Recordings & Info 217. Broom of the Cowdenknowes
CONTENTS:
1) Alternative Titles
2) Traditional Ballad Index [Two entries]
3) Child Collection Index
4) Excerpt from The British Traditional Ballad in North America by Tristram Coffin 1950, from the section A Critical Biographical Study of the Traditional Ballads of North America
5) Folk Index
6) Mainly Norfolk (lyrics and info)
ATTACHED PAGES: (see left hand column)
1) Roud No. 92: Broom of the Cowdenknowes ( Listings)
Alternate Titles
Laird o Ociltree Wa's
Laird o Lochnie
Ewe Buchts
Bonnie Mary Is to the Ewe Buchts Gane
The Laird o' Youghal Tree Wells
Traditional Ballad Index: Broom of Cowdenknows, The [Child 217]
NAME: Broom of Cowdenknows, The [Child 217]
DESCRIPTION: A gentleman sees a pretty (shepherdess), and lies with her (without her leave). She becomes pregnant. Some weeks or months later, the gentleman returns and claims her for his own
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1768 (Percy collection; tune mentioned 1632)
KEYWORDS: seduction pregnancy abandonment return marriage bastard
FOUND_IN: Britain(England,Scotland(Aber)) US(NE)
REFERENCES: (6 citations)
Child 217, "The Broom of Cowdenknows" (15 texts)
Bronson 217, "The Broom of Cowdenknows" (21 versions+1 in addenda)
GreigDuncan4 838, "The Cowdenknowes" (10 texts, 10 tunes plus a single verse on p. 555)
Lyle-Crawfurd2 178, "The Tod Wi the Twinkland Ee" (1 text)
Lyle-Crawfurd1 32, "The Laird of Ochiltree Walls" (1 text, 1 tune); 49, "The Laird o' Ochiltree" (1 text)
BarryEckstormSmyth pp. 293-295, "The Broom of Cowden-Knowes" (1 text plus an excerpt from "Broom (II)," 1 tune) {Bronson's #21}
Roud #92
RECORDINGS:
Stanley Robertson, "The Ballad of the Ewe Buchts" (on Voice06)
BROADSIDES:
Murray, Mu23-y1:041, "Ewe Buchts," James Lindsay Jr. (Glasgow), 19C
NLScotland, L.C.1270(004), "Ewe Buchts," unknown, n.d. (the site says 1840-1850, but a second ballad on the sheet refers to [Charles Stewart] Parnell, which puts it least thirty years after that); also L.C.Fol.70(2b), "Ewe Buchts," unknown, n.d.
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Wylie Wife of the Hie Toun Hie" [Child 290] (plot)
cf. "The Dainty Doonby" (plot)
cf. "The Sleepy Merchant" (plot)
cf. "The Bonnie Parks o' Kilty" (plot)
cf. "A Nobleman" (plot)
cf. "The Broom o the Cowdenknowes (II - lyric)" (tune & meter)
SAME_TUNE:
The New Way of the Broom of Cowden Knowes (Broadside NLScotland, Ry.III.a.10(007), "The New Way of the Broom of Cowden Knowes" ("Hard Fate that I should banisht be, And Rebell called with Scorn, for serving of a Lovely Prince, As e'er yet was born"), unknown, prob. 1716)
The Glasgow Factory Lass (per broadside Murray, Mu23-y1:010, "The Glasgow Factory Lass," unknown (Glasgow), no date)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Laird o Ociltree Wa's
Laird o Lochnie
Ewe Buchts
Bonnie Mary Is to the Ewe Buchts Gane
The Laird o' Youghal Tree Wells
NOTES: Note that this melody is used for two pieces, both called "Broom o' the Cowdenknow(e)s," and both Scottish: The ballad listed here, and a more lyric piece about a man who must leave home because he fell in love with a girl above his station.
Although the texts of this piece are generally quite late, the tune appears much older. BBI ZN2610, "Through Lidderdale as lately I went," registered in 1632, claims a "pleasant Scotch tune, called, The broom of Cowdenknowes" as its melody.
