 1909 that this is “unquestionably the most widely known of our old ballads”, and this is still true, as nearly thirty versions in the archives of the School of Scottish Studies testify. Although it is always thought of as a ‘border ballad’, and the name Yarrow always appears in it, it has been recorded most often in the North-East. Belle’s Perthshire tune, which she learnt from an aunt, is a superb vehicle for the narrative. For a discussion of the ancestry of the ballad, see Child (introduction to No. 214). The American scholar, Richard Bauman, is at present bringing this up to date.
Gordeanna McCulloch sang The Dowie Dens o’ Yarrow in 1965 on the Topic album New Voices From Scotland. This track was included in 1997 on the Fellside CD reissue of her Topic album Sheath and Knife. and in 2009 on Topic 70th anniversary anthology Three Score and Ten.
In 1616, a certain Walter Scott of Tushielaw, five miles south of the River Yarrow, eloped with Grizel Scott only to be murdered by five of her brothers. This incident is often given as the inspiration of the ballad, but although the association with Yarrow may date from this time, the song with its prophetic dreams and extreme jealousy of the family honour is obviously much older. Some of the oldest known versions have the heroine drinking her lover’s blood—an example of the pagan belief in the blood soul—but this has been softened to kissing and finally wiping of the wounds in more recent times. Sir Walter Scott, for example, edited this reference out of one version he collected. Possibly the blood drinking gives the magical strength necessary for her to drag his body home by her hair as she does in many sets of the ballad.
Willie Scott sang The Dowie Dens o’ Yarrow on 3 November 1967 in a recording by Bill Leader that was released on his 1968 Topic record The Shepherd’s Song. This track was included in 1998 on the Topic anthology It Fell on a Day, a Bonny Summer Day (The Voice of the People Series Volume 17). Maurice Lindsay noted on the original album:
Willie’s version deals with the same theme as the familiar ballad (Child 214), though it goes to a different air from the usual one. His father, who shepherded in Yarrow, picked up this version around 1882, and passed on to Willie in due course.
Shelagh McDonald sang Dowie Dens of Yarrow in 1971 on her second and last album, Stargazer.
Derek Sarjeant and Hazel King sang Dowie Dens of Yarrow on their 1973 album Folk Matters. They noted:
Child Ballad No. 214, this song was first published in Scott’s Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border [in] 1803.
John MacDonald sang The Dewie Dens o’ Yarrow in his mobile home, Pigaveny, Elgin, Morayshire, in November 1974 to Tony Engle and Tony Russell. This recording was released on his 1975 Topic album The Singing Molecatcher of Morayshire. This track was also included in 1998 on the Topic anthology O’er His Grave the Grass Grew Green (The Voice of the People Series Volume 3). Hamish Henderson noted:
Still one of the most familiar Child ballads on the lips of Scottish traditional singers, The Dewy (or Dowie) Dens is always associated with the Borders, and with the “euphonious river” whose name leads the rhymes in every version—although it has been recorded as far away as Sutherlandshire (from Gaelic-speaking travelling folk). Sir Walter Scott tried to tether it to an actual historical incident—a duel between John Scott of Tushielaw and his brother-in-law Walter Scott—but there is no basis in fact for this far-fetched identification. John got his Version 60 years ago from Bob Kemp, ploughman at Kerrow.
Bob Davenport and The Rakes sang The Dowie Dens o’ Yarrow in 1977 on their Topic LP 1977. He learned the song from the singing of Davie Stewart. They also sang The Green Banks of Yarrow in 1997 on their Fellside album The Red Haired Lad.
Jean Redpath sang Dowie Dens o’ Yarrow on her 1977 album Song of the Seals. She noted:
One of the many versions of a ballad which has retained its popularity in the oral tradition in Scotland. The Yarrow flows from St Mary’s Loch towards the Tweed, joining Ettrick Water near Philiphaugh above Selkirk.
Paul and Linda Adams sang The Dowie Dens of Yarrow in 1978 on their Fellside album Among the Old Familiar Mountains. They noted:
This is one of the classic Border Ballads. Paul first had a version of this song from Barry Skinner around 1965. The version sung here is a compilation from memory, The Oxford Book of Ballads and field recordings by Belle Stewart and Davy Stewart. The ballad is very ancient and versions vary slightly. It fits nicely into the wild Border country with its theme of blood vengeance. In some versions the heroine drinks her slain lover’s blood, which has pagan origins and may have been used to give her strength to drag him home by her hair. Some versions start with the lords drinking, others with her dressing her lord to go out and fight—in those versions he is not a ploughboy at all. Other versions contain hints of incest or at least fraternal authority—it’s usually her brother who kills him. There are also themes of jealousy and prophetic dreams. All this in under four minutes.
Jane Turriff of Mintlaw, Aberdeenshire, sang Dowie Dens o’ Yarrow in a 1979 recording made by Peter Cooke on her 1996 Springthyme album Singing Is Ma Life. This track was also included in 2000 on the EFDSS anthology Root & Branch 2: Everybody Swings. The original album’s notes commented:
The Yarrow valley runs from the Border hills south of Edinburgh to join the river Tweed near Selkirk. Although this is a genuine Border Ballad, James Duncan calls it “unquestionably the most widely known of our old ballads in the North East.” Greig-Duncan has eleven texts, none with Jane’s distinctive opening verse. There is much similarity, however, when it comes to the combat verses. It is not clear in Jane’s version who the murderer is, but she has her own ideas: Jane: He wis goin for them aa, bit een o them came at him fae the back. It must have been his brither-in-law.
On one occasion, Jane sang this song to a different melody, unusual for a traditional singer and she sometimes begins with two extra verses which do help clarify the motive. These lines also appear as verses two and three in Agnes Lyle of Kilbarchan’s version, noted by William Motherwell in 1825 (Child C). Tennies Bank probably refers the Tinnis Burn near Newcastleton in the Scottish borders.
Alison McMorland and Peta Webb sang The Dowie Dens o’ Yarrow in 1980 on their Topic LP Alison McMorland & Peta Webb. They noted:
Lucy Stewart of Fetterangus has been a particular influence on Alison’s singing and Sailing’s a Weary Life and the very powerful ballad Two Pretty Boys come from her. Other songs in the Scots tradition are The Dowie Dens of Yarrow, a commonly sung ballad amongst the travellers, learnt from Margaret Stewart; What Can a Young Lassie? from Jane Turriff; and the deeply bitter and dramatic Convict’s Song from Sheila MacGregor.
