Braes of Killiecrankie, The (Jeannie Robertson)

AKA Killiecrankie
First Published 1954
Writer/composer unknown / Harry Lauder Roud RN3363

Music Hall Performers Jeannie Robertson
Folk performances Collected from the singing of:
Jeannie Robertson
Modern performances
Jim and Susie Malcolm		 

As transcribed by Steve Byrne (2010, p286)

For on a thistle I sat doon 
I nearly jumpit tae the moon,
I nearly jumpit tae the moon, 
For the lass that stole my hankie.

O too-ral-oo-ral-oo-ral-ay,
O fal-da-doodle-aye-do-ay,
O fal-da-doodle-aye-do-ay,
On the braes of Killiecrankie.

For Jean MacNeil she’s fair an’ fat, 
An’ she wears her hair below her hat;
She wears her hair below her hat 
On the braes of Killiecrankie.

For her feet is big an’ her face is flat, 
An’ her curly locks hang doun her back;
Her curly locks hang doun her back 
On the braes of Killiecrankie.

For Jean she began tae curse, 
Her bloomers fell doun an’ her stays did burst,
She gied her aul ’erse a twust 
An she caa’d it through a windae.

This song collected by Hamish Henderson in 1954 from the singing of the great Scottish traveller singer Jeannie Robertson. In his excellent chapter about Hamish Henderson, Riches in the Kist, the folklorist Steve Byrne demonstrates that Robertson’s song seems to be constructed, at least in part, from fragments of two Harry Lauder songs.

Verse 1 comes from this fragment of Lauder’s (The Lass o’) Killiecrankie:

Oh, I was kilted to the knee, 'Jock, my dear,' she said to me
'We'll sit down two hours or three,' said I, 'My darling, thank ye.'
But very soon I changed my tune, for on a thistle I sat doon
And I nearly jumped up to the moon on the hills o' Killiecrankie.

Verse 2 from this fragment of Lauder’s Jean M’Neil:

Jean is fair an' Jean is fat - 
Fal th' doodle I do!
She wears her hair below her hat - 
Fal th' doodle I do!
Ah meet her every nicht, I do!
And kiss her on the the kisser too!.
I wish that my lassie was here the noo - 
Fal th' doodle I do!

Steve Byrne points out that finding snatches of Lauder songs in traditional singing is not unusual occurrence… Belle Stewart’s repertoire contained the Harry Lauder piece “Piper MacFarlane” long misidentified as “The bonnie wee lass frae Gourock“(p287). It’s important to stress, as Byrne does, that it is relatively easy for a 21st century researcher to find instances where songs thought to have been passed down in a purely oral way in fact have their origins elsewhere. Music Hall songs form a small but significant part of the Scottish traveller repertoire, and any full appreciation of their legacy would have to take this into account. for other examples of the influence of the Halls on Scots Traveller repertoire see my notes on the Harry Linn song Cumarachandhu and the article written by Chris Wright.

You can hear Jeannie Robertson sing it at Tobar an Dualchais / Kist o Riches

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