It's ironic to add that the tune you've almost certainly heard for this song (Bronson's #1) is from Playford, without lyrics -- and neither the Playford tune nor any of its immediate relatives in Bronson has a text (Bronson's group Aa includes six tunes; #4 has a single stanza of lyrics, the rest none -- and that stanza in #4 is the lyric version of the song, not the ballad!). - RBW
Traditional Ballad Index: Broom o the Cowdenknowes (II - lyric), The
DESCRIPTION: "How blythe each more was I to see My lass come ower the hill, She tripped the burn and ran to me, I met her wi' good will." The singer is exiled for loving the girl (who is above his station?). "To wander by her side again Is a' I crave or care."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1725 (_A Collection of Old Ballads Vol III_, #69)
KEYWORDS: love separation exile
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES: (4 citations)
Bronson 217, "The Broom of Cowdenknows" (21 versions+1 in addenda; the #4 version belongs here, implying that at least some of #1-#6 also go with this piece)
BarryEckstormSmyth pp. 293-295, "The Broom of Cowden-Knowes" (1 excerpt plus a text and tune from the Child ballad)
DT, COWDENKN*
ADDITIONAL: [Ambrose Phillips?,] A Collection of Old Ballads Vol III, (London, 1725), #44, pp. 236-237, "The Broom of Cowdenknow" [.".. Cowdenknows" in Table of Contents]
Roud #8209
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Broom of Cowdenknows" [Child 217] (tune & meter)
NOTES: Although this song is very popular in folk revival circles (probably because it has the excellent "Cowdenknowes" tune but is short), it is much less popular in tradition than its ballad cousin.
It's interesting to note that the _Scots Musical Museum_ version, which is by far the earliest known to me, is longer than any I've ever heard sung: Eight stanzas plus the chorus. I rather suspect rewriting, because some of the verses are pretty poor. The tune is not quite the same as what we usually hear today.
That the song is even older than that seems nearly certain from the existence of a broadside, NLScotland, Ry .III.a.10(007), "The New Way of the Broom of Cowden Knows," unknown, n.d. Said broadside clearly is based on this song -- the lyric begins "Hard Fate that I should banishet be, And Revell called with Scorn. For serving of a Lovely Prince, As e'er yet was Born. O the Broom, the Bonny Broom, The Broom of Cowding (sic.) knows, I wish his Frinds had Stayed at home, Milking there Dadys Ewes."
There can be no question that this is a Jacobite song. The notes at the NLScotland site suspect it of coming from the 1715 rebellion, probably because it mentions Huntly and his treachery, plus Seaforth. I'd be more inclined to date it to 1746, because 1. It refers to a *prince* (James III was King, in the Jacobite view, in 1715 as well as 1745), and it wishes his friends had stayed at home -- a much more likely sentiment after 1746, when the Highlanders were ruined, than in 1715, when nothing much happened.
Either way, though, the broadside is strong evidence for the existence of the lyric version of "Broom" long before the 1797 publication. - RBW
re _A Collection of Old Ballads Vol III_: Ambrose Philips, whose name does not appear in the Google Books copy is, according to Google Books, the editor. The New York Public Library catalog says "Compilation usually attributed to Ambrose Philips" - BS
Child Ballad Collection- Child Ballad 217: The Broom of Cowdenknows
Child --Artist --Title --Album --Year --Length-- Have
217 Alex Beaton Broom O' the Cowdenknowes In the Scottish Tradition 1994 3:22 Yes
217 Alex Robb The Broom O the Cowdenknows The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
217 Alex Stephens The Broom of Cowdenknows The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