Gary and Vera Aspey sang The Dowie Dens of Yarrow, “a Scottish traditional song which happens to be a great favourite of ours”, in 1979 on their Topic album Seeing Double.
Mirk sang Dowie Dens o Yarrow on their 1982 Springthyme album Tak a Dram Afore Ye Go. They noted:
The Yarrow Water in the Scottish border hills, and its surrounding braes, vale and dowie dens have been the setting for several songs and ballads. The love of a lady for a ploughboy, and his murder by her brother on the banks of the Yarrow are still a part of Scotland’s living ballad tradition; most families who have kept up the old songs have a version of The Dowie Dens in their repertoire.
Brigid Murphy (b.1913) of Forkhill, Co. Armagh, sang The Dewy Glens of Yarrow at The Forester’s Hall, Forkill, on 1 October 1983 during a singaround. This recording made by Tom Munnelly was included in 1985 on the Folk Music Society of Ireland anthology Early Ballads in Ireland 1968-1985, reissued on CD in 2015 by An Goílín.
Iain MacGillivray sang The Dowie Dens o’ Yarrow in 1986 on his Fellside album Rolling Home. He noted:
A version of the well known Border Ballad I learned from the late Tom Smith of Edinburgh in the mid sixties.
Rod Paterson sang Dowie Dens of Yarrow in 1988 on his Greentrax album Smiling Waved Goodbye. He noted:
This version is collated from Scott’s Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, Motherwell’s Minstrelsy Ancient and Modern, and Buchan’s Ancient Ballads and Songs of the North of Scotland.
Heather Heywood sang The Dowie Dens of Yarrow in 1993 on her Greentrax CD By Yon Castle Wa’. She noted:
This is a fairly common ballad and the story speaks for itself. I first heard it sung by Allison McMorland.
Pentangle sang Yarrow on their 1995 album Live 1994 that was recorded during their 1994 tour of Germany.
Steve Tilston sang The Dowie Dens of Yarrow on his 1995 album And So It Goes….
Bob Davenport sang The Green Banks of Yarrow with the Rakes in 1997 on their Fellside CD The Red Haired Lad.
Elspeth Cowie sang Dowie Dens of Yarrow in 1998 on Chantan’s Culburnie CD Primary Colours. She also sang The Dowie Dens of Yarrow on her 2023 album Who Knows Where the Time Goes? where she noted:
This powerful and evocative Scots ballad (Child 214, Roud 13) has been a constant companion for decades. It comes dramatically alive when your stand, as I have, at the head of the Yarrow valley in the Scottish Borders, heading over from Selkirk to Moffat. I recorded it with the trio Chantan in the 1990s, but wanted to also lay down an unvarnished, unaccompanied version that lets the bald narrative do all the lifting. For those who don’t know Lallans, the lowland Scots tongue, ‘dowie‘ in this use can mean sad or melancholy, and ‘dens’ indicates a hollow in a wooded valley. The theme of the commoner heroically taking up arms against overwhelming odds and superior foes, and only falling when he is wounded ‘most foully’ (in this case, stabbed from behind) is something of an archetype in the old ballads and in many movies today.
Kate Burke and Ruth Hazleton sang The Dewy Dells of Yarrow on their 1998 album The Bee-Loud Glade.
Janet Russell sang Dowie Dens of Yarrow in 1998 on the Fellside CD of songs of the Border reivers, Fyre and Sworde. Paul Adams noted:
Arguably one of the finest of the Border Ballads. In simple terms the theme is Romeo and Juliet. This fits conveniently with the reiving theme of two families is dispute. It also deals with the theme of the girl courting beneath her station in life. Whatever, the young man is clearly regarded as unsuitable by the girl’s family. As with many of the songs with no clear historical connection attempts have been made to give the song a real-life background. A version of the song collected from one William Walsh, a Peebleshire cottar and poet has as its opening line, “At Dryhope lived a lady fair”. This has led to the theory that the lady was the daughter of Scott of Dryhope, a notorious Reiver. Whether or not it has an historical basis becomes less significant against the overwhelming tragedy of the song. Janet’s text, given to her by Sandra Kerr, has a place name “Thurrow” which we have not been able to locate. The text was collected in the Borders and so it has probably been altered by the oral process from Yarrow. The text has several ritual, magical and folklore allusions: the dream, the long yellow hair being wrapped three times around the body, etc. Janet’s stunning delivery of the song serves to illustrate why these songs are often called the “Big Ballads”.
Willie Beattie of Caulside, Dumfriesshire, sang The Dowie Dens o’ Yarrow to Mike Yates in 2000. This recording was included in 2001 on the Musical Traditions anthology of song and music from the Mike Yates Collection, Up in the North and Down in the South, and in 2003 on his Kyloe anthology of ballads, songs and tune from the Scottish Borders, Borderers. Yates noted on the first album:
One of the best-known of the ‘Border ballads’, although very few sets have been collected outside of Scotland itself. While the ballad is set in a known location, the Yarrow Valley—a few miles to the west of Selkirk, it is not known if it is based on an actual historic event. Sir Walter Scott believed that it referred to a duel fought between John Scott of Tushielaw and his brother-in-law Walter Scott of Thirlestane, where the latter was slain; but others have doubted this, citing the ballad’s similarity to the Scandinavian Herr Helmer. In this ballad Helmer has married a lady whose family are at feud with him for the unatoned slaughter of her uncle; he meets her seven brothers, who will hear of no satisfaction; there is a fight; Helmer kills six, but spares the seventh, who treacherously kills him.
