The Yellow-Haired Laddie
Of “The Yellow-Haired Laddie” William Stenhouse said:
“This beautiful air appears in Mrs Crockat’s Music-Book, written in 1709;
but the tune is undoubtedly far more ancient,
for Ramsay has preserved the old words in his
Tea-Table Miscellany
, 1724,
under the title of ‘The auld yellow-hair’d Laddie.‘“
The yellow-hair’d laddie sat on yon burn brae,
Cries, milk the ewes, lassie, let nane of them gae;
And ay she milked, and ay she sang,
The yellow-hair’d laddie shall be my goodman.
And ay she milked, &c.
The weather is cauld, and my claithing is thin,
The ewes are new clipped, they winna bught in,
They winna bught in, tho ’ I shou’d die,
O yellow-hair’d laddie, be kind to me.
They winna bught in, &c.
The good wife cries butt the house, Jenny come ben,
The cheese is to mak, and the butter to kirn;
Tho’ butter, and cheese, and a’ shou’d sour,
I’ll crack and kiss wi my love ae ha’f hour;
It’s ae ha’f hour, and we’s e’en make it three,
For the yellow hair’d laddie my husband shall be.
Two other verisons of “The Yellow-Hair’d Laddie”
also appear in James Johnson’s
The Scots Musical Museum
, Volume 2, 1788.
Both of them were written by Allan Ramsay.
One, which begins “In April when primroses paint the sweet plain”,
was included in William Thomson’s
Orpheus Caledonius
of 1725
and the second, “When first my dear laddie gade to the green hill”,
which was published in 1729 in John Watts’
Musical Miscellany
,
was used by Ramsay as one of the songs in his ballad opera
The Gentle Shepherd
.
From “Scotland Dances”, by Eugenia (Jeannie) Callander Sharp
(Used by permission.)