217 Alistair Brown The Broom O' The Cowdenknowes The Swan Necked Valve 1997 4:11 Yes
217 Any Monday Broom of Cowdenknowes Sweet Chariot Music Festival - Volume I 2001 4:27 Yes
217 Archie Fisher The Broom O' The Cowdenknowes Will Ye Gang, Love 1993 3:35 Yes
217 Archie Fisher & John Renbourn The Broom of the Cowdenknowes Live at the Kuumbwa Jazz Centre, Santa Cruz, CA Feb. 2nd 1997 1997 4:05 Yes
217 Asonance Kraj Mého Dìtství (The Broom of Cowdenknowes) Jestráb 2006 3:46 Yes
217 Asonance Kraj Mého Dětství (The Broom of Cowdenknowes) 30 Let Na Pódiu 2008 No
217 Atwater-Donnelly Broom of the Cowdenknowes Labor and Love 1988 3:55 Yes
217 Beggar's Mantle Broom O' The Cowdenknowes Home That I Love 1986 5:20 Yes
217 Beggar's Row The Broom O' The Cowdenknowe Soldiers of Peace 2000 4:36 Yes
217 Bell Duncan The Broom O Cowdenknows The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
217 Ben Edom Broom of the Cowdenknowes Spindrift 2003 2:54 Yes
217 Bram Taylor The Broom o' the Cowdenknowes Taylor Made 1989 No
217 Bram Taylor The Broom O' the Cowdenknowes Singing! - The Bram Taylor Collection 1999 4:31 Yes
217 Brendan Nolan The Broom O' Cowdenknowes Familiar Brew 1998 No
217 Brocelïande The Broom of the Cowdenknowes Brocelïande 2000 3:53 Yes
217 Bully Wee The Cowdenknowes Enchanted Lady 1976 3:25 Yes
217 Buskers The Broom O' The Cowdenknowes Kilshannig 1993 4:18 Yes
217 Callanish Broom of the Cowdenknowes An Dara 2005 3:22 Yes
217 Celtic Crossroad Broom of the Cowden Knowles Cunla 2005 5:57 Yes
217 Celtic Rant The Broom of the Cowdenknowes Encore 2010 No
217 Cherish the Ladies The Groom of Cowdenknowes The Girls Won't Leave the Boys Alone 2001 4:33 Yes
217 Clancy, O'Connell & Clancy The Broom of the Cowdenknows Celtic Mysteries - Tales of Celtic Traditions 1999 4:36 Yes
217 Colin Douglas Broom O' the Cowdenknowes Journeyman - Celtic Songs and Ballads 2000 No
217 Colleen Raney Broom of the Cowdenknowes Lark 2011 No
217 Concerto Caledonia The Broom of Cowdenknows The Red Red Rose - Songs and Tunes from 18th Century Scotland 2008 No
217 Concerto Caledonia The Broom of Cowdenknows + Bonny Christy The Red Red Rose - Songs and Tunes from 18th Century Scotland 2008 No
217 Craig Herbertson The Broom O the Cowdenknowes The Lullaby of Scotland 2001 2:38 Yes
217 Crépuscule The Broom of Cowdenknowes Shades of Music 2008 No
217 Damien Barber & Mike Wilson Bonny May The Old Songs 2011 No
217 Dan Keding & Roxanne Neat Broom of the Cowdenknowes A Simply Folk Sampler 1980 5:40 Yes
217 Dave Gunning Broom O' the Cowdenknowes A Tribute to John Allan Cameron 2010 4:19 Yes
217 Dave Gunning Broom O' the Cowdenknowes Two-bit World 2004 4:18 Yes
217 David Kilpatrick The Broom O' the Cowdenknowes David Kilpatrick 2005 5:35 Yes
217 Distant Oaks Bonnie May Empty Your Heart of Its Mortal Dream 1996 No
217 Ed Miller Broom O' the Cowdenknowes Border Background - Songs of Scotland, Old and New 1989 3:47 Yes
217 Ed Miller The Broom of the Cowdenknowes At Home with the Exiles 1995 3:51 Yes
217 Ed Miller The Broom of the Cowdenknowes Generations of Change 2004 3:51 Yes
217 Ed Miller The Ewe Buchts Come Awa' Wi' Me 2011 No
217 Elizabeth Craig The Broom of Cowdenknows The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
217 Elizabeth Robb The Broom O the Cowdenknows (1) The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
217 Elizabeth Robb The Broom of Cowdenknows (2) The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
217 Ellen Mitchell The Ewe Bughts On Yonder Lea - Scots Songs & Ballads 2002 No
217 Ethel Findlater The Broom O' the Cowdenknowes The Baffled Knight - The Classic Ballads 2 1976 No
217 Ethel Findlater The Maid O the Cowdie 'N Knowes The Lover's Stone 1975 No