The ballad has been sung for a long time in Liddesdale and Eskdale, and Frank Kidson noted a set from a Mrs Calvert of Gilnockie—he same Gilnockie that is close to Willie Beattie’s home and which is mentioned in the ballad of Johnny Armstrong. Mrs Calvert was the granddaughter of Tibbie Shiel, who had previously given songs to Sir Walter Scott and James Hogg, the ‘Etterick Shepherd’. Willie learnt his version of the ballad from his one-time neighbour, the well-known shepherd and singer Willie Scott, who can be heard singing it on [It Fell on a Day, a Bonny Summer Day (The Voice of the People Series Volume 17)]. Davie Stewart’s version is on [The Child Ballads 2 (The Folk Songs of Britain Volume 5; Caedmon 1961; Topic 1968)], and an Irish set, sung by Brigid Murphy, of Forkhill, Co Armagh, is included on the European Ethnic cassette Early Ballads in Ireland 1968-1985, edited by Hugh Shields and Tom Munnelly.
Dick Gaughan sang The Dowie Dens o’ Yarrow on his 2001 Greentrax CD Outlaws & Dreamers; this recording was also included in 2006 on his anthology The Definitive Collection. He noted:
One of the first of the big Scots ballads I ever learned and sang. I haven’t sung it for 30 years and decided it was time to revisit it.
William Williamson of Ladybank, Fife (the son of Duncan Williamson) sang The Dowie Dens of Yarrow to Mike Yates on 3 September 2001. This recording was included in the following year on Yates’ Kyloe anthology of songs, stories and ballads from Scottish Travellers, Travellers’ Tales Volume 1. Mike Yates noted:
One of the best-known of the so-called “Border Ballads”. Set in the Yarrow Valley, a few miles to the west of the town of Selkirk, it is unlikely to be based on an actual event, contrary to what Sir Walter Scott believed. Scott felt that the ballad revolved around a duel fought between John Scott of Tushielaw and another Walter Scott, who came from Thirlstane and who was slain in the duel. However, as the ballad is also known in Scandinavia, where it is called Herr Helmer, its origins would seem to be less clear cut.
Dowie means ‘dismal’, while dens are ‘narrow, often wooded, valleys’.
Emily Smith sang The Dowie Dens of Yarrow on the 2002 anthology of traditional music from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, No. 1 Scottish.
Sara Grey sang Derry Dens of Arrow in 2005 on her Fellside CD A Long Way From Home. She noted:
From the singing of Mrs. Lola Stanley, Fayettville, Arkansas on 30 December 1958. Its found in the The Max Hunter Collection in Springfield-Greene County Library in Springfield, Missouri.
This ballad is a version of The Dewy Dens of Yarrow (Child #214) which was first published in Scott’s Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border where he says he found it easy to collect a variety of versions. Scott says that the ballad refers to a duel fought between John Scott of Tushielaw and his brother-in-law Walter Scott of Thirlestane in which the latter was slain. It is also known as Fair Willie Drowned in Yarrow. However the story also occurs in the Scandinavian ballad Herr Helmer and in various others. This version is a continuation of its migration. What I like about the Ozark version is the simplicity of her actions as she lowers him into the grave. It’s such a stark contrast to the imagery in Scottish versions of the woman binding her long hair around her dead husband to lower him into the grave.
Tom Spiers sang The Dowie Dens o Yarrow on Shepheard, Spiers & Watson’s Springthyme 2005 CD They Smiled As We Cam In. He noted:
This was one of the first ballads I learnt back in the 1960s and the text is pretty close to the version in Norman Buchan’s 101 Scottish Songs which was the most accessible source of traditional song in those days. The haunting tune is from the singing of Jessie MacDonald and was collected by Peter Hall on one of his field recording expeditions.
Karine Polwart sang Dowie Dens of Yarrow in 2007 on her CD Fairest Floo’er (the album title is a phrase from this song). This track was also included in 2013 on her Borealis anthology Threshold. A live recording from Cambridge Folk Festival 2008 was included on her festival EP A Wee Bit Extra.
Pete Wood sang The Dowie Dens of Yarrow on his 2007 CD Manchester Angel. He noted:
Yarrow is the name of a river in south west Scotland, which has given rise to a prodigious number of epic ballads, of which this one is the best known. The ballad seems to have been with me ever since I got interested in folk song in Sheffield in the early 60s, where an academic friend gave me a copy of Beattie’s Border Ballads, which I still have, and that’s the text I use.
Stanley Robertson sang The Dowie Dens o Yarrow on his posthumous 2009 Elphinstone Institute anthology of “family gems and jewels from the Traveller tradition”, The College Boy. Robertson noted:
I think it’s mair effective as a slow version. Very, very haunting and a lot o grace noting in it an aa. Well I think what the melody’s doing is painting the scene o Yarrow, cause obviously she’s come up high hills. It’s a sad, sad powerful, very evocative, spiritual song. So when ye start off, I think it’s the hills and the vales ye’re seeing and sort o winds coming through. And the laddie wis jist a plooboy, so really the nine gentlemen had a cheek challenging a young plooboy. And when they say tae him, “Will ye take the arra?”, he’s nae trained intae knighthood. He canna fire an arra, but he’s accustomed to ploughing; he’s accustomed to takin oot tree trunks wi his sword. So he can strike the sword even though he’s just a slim-built laddie. But it says, “And three withdrew”: the three that wis gentlemen decided that it wis against the laws o chivalry to fight a boy, so they withdrew.
The liner notes by Thomas A. McKean and Sara Reith continued:
Though set in the Scottish Borders, the Dowie Dens is well rooted in the North-East; nearly every singer has a version and there are some thirty texts in the Carpenter collection. The earliest text on record is in the Pepys collection, from 1768 (TBI). Some versions of this song begin with an accusing exchange which is found in the Carpenter collection (p. 06776) and in the singing of Jane Turriff, one of Stanley’s cousins. One broadside version runs,
You took our sister to be your wife,
And thought her not your marrow;
You stole her frae her father’s back,
When she was the Rose o’ Yarrow(from a c. 1890 broadside, RB.m. 143(120), National Library of Scotland).
Some versions begin with the revealing dream, then proceed with the explanatory backstory.
Drew Wright sang The Dowie Dens o’ Yarrow in 2011 on the B-Side of the Drag City single with Alastair Roberts and Karine Polwart, Captain Wedderburn’s Courtship.
Rosaleen Gregory sang The Dowie Dens of Yarrow in 2013 on her second album of Child ballads, Serpent’s Knee.
