The Story of Scott's Songs: from ‘The Queen’s Marie’ to ‘Bonnie Dundee’
Thursday 20th April 2017
Summary of the Event:
This event, led by Martin Philip and Douglas Kay of The Sorries, explored Sir Walter Scott's contributions to Scottish song, particularly his role in collecting, editing, and popularising traditional ballads through publications like Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border. Although Scott did not write music, he shaped the lyrics, sometimes heavily adapting them, and thereby preserved or even reintroduced many songs into the oral tradition.
The talk featured performances and background stories of several notable songs associated with Scott, including:
- “The Queen’s Marie”: A ballad collected by Scott and later recorded by Child as No. 173. It's a composite tale rooted in both Scottish and Russian sources, telling the tragic story of Mary Hamilton. Scott’s editing reflects his attempts to enhance the poetry, although he later regretted possibly losing the original’s simplicity.
- “Lord Randall”: A poisoning ballad that Scott published under the name “Lord Ronald.” It connects to broader European traditions and had a notable influence on Bob Dylan’s “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall.” Its tune was traced back to 18th-century publications and connected to earlier Scottish airs.
- “Blue Bonnets Over the Border”: A martial song lifted almost entirely from earlier sources like Allan Ramsay’s Tea-Table Miscellany and linked to General Leslie’s March. Scott framed it as originating from the 16th century in his novel The Monastery, though it was later revealed to be a clever pastiche of older materials.
- “Jock o’ Hazeldean”: Scott adapted an existing verse—collected from a Miss Pringle—into a fully-fledged romantic ballad. Like “Young Lochinvar,” it features themes of elopement and steadfast love but with more ambiguity in tone.
- “Bonnie Dundee”: Written in 1825, when Scott believed he might have escaped financial ruin. It became an anthem of defiance. The original tune was in a minor key, but the now-famous setting came later (1856), likely composed by Charles Böhler. Scott’s version was inspired by Claverhouse’s departure from the Convention of the Estates.
Interesting Points:
- Scott and the Oral Tradition: Scott’s role was not just archival; he shaped the transmission of songs. Sometimes his edits removed simplicity but added literary quality. The songs often re-entered oral culture in altered forms.
- Contradictory Attitudes to ‘Improvement’: Scott admitted to “spoiling the simplicity” of some ballads by refining them too much. This reflects tensions between authenticity and artifice in folk revival.
- Scott vs. Hogg: Hogg’s mother criticised Scott for writing down traditional ballads, believing it disrupted their vitality. Yet without Scott and Burns, much of this material might have been lost.
- Bonnie Dundee’s Composition Date: Scott composed the lyrics while reeling from financial turmoil in 1825, believing he had narrowly avoided ruin. That emotional charge gives the song its combative spirit.
- Musical Sources and Confusions: Many melodies attributed to Scott were much older or of disputed origin. James Oswald, using the pseudonym “David Rizzio,” popularised some. Tunes evolved, were forgotten, and then rediscovered.
- Transatlantic Transmission: Several songs and tunes survived in the American oral tradition, including in Appalachia and New Brunswick—evidence of their broad reach.
- Teaching and Legacy: There was a call during the event for Scott’s songs to be more widely taught alongside Burns in Scottish schools. The Sorries themselves are involved in educational outreach.
Introduction by Prof. Peter Garside:
It’s a great pleasure for me to introduce this evening’s performers, The Sorries, and its two constituent members, Martin Philip and Douglas Kay. As a long-standing member of the Club, and present Council member, Martin will be known to several of you already. Like a number of other Scott Club stalwarts, however, he has a tendency to hide his light under a bushel, and it was only recently at Council when discussing possibilities for this year’s programme that I discovered he was a live performer in a successful Scottish folk group. Martin also has an academic side, completing a PhD on the works of Allan Massie partly in the light of Scott in 2003, and teaching twentieth-century literature with the Open University and Scottish and English literature at the University of Edinburgh. He has published on James Robertson’s novels, and spoken to the Club in the past on Robertson and Scott. Douglas Kay, as Martin himself modestly puts it, is even more engaged on his musical projects and has toured extensively, with a number of fine albums to his credit and airplay on BBC Scotland. He is a qualified Primary school teacher, teaches part time, and tours around some of the schools in Edinburgh giving bodhran lessons to the children. The Sorries group was formed over ten years ago—their first live show was in Edinburgh in December 2006—and the title was chosen consciously to reflect an admiration for the Irish group The Corries. (Though not necessarily at a time of great consciousness on their own part, there being some uncertainty as to whether the decision was taken over a bottle whisky on the beach at Arisaig or Ullapool.) They now have a number of albums under their belt, and 2017 will see their ninth year at the Festival, with a run of daily performances at 4.30pm over three weeks at the Quaker Meeting House. Recently they have been advancing their interest in the tradition of Scottish song-writing, and have begun a series of podcasts (‘The Scottish Song Guide’) where they discuss the meanings and history of both words and music of some of the most famous pieces in their repertoire, interspersed with snippets from the songs themselves. Something of this order I understand lies in wait for us tonight, focused on the songs of Walter Scott, whose output and significance in this field matches that of Burns and Hogg, though this sometimes tends to be obscured by the multifariousness of his other literary achievements. Just one more thing before we start, about the sound equipment here. This (needless to say) has been installed for us by Lee Simpson, using much of his own personal equipment in the process, and I think we need to acknowledge that without his unfailing and invaluable input it would not be possible for the Club to host (at least not so professionally) events such as this.
Without further ado, Ladies and Gentlemen, The Sorries!!