217 Ethel Findlater The Maid of Cowdean Knowes Scottish Tradition 21: Orkney - Land, Sea & Community 2004 2:22 Yes
217 Ethel Findlater The Maid of the Cowdie and Knowes The Voice of the People, Vol. 23: Good People, Take Warning - Ballads sung by British and Irish Traditional Singers 2012 No
217 Ewan MacColl The Broom of Cowdenknowes The English and Scottish Popular Ballads (Child Ballads) - Vol. 3 1964 10:33 Yes
217 Ewan MacColl The Broom of Cowdenknowes The English and Scottish Popular Ballads (The Child Ballads) - Vol. 2 1956 10:47 Yes
217 Ewan MacColl The Broom of Cowdenknowes The English and Scottish Popular Ballads (The Child Ballads) - Vol. 3 [Reissue] 196? No
217 Folk Studio A The Broom of the Cowdenknowes Now and Then [Folk Studio] 2008 No
217 Frankie Gavin & Hibernian Rhapsody The Broom O' the Cowdenknowes The Full Score 2007 4:55 Yes
217 Fyfe Penni Piece The Broom O' the Cowdenknowes Scottish Record Attempt - A Collection of Scottish Folk Songs 2012 No
217 Gaberlunzie Broom O' the Cowdenknowes The Traveling Man 1981 4:41 Yes
217 Gaberlunzie Broom O’Cowdenknowes The Celtic Collection - 30th Anniversary of KRL 2008 No
217 Gladly Playe Wyth Stryngs Broom of the Cowdenknowes 228 2000 2:08 Yes
217 Gordon McIntyre & Kate Delaney Broom O' the Cowdenknowes Caledonia Dreaming 1992 4:12 Yes
217 Gordon McIntyre & Kate Delaney Broome of the Cowdenknowes The National - 35 Years of the Australian National Folk Festival 2003 3:48 Yes
217 Gordon Mooney The Broom O' the Cowdenknowes + Johnny Armstrong + Jamie Telfer O'er the Border - Music of the Scottish Borders played on the Cauld Wind Pipes 1994 3:46 Yes
217 Greenhouse The Broom O'er the Cowdenknowes Dreams and High Hopes 2009 No
217 Heather Alexander Broom of the Cowdenknowes Festival Wind 2003 4:05 Yes
217 Ian Bruce & Victor Besch The Broom O the Cowdenknowes The Orange and the Rowan 2002 No
217 Ian Giles Broom of the Cowdenknowes The Amber Triangle 1997 4:08 Yes
217 Ivan Drever Broom O' The Cowdenknowes Tradition 2004 No
217 Jean Redpath & Abby Newton Broom O' The Cowden Knowes A Fine Song for Singing 1987 3:52 Yes
217 Jed Marum Broom of the Cowdenknowes Lonestar Banjo 2010 No
217 Jed Marum, Hugh Morrison & Mason Brown Broom of the Cowdenknowes Sands of Aberdeen 2008 No
217 Jenifer Thyssen & Corey Rooney Ellis The Broom of Cowdenknows The Bonny Broom and Other Scottish Ballads 2000 No
217 Jennifer Clarke Skromeda Broom O' the Cowdenknowes Wild Mountain Thyme 1998 No
217 Jessie Davidson The Broom of the Cowdeknows The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
217 Jim Brannigan The Broom O' the Cowdenknowes Jim Brannigan's Favourites 2007 5:12 Yes
217 Jim Brannigan The Broom O' the Cowdenknowes Troubadour 2005 No
217 Jim Malcolm The Broom o the Cowdenknowes Sparkling Flash 2011 No
217 Jimmie Forty The Broom of Cowdenknows The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
217 Jimmy MacBeath The Broom O' the Cowdenknowes Scottish Tradition 5: The Muckle Sangs - Classic Scottish Ballads 1992 1:52 Yes
217 Jon Sundall The Broom of the Cowdenknowes The Eagle and the Sparrow 1976 No
217 June Tabor Bonny May New Electric Muse II - The Continuing Story of Folk Into Rock 1997 4:57 Yes
217 June Tabor Bonny May Always 2005 4:58 Yes
217 June Tabor Bonny May The Folk Collection 1999 5:01 Yes
217 June Tabor Bonny May Airs and Graces 1976 4:58 Yes
217 June Tabor Bonny May Folk Vol. 1 - Musik aus England, Irland und Schottland 1979 No
217 Kathlene Ritch The Broom of Cowdenknows The Bonny Broom and Other Scottish Ballads 2000 No
217 Keltic Kudzu Broom of the Cowdenknowes In Our Own Country 2005 4:34 Yes
217 Kenny Speirs The Broom O' The Cowdenknows Bordersong 1999 4:35 Yes
217 Kevin Tyler Broom of Cowdeknowes Songs of the Savage 2007 3:40 Yes