Moira Craig and Carolyn Robson sang The Dowie Dens of Yarrow on their 2016 CD Both Sides the Tweed. They noted:
Also known as The Braes of Yarrow, this is a Scottish border ballad. It exists in many variants (Child collected at least 18) and it has been printed as a broadside, as well as published in song collections. It is considered to be a folk standard in that the original author is unknown, and versions have been performed by many artists. In this version the hero is murdered by the young lady’s brother, another example of honour killing that seems to be common in the old ballads.
Dougie Mackenzie sang The Dowie Dens of Yarrow at a concert at the Tron Theatre, Glasgow in 2016, celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the TMSA. A recording of this concert was released on the DVD 101 Scottish Songs: The Wee Red Book. He also recorded The Dowie Dens o’ Yarrow on his 2019 Greentrax album with Brian Miller, Along the Way where he noted:
This border ballad has the lot: love, class discrimination, family dispute and murder.
This video shows Dougie Mackenzie at The Bridge Folk Club on 15 August 2022:
Andy Turner heard Dowie Dens of Yarrow for the first time in 1977 on Bob Davenports album mentioned above. He sang it as the 28 January 2017 entry of his project A Folk Song a Week.
Lori Watson sang Dowie Dens o Yarrow as one of her 2017 monthly digital singles and on the resulting 2018 CD Yarrow Acoustic Sessions. She noted:
This version of Dowie Dens came to me from Willie Scott, a shepherd and wonderful traditional singer from the Borders. He sang at events all over the Borders, and in the halls around the Ettrick and Yarrow valleys.
This was a song that, as a young musician, I didn’t think I would ever be able to sing. I have three different melodies to this tragic tale, this one I associate more with my local community—where the story is set. As usual, the song has changed shape a bit in my hands. This melody, in isolation, is actually very happy sounding. This is often the case in Scottish songs and sometimes you get a shock when lyrics emerge from a musical first impression.
Joshua Burnell learned The Dowie Dens of Yarrow from Shelagh McDonald’s 1971 album, and sang it on his 2018 CD Songs From the Seasons. He commented on his obsession with the song in his Folk Radio UK essay, A Folk Quest: Joshua Burnell on The Dowie Dens of Yarrow & Shelagh McDonald.
Steve Byrne sang The Dowie Dens of Yarrow on the 2019 album Scott’s Sangs that revisited the ballads of Walter Scott’s Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border. Emily Lyle noted:
The Dowie Dens is one of the best-known ballads in the Minstrelsy, where it first appeared in print. Scott’s text was put together from multiple sources, including one from James Hogg. Using mainly Scott’s text from 1803, we have amended it slightly to make the story a little less gory, with the final verse from Peter Buchan’s manuscript (circa 1828), where the bereaved maiden’s heart breaks from grief. While Scott’s version only has the maiden’s lips red with blood from kissing her lover’s wounds, in other versions—such as William Laidlaw’s, of which Scott knew—she appears to drink the blood!
This ballad has been recorded many times to a variety of tunes, with Bertrand Bronson’ Traditional Tunes of the Child Ballads listing over forty examples. The tune featured here is less common and comes from the singing of Irishman Gerry Cairns, of 1960s group, ‘The Ludlows’, via ‘The Corries’ 1970 recording on their Strings and Things album.
Rose Byers learned The Dowie Dens o’ Yarrow from the singing of Karine Polwart and sang it at home in July 2020:
Sarah Hill sang Heathery Hills of Yarrow, accompanied by Phil Taylor, on their 2022 album What We Thought Was a Lake Was a Field of Flax.
Lyrics
Davie Stewart sings The Dowie Dens of Yarrow
There were a lady unto the North,
Ye’d scarcely find her marrow.
She was courted by nine noblemen
On the dowie dens of Yarrow.
Her father had a young ploughboy.
O him she loved most dearly;
She dressed him up like a noble lord,
And sent him off to Yarrow.
It’s these nine noblemen sat drinking wine,
Drinking to their sorrows;
That the fairest maid they ever saw
Was in the dowie dens of Yarrow.
“Did you cam here to play cards or dice?
Did you cam here for sorrow?
Did you cam here tae slay us all
In the dowie dens of Yarrow?”
“I neither cam here to play cards or dice,
I didn’t cam here for sorrow.
But one by one, as long ye’ll stand
In the dowie dens of Yarrow.”
It’s three he drew and three he slew
And three he deidly wounded.
Till her false brother John came running in
And pierced him through the middle.
“Go home, go home, now, ye false young man,
And tell of yer sister’s sorrow.
That her true lover John lie dead and gone
In the dowie dens of Yarrow.”
“ O mother dear, come read my dream,
I hope it will prove sorrow;
That my true lover John lie dead and gone
In the dowie dens of Yarrow.”
“ O daughter, now I will read thy dream,
A bloody proves o sorrow,
That your true lover John lie dead and gone
In the dowie dens of Yarrow. ”
Her hair being now three-quarters long,
And the colour of it was yellow,
She wrapped it round his middle so small,
And she carried him home from Yarrow.
“O mother dear, come mek my bed,
Mek it long and narrow.
For my true lover John died for me today,
And I will die for him tomorrow.”
Jimmy McBeath sings The Dowie Dens o’ Yarrow
There was a lady of the north,
You could scarcely find her marrow,
She was courted by nine noblemen
And the ploughman boy of Yarrow.
As I looked o’er yon high high hill,
And doon in yonder valley,
There did I spy nine noblemen
Sat a-drinkin wine in Yarrow.
It’s three he drew, and three he slew,
And three lay deadly wounded.
But my brother Joon, he come in behind
And he pierced his body through.
“Go home, go home, you false young man,
And tell your sister sorrow.
That her true love Joon, he lies dead and gone
In the dowie dens of Yarrow.”
“O sister dear, I have dreamed a dream,
And I think it will prove sorrow.
That your true love jool, he lies dead and gone,
A bloody corpse on Yarrow.”
Her hair it was three quarters long,
And the colour o it being yellow,
She has tied it roon his middle sma,
And it’s carrit him hame from Yarrow.
“O father dear, thou got seven sons,
You can wed them all tomorrow.
But a finer laddie I never saw
Lies a bloody corpse on Yarrow.
“O mother dear, it’s make my bed,
An make it long and narrow.
