Bonnie Lass of Fyvie | Iona Fyfe

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Bonnie Lass of Fyvie

by Iona Fyfe

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scottish-tradition-keeper Iona Fyfe stands beside the great Scottish tradition keepers: she has respect for tradition in her bones, yet with a deep understanding of how to individualise and innovate it with her versions of old and new songs.

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about

One of the most well-known of Aberdeenshire songs, I got this from the singing of Sam Kelly, who recorded 'The Bonnie Lass of Fyvie' on his album titled “Pretty Peggy”. Bob Dylan recorded “Pretty Peggy-O” on his 1962 debut album and performed the song with a more traditional melody on 18th April 1997 in State University of New York, Albany. 'Pretty Peggy O' was collected by Cecil Sharp from Mrs Combs, Knott County Kentucky in 1908.

The ‘Bonnie Lass of Fyvie’ details the failed romance between a soldier and ‘Peggy’. Versions can be found in the form of ‘Pretty Peggy’ or ‘Fennario’ in the Appalachians, ‘The Maid of Fife’ in Fife, and the localised ‘Pretty Peggy o Derby’ in England. Variants are set within the time period of American Civil War in 1812, but in the North East, the song dates back to 1644, when the Marquess of Montrose’s Royalist Army invaded Fyvie Castle.

There are over twenty versions of the song in Volume 1 of the Greig-Duncan Folk Song Collection. The earliest manuscript is a Bodleian Broadside from before 1839. The earliest recorded North East version of the song comes from Fyvie-man John Strachan who sung it to Hamish Henderson in 1952, the next being from John MacDonald, the famous Morayshire melodeon-playing mole-catcher who sung it to Hamish Henderson in 1954.

lyrics

As we rode oot by Fyvie-o,
as we rode oot by Fyvie-o
Well I fell in love wi a lady like a dove
And her name it wis caad pretty Peggy-o

There’s mony a lass in Auchterlass,
there’s mony a lass in the Garioch-o
There’s mony I’ve seen in the streets o’ Aiberdeen
Bit the flooer o’ them aa’s pretty Peggy-o

Woah, pretty peggy, woah bonny lass of Fyvie X2

Well if you wid mairry me pretty Peggy-o
If you wid mairry me pretty peggy-o
Well if you wid mairry me, then a’ll set yer city free,
And a’ll spare aa the people o Fyvie-o

A’ll gie ye ribbons an a’ll gie ye rings
A’ll gie ye a necklace o’ amber-o
I’ll stitch ye a dress, silk and flooers on it’s chest
If you a foreign sodger for tae mairry-o

Woah, pretty peggy, woah bonny lass of Fyvie

Well I wida mairried you sweet William-o
Well I wida mairried you sweet William-o
Well I wida mairried you, afore my brithers hairt you slew
Noo I’ll tak nae foreign sodger for tae marry-o

Come steppin doon the stairs, pretty Peggy-o
Come steppin doon the stairs, pretty Peggy-o
Come steppin doon the stairs, and bind up yer yellow hair
Tak a last fareweel o yer Daddy-o

Woah, pretty peggy, woah bonny lass of Fyvie

It wis early last mornin fin we mairched awa,
The captain said he wis sorry-o
Well the drums they did beat like the grun aneath oor feet
And the band played The Bonnie Lass o’ Fyvie-o

If niver I return pretty Peggy-o
If niver I return pretty Peggy-o
When I see the morning dew,
Oh I will think of you
My bonnie lass o’ Fyvie-o

Woah, pretty peggy, woah bonny lass of Fyvie

Well lang ere we cam tae Aulmeldrum toon
Oor captain we had to carry-o
Bit when we returned tae the streets o’ Aiberdeen
Oor captain we had to bury-o

Green grow the birk upon Ythanside
And low lie the lowlands o Fyvie-o
Oor captain's name was Ned and he died for a maid
He died for the bonnie lass o Fyvie-o

Woah, pretty peggy, woah bonny lass of Fyvie
Woah, pretty peggy, woah bonny lass of Fyvie
Woah, pretty peggy, woah bonny lass
Woah, pretty peggy, woah bonny lass of Fyvie-o

credits

released January 29, 2020
Iona Fyfe: Vocals
Aidan Moodie: Guitar, Harmony Vocals
Graham Rorie: Mandolin

Produced, Engineered and Mixed by Graham Rorie at Rumley Sounds
Mastered by Chris Waite
Illustration by Chris Riddell
Design by Orla Stevens

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about

Iona Fyfe image

Iona Fyfe Scotland, UK

Aberdeenshire folksinger, Iona Fyfe, has become one of Scotland’s finest young folk singers, rooted in the singing traditions of the North East of Scotland. The first ever singer to win the coveted title of Musician of the Year at the MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards 2021, Iona has been described as “one of the best Scotland has to offer.” (Global-Music.de)

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