217 Liadan Broom of the Cowdenknowes Traditional Irish Music and Song 2006 5:08 Yes
217 Liam Clancy, Robbie O'Connell & Dónal Clancy The Broom of the Cowdenknowes Clancy, O'Connell & Clancy 1998 4:34 Yes
217 Lorna Anderson & Haydn Trio Eisenstadt Scottish Songs for George Thomson I – The Broom of Cowdenknows Haydn Edition 2008 3:21 Yes
217 McCalmans The Broom O' the Cowdenknowes Scots Abroad 2006 No
217 Meg Davis The Broom of the Cowdenknowes The Burning West Indies [The Claddagh Walk] 2004 4:43 Yes
217 Mike Anderson The Broom of the Cowdenknowes + The Minstrel Boy Ice Out 2007 No
217 Misalliance The Broom O' the Cowdenknowes Fortune My Foe 1998 No
217 Mountain Thyme Broom of the Cowdenknowes A Smile at the Door 2006 No
217 Mrs Buchan Bull The Broom of Cowdenknows The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
217 Mrs William Duncan The Broom of Cowdenknows The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
217 North Sea Gas Broom O' the Cowdenknowes Edinburgh Toon - Recorded Live at Edinburgh Grassmarket 2011 4:18 Yes
217 Paddy Herndon The Broom of Cowden Knowes Songs of the Sea - The National Maritime Museum Festival of the Sea, San Francisco 1979 1980 No
217 Paddy Hernon The Broom of Cowdenknowes By Request 1994 5:01 Yes
217 Paint a Rose & Maury Richmond The Broom O' the Cowdenknowes Rare Oul' Times 2006 No
217 Patrizia Kwella, Paul Elliott, Jeremy Barlow & The Broadside Band Oh, the broom (Air XVIII) The Beggar's Opera - Original Songs and Airs 1982 4:55 Yes
217 Peter Thompson The Broom O' the Cowdenknowes Taking a Dive (Heart First) 2007 4:27 Yes
217 Phil Cooper & Margaret Nelson The Broom of the Cowdenknowes Across the Water 1991 3:36 Yes
217 Polyglots Broom of Cowdenknowes From Tehran to Tigard 2004 No
217 Port Righ Broom of the Cowdenknowes Na Bi Gòrach -- Don't Be Foolish 2007 3:16 Yes
217 Raymond Crooke Broom of the Cowdeknows <website> 2007- 6:00 Yes
217 Richard Hayes Phillips Broom O' the Cowdenknowes Old as the Hills 2005 No
217 Rickey Lashley Broom O' The Cowdenknowes American Celt 2002 4:47 Yes
217 Rob Bartlett Broom O' the Cowdenknowes Folk S.A. Volume 1 - South Australian Folk Music Past & Present 1994 4:27 Yes
217 Robin Hall & Jimmie MacGregor The Bonny Broom One Over the Eight 1969 No
217 Robin Williamson Lady Cassilis' Lilt + The Auld Jew + The Broom O' the Cowdenknowes Legacy of the Scottish Harpers 1984 3:48 Yes
217 Rose Laughlin Broom of the Cowdenknowes House of Memory 2011 No
217 Sandy Marshall ('Sannock') Broom O' the Cowdenknowes Only Time Can Tell 2009 No
217 Savourna Stevenson, June Tabor & Danny Thompson Broom of Cowdenknowes Singing the Storm 1996 4:06 Yes
217 Schooner Fare The Broome O' the Cowdenknowes For the Times 1993 4:15 Yes
217 Scooter Muse The Broom of the Cowdenknowes Saddell Abbey 2004 Yes
217 Sheevón The Broom O' the Kowdenknowles A Long Road to Travel 1991 4:02 Yes
217 Silly Wizard Broom O' the Cowdenknowes The Best of Silly Wizard 1990 5:24 Yes
217 Silly Wizard The Broom O' the Cowdenknowes Caledonia's Hardy Sons 1978 5:20 Yes
217 Silly Wizard The Broom O' the Cowdenknowes Golden, Golden 1986 No
217 Silly Wizard The Broom of the Cowden Knowes Troubadours of British Folk, Vol. 3: An Evolving Tradition 1995 6:21 Yes
217 Silly Wizard The Broom of the Cowdenknowes Live Wizardry - The Best of Silly Wizard in Concert 1998 6:34 Yes
217 Silly Wizard The Broom O' the Cowdenknowes Live Again 2012 No
217 Singer from Port Gordon The Broom of Cowdenknows The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
217 Solas Bonnie Mae The Hour Before Dawn 2000 3:57 Yes
217 Stanley Robertson The Ballad of the Ewe Buchts The Voice of the People, Vol. 6: Tonight I'll Make You my Bride - Ballads of True and False Lovers 1998 4:48 Yes
217 Steel Bonnets Broom O' The Cowdenknowes Steel Bonnets 2000 5:36 Yes