There will I lie and will I die
For my ploughman boy of Yarrow.”
Ewan MacColl sings The Dowie Dens o’ Yarrow
There was a lady in the North,
I ne’er could find her marrow;
She was coorted by nine gentlemen.
And a plooboy lad frae Yarrow,
These nine sat drinkin’ at the wine.
Sat drinkin’ wine on Yarrow;
They ha’e made a vow amang themselves
Tae fecht for her on Yarrow.
She’s washed his face and kaimed his hair,
As oft she’e done afore o,
And made him Like a knicht sae bricht,
To fecht for her on Yarrow.
As he walked up yon high, high hill.
And doon by the houms o’ Yarrow;
There he saw nine armed men
Come tae fecht wi’ him on Yarrow.
And there they flew and there he slew
And there he wounded sorely,
Till her brither, John, came in beyond
And pierced his heart most foully.
“O faither, dear, I dreamed a dream,
A dream o’ dule and sorrow;
I dreamed I was pu’ing the heather bell
On the dowie dens o’ Yarrow.”
“O dochter dear, I read your dream,
I doubt it will bring sorrow,
For your ain true love lies pale and wan
On the dowie dens o’ Yarrow.”
As she walked up yon high, high hill
And doon by the houms o’ Yarrow;
There she saw her ain true love
Lying pale and wan on Yarrow.
Her hair it being three-quarters lang,
The colour it was yellow.
She wrappit it roond his middle sae sma’
And bore him doon tae Yarrow.
“O faither dear, ye’ve sieven sons.
Ye may wed them a’ tomorrow.
For the fairest flooer amang them a’
Was the lad I looed on Yarrow.”
Isla Cameron sings The Dowie Dens of Yarrow
There was a lady in the north
I ne’er did see her marrow
She was courted by nine gentlemen
And a plowboy lad fra Yarrow.
These nine were drinking at the wine
Sat drinking wine in Yarrow
They made a vow among themselves
For to fecht for her on Yarrow.
She’s washed his face, she’s combd his hair
As oft she’s done before, o
She’s made him like a lord
For to fecht for her on Yarrow.
As he’s walked down the high high hill
Down by the homes of Yarrow
There he spied nine armored men
Come to fecht wi him in Yarrow.
“There nine o you there’s ane o me
It unequal Marrow
But I’ll fecht youse all ane by ane
For the lass I loud on Yarrow.”
And aye they fought and aye they slew
And aye he fought most fairly o
Till her brother John came in frae behind
And has wounded him most foully.
“Oh father dear I dreamed a dream
I doubt it will bring sorrow
I dreamed I pulled the heather green
On the dowie dens of Yarrow.”
So she went down the high high hill
Down to the homes of Yarrow
There she found her lover John
Lying pale and dead on Yarrow.
Her hair it was three quarters lang
The color it was yellow
She wrapped it round his middle sae small
And she’s bore him up frae Yarrow.
“O faither dear you’ve se’en sons
You may wed them all tomorrow
But the fairest flour among them all
Was the lad I loud on Yarrow.”
Willie Scott sings The Dowie Dens o’ Yarrow
There lived a lady in the north,
You could scarcely find her marrow,
She was courted by nine noblemen
And her ploughman boy o’ Yarrow.
As he came ower yon high, high hills
And doon yon path sae narrow,
There he spied nine noblemen
For to fight with him on Yarrow.
There was three he slew and three withdrew,
And three lay deadly wounded,
Till her brother John stepped in behind
And pierced his body through.”
“Go home, go home, you false young man,
And tell your sister sorrow,
That her true-love John lies dead and gone
In the dowie dens o’ Yarrow.”
As he gaed ower yon high, high hills
And doon yon path sae narrow,
There he spied his sister dear
She was coming fast for Yarrow.
“ Oh, brother dear, I’ve dreamt a dream
And I hope it will not prove sorrow.
I dreamt that your were spilling blood
In the dowie dens o’ Yarrow.”
“Oh, sister dear, I’ll read your dream
And I’m sure it will prove sorrow.
Your true-love John lies dead and gone
And a bloody corpse on Yarrow.”
Now this fair maid’s hair was three-quarters long
And the colour of it was yellow.
She tied it roond his middle small,
As she’s carried him hame tae Yarrow.
“Oh, daughter dear, dry up your tear
And dwell no more in sorrow,
For I’ll wed you to far higher degree
Than your ploughman boy o’ Yarrow.”
“Oh, father dear, you have seven sons,
You can wed them all tomorrow.
But a fairer floo’er there never bloomed
Than my ploughman boy o’ Yarrow.”
John MacDonald sings The Dewie Dens o’ Yarrow
There was a lady in the north,
And ne’er I seen her marrow.
She was courted by nine noblemen
And the plooman lad from Yarrow.
Now, the knights are drinking o’ the wine,
Sat drinking wine in Yarrow,
And they made a vow to fecht for her
On the dewie dens of Yarrow.
And as she caimed her true love’s hair,
As oft she’d deen afore-o.
She made him like a knight so bra’
To fecht for her on Yarrow.
And as he gaed up yon high, high hills,
Round by the houms o’ Yarrow
It’s there he saw nine armed men
Come to fecht wi’ him on Yarrow.
It’s three he slew and three they flew
And three he wounded sairly,
Till her braither John came in hind from beyond,
And they did murder him most cruelly.
And as she gaed up yon high, high hills
Round by the houms of Yarrow,
It’s there she saw her true love John
Lying dead and white on Yarrow.
Now, her hair it grew three-quarters long
And the colour o’ it was yellow,
And she tied it roond his waist so small
And bore him doon frae Yarrow.
“Oh, Father dear, you’ve siven sons
You can marry them all the morn,
But the fairest flower amongst them a’
Was my ploughman lad in Yarrow.”
The Bothy Band sing The Heathery Hills of Yarrow
It’s three drew and three slew,
And three lay deadly wounded,
When her brother John stepped in between,
And stuck his knife right through him.
As she went up yon high high hill,
And down through yonder valley,
Her brother John came down the glen,
Returning home from Yarrow.
“Oh brother dear I dreamt last night
I’m afraid it will bring sorrow,
I dreamt that you were spilling blood,
On the dewy dens of Yarrow.”
