The Dewy Dells of Yarrow- MacDonald (ON) 1961 Fowke
[This version is one of two versions from Edith Fowke's article British Ballads in Ontario, Midwest Folklore, Vol. 13, No. 3 (Autumn, 1963), pp. 133-162. I've changed the title to a more appropriate title since "Brae's O' Yarrow' was a generic title given by Fowke.
This version was reprinted by Fowke in The Penguin Book of Canadian Folk Songs. Here's the ABC:
%%scale 1
X:1
T:The Dewy Dells of Yarrow.
B:The Penguin Book of Canadian Folk songs.
S:
M:5/4
L:1/4
K:C
D|F G A2 F|G A D2 D1/2 D1/2|
w:There lived a la-dy in the north; You could
F G A2 F|G G2 G1/2 G1/2|A c A2 (D1/2E1/2)|
w:scarce-ly find her mar-row. She was cour-ted by nine
F E C2 D1/2 E1/2|F1/2 E1/2 D2 A,|C C3 ||
w:no-ble-men On the dew-y dells of Yar-row.
R. Matteson 2013]
Edith Fowke, British Ballads in Ontario:
TEXT 4: THE BRAES O' YARROW
From Mr. and Mrs. John A. MacDonald, Cornwall, Ontario, 1961.
1. There lived a lady in the north,
You could scarcely find her marrow.
She was courted by nine noble men
On the dewy dells of Yarrow.
2. Her father had a bonny plowboy
And she did love him dearly.
She dressed him up like a noble lord
For to fight for her on Yarrow.
*3. She kissed his cheek, she kamed his hair
As oft she had done before 0,
She gilted him with a right good sword
For to fight for her on Yarrow.
4. As he climbed up yon high hill
And they came down the other,
There he spied nine noble men
On the dewy dells of Yarrow.
5. Did you come here for to drink red wine
Or did you come here to borrow?
Or did you come here with a single sword
For to fight for her on Yarrow?
6. "I came not here for to drink red wine,
And I came not here to borrow,
But I came here with a single sword
For to fight for her on Yarrow.
7. "There are nine of you and one of me,
And that's but an even number,
But it's man to man I'll fight you all
And die for her on Yarrow."
8. Three he drew and three he slew
And two lie deadly wounded,
When a stubborn knight crept up behind
And pierced him with his arrow.
9. "Go home, go home, my false young man,
And tell your sister Sarah
That her true lover John lies dead and gone
On the dewy dells of Yarrow."
*10. As he gae'd down yon high hill
And she came down the other,
It's then he met his sister dear
A-coming fast to Yarrow.
*11. "Oh brother dear, I had a dream last night," she said,
I can read it into sorrow.
Your true lover John lies dead and gone
On the dewy dells of Yarrow."
*12. This maiden's hair was three-quarters long,
The color of it was yellow.
She tied it around his middle side
And carried him home to Yarrow.
*13. She kissed his cheeks, she kamed his hair
As oft she had done before O.
IHer true lover John lies dead and gone,
And she carried him home from Yarrow.
14. "Oh Father dear, you have seven sons,
You can wed them all tomorrow,
For the fairest flower amongst them all
Is the one that died on Yarrow.
15. "Oh Mother, dear, make my bed,
And make it long and narrow,
For the one that died for the love of me,
I shall die for him tomorrow."
* supplied from written manuscript of their version
Notes: While still current in Scottish tradition, "The Dowie Dens of Yarrow" is rare in North America. Coffin lists only three texts, one of which is a variation on the Child Q-S series; one from the William Hamilton poem, and one a detached fragment (pp. 129-131). The Ontario texts are closer to the Child versions than any of these. The first is a composite made up of stanzas sung by Mr. MacDonald in 1961, pieced out by stanzas (marked with an asterisk) supplied in manuscript by Mrs. MacDonald from her memory of the way he formerly sang it. Despite several attempts (and much prompting by his wife) Mr. MacDonald seemed unable to sing the complete ballad now, but Mrs. MacDonald assures me that the version given here is the way he used to sing it.
The MacDonald text as a whole corresponds most closely to Child Q, with nine of the stanzas (1, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, and 14) comparing fairly closely. However, stanzas similar to 5 and 6 are found only in the Child A-E group, with E 6 and 7 providing the closest parallel. Stanza 10 resembles I 9, and stanza 15 corresponds to L 19. Stanza 2 does not have a close counterpart, although the "bonny plowboy" may be a variant of "the servant lad in Galla" of J 2.