217 Sunndach The Broom O' the Cowdenknowes Gu Sunndach 2006 No
217 Susanne Barkan The Broom O' the Cowdeknowes Legacy 2007 No
217 The Baltimore Consort The Broom of Cowdenknows (Tune of 'The Bonny Broom') A Trip to Killburn - Playford Tunes and Their Ballads 1996 5:25 Yes
217 The Black Family The Broom of the Cowdenknows The Black Family 1986 3:21 Yes
217 The Cast Broom O' the Cowdenknowes + Tha Mi Tinn Colours of Lichen 1996 5:12 Yes
217 The City Waites The Broom of the Cowdenknowes Low and Lusty Ballads - The Elizabethan Underworld 1992 3:01 Yes
217 The City Waites The Broom of the Cowdenknowes The English Tradition - 400 Years of Music & Song from Medieval Times to Queen Victoria 2000 2:38 Yes
217 The Clutha Ochiltree Walls The Bonnie Mill Dams 1977 3:32 Yes
217 The Corries The Broom O' the Cowdenknowes Peat Fire Flame + Stovies 2000 4:05 Yes
217 The Jacobites The Broom O' The Cowdenknowes Captivated 1992 No
217 The John Wright Band Broom of the Cowdenknowes JWB Live 2001 4:44 Yes
217 The Jolly Rogues Broom of the Cowdenknows Captain Billy's Privateers 2004 3:11 Yes
217 The King's Noyse The Lovely Northern Lasse Royal Delight - 17th C. Ballads & Dances [The King's Delight + The Queen's Delight] 2005 7:39 Yes
217 The McCalmans The Broom O' the Cowdenknowes The Greentrax Years 2010 3:29 Yes
217 The Pratie Heads Bonny May Early Fare 2007 No
217 The Telham Tinkers Broom O' the Cowdenknowes Marrowbones 1980 No
217 The Tinker's Own Broom O' The Cowdeknowes Bending the Banshee's Ear 2000 3:51 Yes
217 The Wassailers The Bonny Briar The Wassailers 1978 2:51 Yes
217 The Watersons The Broom of Cowdenknowes New Voices 1965 No
217 The Watersons The Broom of Cowdenknowes Early Days 1994 1:25 Yes
217 The Watersons The Broom of Cowdenknowles Folk Songs: an Anthology - Topic Sampler 2 1966 No
217 Ugie Folk Club Band Brume O' The Cowdenknowes North East Tradition 2 - New Recordings from the North East Folklore Archive 2005 No
217 Unidentified Group The Broom O' the Cowdenknowes Reg Hall Archive 1953-1977 4:53 Yes
217 Unknown Female Singer The Broom of Cowdenknows (1) The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
217 Unknown Female Singer The Broom of Cowdenknows (2) The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
217 Unknown Female Singer The Broom of Cowdenknows (3) The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
217 Unknown Female Singer The Broom of Cowdenknows (4) The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
217 Wandering Hands Bonny Bonny Broome Shepheards Holyday 2008 No
217 William Ross The Broom of Cowdenknows The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
Excerpt from The British Traditional Ballad in North America
by Tristram Coffin 1950, from the section A Critical Biographical Study of the Traditional Ballads of North America
217. THE BROOM OF COWDENKNOWES
Texts: Barry, Brit Bids Me, 293.
Local Titles: None given.
Story Types: A: A group of gentlemen ride past a milkmaid, and one of them stops to seduce her. He gives her three guineas when he is through and says if he is not back in half a year that she must look no more for him. She shows him the highway by Tay and he departs. Her father suspects her when she returns home, but she denies anyone has been with her.
Examples : Barry.
Discussion: The Maine fragment ends upon the denial by the girl that anyone has been with her. The Child A text, close to the Maine song, rounds out the story as known to one Maine Irishwoman in her youth. See Barry, Brit Bids Me, 295. A few months later, the girl is out with the sheep when another group of riders comes by. One, to her shame, asks her who got her
with child. This man subsequently reveals himself to be the lover and turns out to be a very rich one at that.