“Oh sister dear I read your dream,
I’m afraid it will bring sorrow,
For your true love John lies dead and gone
On the heathery hills of Yarrow.”
This fair maid’s hair being three quarters long,
And the colour it was yellow,
She tied it round his middle waist,
And she carried him home from Yarrow.
“Oh father dear you’ve got seven sons,
You can wed them all tomorrow,
But a flower like my true love John,
Will never bloom in Yarrow.”
This fair maid she being tall and slim,
The fairest maid in Yarrow,
She laid her head on her father’s arm,
And she died through grief and sorrow.
Jane Turriff sings The Dowie Dens o Yarrow
“You took my sister to be your wife
And you thought not her marrow;
You rook her frae her father’s side,
When she was a rose on Yarrow.”
“I took your sister to be my wife
And I made her my marrow;
I took her frae her father’s side
And she’s still the rose o Yarrow.”
He’s gaen tae his lady gan,
As he had done before o,
Sayin, “Madam I maun keep a tryst
On the dowie dens o Yarrow.”
“O bide at hame ma lord,” she said,
“O bide at hame my marrow,
For my three brothers, they will slay thee,
In the dowie dens o Yarrow.”
“Hold yer tongue, ma lady dear
What’s aa this strife and sorrow?
For I’ll come back to thee again,
In the dowie dens o Yarrow.”
She kissed his cheeks, she kissed his hair,
As she had done before o
And gied him a brand doon by his side
An he’s awa tae Yarrow.
So he’s gan up yon Tennies Bank
A wite he gaed wi sorrow
An there he met nine armed men
In the dowie dens o Yarrow.
“O come ye here tae howk or hound,
Or drink the wine sae clear o,
Or come ye here tae pairt yer land
On the dowie dens o Yarrow?”
“I come not here tae howk or hound,
Or drink the wine sae clear o,
Nor come I here tae pairt ma land,
But I’ll fight wi you in Yarrow.”
So four he’s hurt an five he’s slain
In the bloody dens o Yarrow,
Till a cowardly man cam him behind
An he’s pierced his body through o.
“Oh gae hame, gae hame, ma brither John,
Whit’s aa this grief and sorrow?
Gae hame an tell ma lady dear
That I sleep sound in Yarrow.”
So he’s gane up yon high, high hill
As he had done before o
An there he met his sister dear,
She wis comin fast tae Yarrow.
“Oh I dreamt a dreary dream yestreen,
God keep us aa fae sorrow!
I dreamt I pulled the birk sae green,
(or: I dreamt that I wis pu’in heather bells)
On the dowie dens o Yarrow.”
“O sister I will read yer dream
And oh it has come sorrow:
Your true love he lies dead an gone,
He was killed, was killed in Yarrow.”
Mirk sing Dowie Dens o Yarrow
There wis a lady lived in the North,
Ye scarce could find her marrow,
She wis coorted by nine armed men,
An a plooboy laddie fae Yarrow.
These nine sat drinkin at the wine,
As oft they’d done afore O,
An they made a plot amang them aa,
Tae fecht for her on Yarrow.
She’s kaimed his hair, she’s kissed his chin,
As oft she’d done afore O,
An she made a bonny knicht o him,
Tae fecht for her in Yarrow.
An he rade up yon high, high hill,
An doon be the houms o Yarrow,
An there he met nine armed men
Come tae fecht wi him on Yarrow.
“There’s nine o ye, but ane o me,
It is unequal marrow,
But I’ll fecht ye aa ane by ane
On the dowie dens o Yarrow.”
Noo three withdrew an three he slew,
Three he’s wounded sairly.
But her brither John cam in ahint
An wounded him maist foully.
“Faither dear, I dreamed a dream,
A dream o dool an sorrow.
For I dreamed I wis pu’in the heather bells
On the dowie dens o Yarrow.”
“Dochter dear, I read your dream,
An I fear it maun prove sorrow,
For your true lover lies pale an wan
On the dowie dens o Yarrow.”
An she rade up yon high, high hill
An doon be the houms o Yarrow,
Aye an there she found her true lover
Lyin pale an wan in Yarrow.
Her hair it bein three quarters lang,
The colour it wis yellow.
She’s wrapped it roon his middle sae sma
An cairried him hame tae Yarrow.
“Faither dear, ye hae seiven sons,
Ye maun wad them aa the morrow.
For the fairest flouer amang them aa
Wis the laddie I loued in Yarrow.”
This lassie bein big wi child,
A fact that caused aa the sorrow,
They’ve laid her in her true lovers airms.
An they are deid in Yarrow.
Brigid Murphy sings The Dewy Glens of Yarrow
There was a lady from the North,
I ne’er could find her marrow;
She was courted by nine noblemen
And her ploughboy John from Yarrow.
These noblemen sat drinking wine,
The wine they sat a-drinking
And each of them did make a vow
To fight for her on Yarrow.
Her father had but one ploughboy,
It was said she loved him dearly;
She dressed him up in nobleman’s clothes
To fight for her on Yarrow.
There were three he slew and three he drew
And three lay sorely wounded
When her false young brother from behind a tree
Slew him with an arrow.
“Go home, go home, you false young man,
And tell your sister Sarah
That her ploughboy John lies dead and gone
On the dewy glens of Yarrow.”
Her hair it hung three quarters long
And the colour of it was yellow;
She tied it round his waist so small
And carried him home from Yarrow.
“O father dear, dig me a grave
And dig it long and narrow;
My true love died for me today.
I’ll die for him tomorrow.”
“O daughter dear, dry up your tears
And think no more on Yarrow;
For I’ll wed thee to a higher degree
Than your ploughboy John from Yarrow.”
“O father, you have seven sons,
You may wed them all tomorrow;
But the sweetest flower that ever grew
Lies dead for me on Yarrow.”
Elspeth Cowie sings Dowie Dens of Yarrow
There was a lady in the north,
I ne’er could find her marrow.
She was courted by nine gentlemen
And a ploughboy lad fae Yarrow.
These nine sat drinkin’ at the wine
As oft they’d done afore o,
They hae made a vow amang themselves
Tae fecht for her on Yarrow.
She’s washed his face, she’s kaimed his hair,
As oft she’d done afore o.
She has made him like a knight sae bright
Tae fecht for her on Yarrow.
As he walked up yon high, high hill
And doon by the Holms o Yarrow,
There he saw nine armed men
Cam tae fecht wi’ him on Yarrow.
“Well there’s nine o you and there’s wan o me
It’s an unequal marrow,
But ah’ll fecht ye a’, yin by yin
On the Dowie Dens o Yarrow.”
There he flew and there he slew
And there he wounded sorely,
Till her brither John cam in beyond
And wounded him most foully.
“O faither dear, I hae dreamed a dream,
A dream of doul and sorrow,
1 dreamed I was pu’in’ the heather bell
On the Dowie Dens o Yarrow.”
“O dochter dear I hae read yer dream
1 doubt it will bring sorrow,
Fer yer ain true love lies pale and wan
On the Dowie Dens of Yarrow.”
As she walked up yon high high hill
And doon by the Holms o Yarrow,
There she spied her Wullie dear
Lyin’ pale and deid on Yarrow.
Her hair it bein’ three-quarters lang,
The colour it was yellow.
She’s wrapped it roun’ his middle sae sma’
And bore him back tae Yarrow.
“O faither dear ye hae sieven sons,
Ye may wad them a’ the morrow.
For the fairest flo’er amang them a’
Was the plough boy lad fae Yarrow.”
And this fair maid bein’ big wi’ child
A fact which did cause sorrow,
She lay deid in her true love’s airms
‘Tween that day and the morrow.
Janet Russell sings The Dowie Dens of Yarrow
In Thurrow town there lived a maid,
Ye scarce could find her marrow,
And she’s forsook nine noblemen
For a ploughboy lad frae Yarrow.
Her faither he got word o’ that
And he’s bred a’ her sorrow;
He sent him forth to fight wi’ nine
On the dowie dens o’ Yarrow.
She’s washed his face and she’s kaimed his hair
As she’s aft done before-O,
And she’s made him look a knight sae fine
To fecht for her on Yarrow.
“Stay here, stay here, my bonnie lad
And bide wi’ me the morrow,
For my cruel brothers will ye betray
On the dowie dens o’ Yarrow.”
As he gaed up by Tennies Hill
And doon the braes o’ Yarrow,
’T was there in a den were nine armed men
Come to fecht wi’ him on Yarrow.
“Did ye come here tae drink the wine?
Did ye come here tae borrow?
Or did ye come tae wield yer brand
On the dowie dens o’ Yarrow?”
“I am not come tae drink the wine
Nor yet to beg or borrow.
But I am come tae wield my brand
On the dowie dens o’ Yarrow!”
“If I see you all, you are nine men,
That’s an unfair marrow.
But I will fecht while last my breath
On the dowie dens o’ Yarrow.”
And three he slew and three they flew
And three he’s wounded sairly,
Till her brither John stood up behind
And ran his body thorough.
“O mither, I hae dream’d a dream,
A dream o’ dule and sorrow.
I dream’d that I pu’d heather bells
On the dowie dens o’ Yarrow.”
“O dochter I hae read your dream,
I doubt it will prove sorrow.
For your ain true love is pale and wan
On the dowie dens o’ Yarrow.”
As she gaed up yon high high hill
And doon the houms o’ Yarrow,
’T was there she saw her ain true love
Lying pale and wan on Yarrow.
She’s washed him in a clear well-strand,
She’s dried him wi’ the hollan.
And aye she sighed, alas she cried,
“For my love I had him chosen.”
Her hair it being three quarters lang,
The colour it being yellow.
She’s tied it roond his middle sae small
And she’s bore him doon tae Yarrow.
“O hold your tongue, my daughter dear
And talk no more of sorrow,
I’ll wed you soon on a better match
Than the ploughboy lad frae Yarrow.”
“O faither, ye hae siven sons,
Ye may wed them a’ tomorrow.
Ye may wed your sons, but ye’ll ne’er wed
The bonny lass of Thurrow.”
Willie Beattie sings The Dowie Dens o’ Yarrow
There lived a lady in the north,
I could scarcely find her marrow;
She was courted by nine noblemen,
And a ploughboy lad frae Yarrow.
These nine sat drinking at the wine,
As oft they’d done afore-o;
They made a vow amang themselves,
Tae fight wi’ him on Yarrow.
As he walked up yon high, high hill,
And doon yon paths sae narrow;
There he spied nine armed men,
Come tae fight wi’ him on Yarrow.
“There’s nine of you, there’s one of me,
It’s on an equal marrow;
But I’ll fight ye a’, one by one,
In the dowie dens o’ Yarrow.”
And three he slew, and three withdrew,
And three lay deadly wounded;
Till her brother John came in beyond,
And pierced his heart most foully.
As he walked up yon high, high hill,
And doon yon paths sae narrow;
There he met his sister dear,
She was coming fast for Yarrow.
“Oh, brother dear, I hae dreamt a dream,
A dream of dule and sorrow;
I dreamt that you were spitting blood,
In the dowie dens o’ Yarrow.”
“Oh, sister dear, I hae read your dream,
And doubt it will prove sorrow;
For your truelove John lies dead and gone,
And a bloody corpse on Yarrow.”
Her hair it being three quarters lang,
The colour it was yellow;
She tied it roond his middle sae sma’,
And she carried him hame frae Yarrow.
“O, daughter, dry your fallen tears,
And dwell no more in sorrow;
For I’ll wed ye tae far higher degree,
Than your ploughboy lad frae Yarrow.”
“Oh, father dear, you have seven sons,
You may wed them all tomorrow;
But a fairer flower there never bloomed,
Than my ploughboy lad frae Yarrow.”