There is a popular song, not traditional however, of similar name and story structure also known in Maine. See Child, IV, 192 and 208. Consult also The Warbler (Peter Edes, printer), Augusta, Me., 1805.
Folk Index: The Broom of/o' (the) Cowdenknowes [Ch 217]
At - Broom o'er the Cowdenknowes
Rm - Bonny, Bonny Broome
Keller, Kate Van Winkle, et.al.(eds.) / Playford Ball. 103 Early Engl..., A Capella Books, Sof (1990), p 15a
Blood, Peter; and Annie Patterson (eds.) / Rise Up Singing, Sing Out, Sof (1992/1989), p 9
Scottish Song Book for Contralto, Bayley & Ferguson, Sof (1910s?), p 30
Johnson, James & Robert Burns (eds) / Scots Musical Museum, Amadeus, Bk (1991/1853), # 69 [1787]
Corries. Peat Fire Flames & Stovies, Moidart MOICD 018, CD (2000), trk# 2.05 [1980]
Fisher, Archie. Will Ye Gang, Love, Green Linnet CSIF 3076, Cas (1993/1976), trk# A.03
Hendon, Mrs. Claude. Moore, Ethel & Chauncey (ed.) / Ballads and Folk Songs of the Southwest, Univ. of Okla, Bk (1964), p106/# 43 [1930s] (Bonny Broom)
Jenkins, Tim. Bonnie Sue Cleland; Tales of Love and Death, Jenkins, CD (2011), trk# 1
MacColl, Ewan. English and Scottish Popular Ballads (The Child Ballads) Vol. 3, Washington WLP 717, LP (1961/1956), trk# B.04 Miller, Ed. Border Background, Folk Legacy FSS 115, LP (1987), trk# A.06
Mountain Thyme. Smile at the Door, Mt.Thyme 04, CD (2006), trk# 11
Polyglots. From Tehran to Tigard, Frankel --, CD (2004), trk# 2
Redpath, Jean. Fine Song for Singing, Philo 1110, LP (1987), trk# 12
Silly Wizard. Golden, Golden, Green Linnet SIF 3037, LP (1986), trk# B.03 (Broom o' the Cowden Knowes)
Sundell, Jon. Eagle and the Sparrow, June Appal JA 008, LP (1976), trk# 3a
Watersons. Raim, Ethel and Josh Duncan (eds.) / Grass Roots Harmony, Oak, Sof (1968), p16
Williamson, Robin. Legacy of the Scottish Harpers, Flying Fish FF 358, LP (1984), trk# 9c
Williamson, Robin. Williamson, Robin (ed.) / English, Welsh, Scottish, and Irish Fiddle Tun, Oak, sof (1976), p28b
Mainly Norfolk (lyrics and info): The Broom of Cowdenknowes
[Roud 92; Child 217; Ballad Index C217; trad.]
This was sung by the Watersons on New Voices, and on Folk Songs: An Anthology (Topic Sampler 2). Like all Watersons tracks from New Voices, it was reissued on the CD Early Days. A.L. Lloyd commented in the original album's sleeve notes:
In the “Symptoms of Love” section of Burton's Anatomy of Melancholy (1652) we read: 'The very rusticks and hog-rubbers have their wakes, Whitsun ales, shepherds' feasts, country dances, roundelays. They have their ballads, country tunes, O the broom, the bonny, bonny broom.' This is the song that the gipsy Alice Boyce is said to have sung before Queen Elizabeth, and it has remained a favourite ever since. It was originally a Scots song though we can't be sure if the old tune to it (the one the Watersons use here) isn't in fact English. It was published in London, in Playford's Dancing Master in 1650, whereas the first Scottish publication of Cowdenknowes (to another, more modern tune) wasn't till 75 years later, in the Tea Table Miscellany. Anyway, English or Scots, it's a good old tune.
According to the liner note of Cherish the Ladies' album The Girls Won't Leave the Boys Alone, “Cowdenknowes was a mansion and estate near Earlston, a small market and woollen mill town halfway between Edinburgh and the English border.”
Lyrics
Oh the broom, the bonnie, bonnie broom
The broom of Cowdenknowes
Fain would I be in the north country
To milk my daddy's ewes
O the maids that ever were deceived
Bear part of these my woes
For once I was a bonny lass
When I milked my daddy's ewes
Oh the broom, the bonnie, bonnie broom
The broom of Cowdenknowes
Fain would I be in the north country
To milk my daddy's ewes