Dick Gaughan sings The Dowie Dens o’ Yarrow
Thair lived a lady in the north
I ne’er could fin her marrow
She wis courtit by nine gentlemen
An a ploughboy lad fae Yarrow
Late at e’en, drinkin the wine
An e’er thae paid the lawin
Thae hae made a pact amang thaim aa
Tae fecht for her at the dawin
She’s washed his face, she’s kaimed his hair
As aft she’s dune afore-o
She’s made him like a knight sae braw
Tae fecht for her on Yarrow
As he gaed owre yon high, high hill
An doun by the holms o Yarrow
It’s thair he spied nine armed men
Come tae fecht wi him on Yarrow
“Thair’s nine o you an ane o me
That’s a gey unequal marrow
But A’ll fecht ye aa, ane by ane
On the dowie dens o Yarrow”
Three he slew an three thae flew
An three he’s woundit sairly
Til her brither John cam in ayont
An woundit him maist foully
“Oh faither, dear, A hae dreamed a dream
A dream of dule an sorrow
A dreamt A wis puin heather bells
On the dowie dens o Yarrow”
“O dochter, dear, A’ll read yer dream
A’ll read it intae sorrow
For yer ain true luve lies pale an wan
On the dowie dens o Yarrow”
As she gaed owre yon high, high hill
An doun by the holms o Yarrow
It’s thair she spied her ain true luve
He wis lyin slain on Yarrow
Her hair it bein three-quarters lang
The colour o’t wis yellow
She’s tied it roun his middle sae smaa
An she bore him doun tae Yarrow
“O faither dear, ye’ve seiven sons
Ye may wad thaim aa the morrow
For the fairest flouer amang thaim aa
Was pued the day on Yarrow”
Tom Spiers sings The Dowie Dens o Yarrow
There wis a lady in the north,
I ne’er could find her marrow,
She wis courted by nine gentlemen,
And a plooboy lad fae Yarrow.
These nine sat drinking at the wine,
Sat drinking wine in Yarrow;
And they’ve made a vow amang them aa,
Tae fecht for her on Yarrow.
She’s washed his face an kaimed his hair,
As aft she’s deen afore o;
An she’s made him like a knight sae braw,
Tae fecht for her on Yarrow.
Then he’s gaed up thon high, high hills,
Intae the houms o Yarrow;
And it’s there he saw nine airmed men,
Come tae fecht wi him on Yarrow.
It’s three he slew and three they flew,
And three he’s wounded sairly;
But her brither John he’s come in ahin,
And he’s murdered him maist foully.
“Ah faither dear, I’ve dreamt a dream,
A dream o dule an sorrow;
I dreamt I wis puin heather bells,
On the dowie dens o Yarrow.”
“Ah dochter dear, I’ve read your dream,
I doot it will bring sorrow;
For your ain true love he lies pale and wan,
On the dowie dens o Yarrow.”
Well she’s gaed up thon high, high hills,
Intae the houms o Yarrow;
And it’s there she saw her ain true love,
Lying pale an wan on Yarrow.
Her hair it wis three-quarters lang,
The colour it wis yellow;
An she’s tied it roon his middle sma,
An she’s bore him doun fae Yarrow.
“Ah faither dear, ye’ve seiven sons,
Ye may wad them aa the morrow;
But the fairest flooer amang them aa,
Wis the plooboy lad fae Yarrow.”
Stanley Robertson sings The Dowie Dens o Yarrow
There was a lady in the North
Ye scarce could fin her marrow
She wis coorted by nine gentlemen
And a plooboy lad frae Yarrow.
These nine sat drinkin at the wine
A drinkin wine on Yarrow
An they aa swore they wid mak a vow
Tae fight for her on Yarrow.
It’s will ye tak the lang, sharp lance
Or will ye tak the arrow
Or will ye tak yer trusty sword
For tae fight for her on Yarrow.
I winna tak the lang, sharp lance
Nor I winnae take the arrow
But I will tak my trusty sword
Tae fight for her on Yarrow.
She’s washed his face, she’s caimbed his hair
She’s stroked his neck sae narrow
An she dressed him up like her ain braw knight
For tae fight for her on Yarrow.
Fareweel, fareweel, my lady gay
Fareweel, my lady Sarah
For I must go an fight for ye
On the dowie dens o Yarrow.
For three he slew an three withdrew
An three he wounded sairly
Till her false brother John came up behind
An he stabbit him maist foully.
Oh, faither dear, I dream a dream
A dream o duil an sorrow
I dreamt that I shewed windin sheets
On the dowie dens o Yarrow.
Oh, daughter dear, I read yer dream
I doot it will prove sorrow
For yer ain true love lies dead an gone
And a bloody corpse on Yarrow.
Noo she’s gaed ower yon high, high hill
Doon by the houms o Yarrow
An there she spied her ain true love
A bloody corpse on Yarrow.
Noo her hair it bein three-quarters lang
An the colour it was yellow
An she’s wrapped it roon his middle sae sma
An she carriet him back tae yarrow.
Oh, faither, ye hae seeven sons
Ye could wed them aa themorrow
But the bonniest flooer amangst them aa
Was my ain plooboy frae Yarrow.
Oh, mither, mither, mak my bed
An mak it lang an narrow
For my love died for me taeday
I shall die for him taemorrow.
Lori Watson sings Dowie Dens o Yarrow
There lived a lady in the North
Ye cuid scarcely fin her marrow
She wis coorted by nine noblemen
An a plooboy lad fae Yarrow
As he gaed owre yon high, high hill
An doon yon path sae narrow
It’s there he saw nine noblemen
Cam tae fecht wi him on Yarrow
Three he slew and three they flew
An three lay dyin wounded
When her fause brither John cam in ahint
An he’s pierced his body through
“Gae hame, gae hame ye fause young man
Gae tell yer sister sorrow:
Her true love John lies dead an gone
An a bluidy corpse on Yarrow”
As he gaed ower yon high, high hill
An doon yon path sae narrow
It’s there he spied his sister dear
She wis comin fast for Yarrow
“O brother dear I dreamt a dream
A dream o dule an sorrow
I dreamt that ye were spillin blood
On the dowie dens o Yarrow”
“Sister dear I’ll read yer dream
An I maun read it in tae sorrow
Yer true love John lies dead and gone
On the dowie dens o Yarrow”
The young maid’s hair wis three quarters lang
An the colour o it yella
She’s tied it roon his middle sma
An she’s brocht him hame tae Yarrow
“Dochter dear dry up yer tears
An dwell nae mair in sorrow
I’ll wed ye tae a better man
Than yer plooboy lad o Yarrow”
“Faither dear ye’ve seven sons
Ye can wed them a the morrow
But the fairest floor that ne’er did bloom
Wis ma plooboy lad o Yarrow”