{"id":21002,"date":"2023-06-11T15:56:22","date_gmt":"2023-06-11T15:56:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/folksongandmusichall.com\/?page_id=21002"},"modified":"2025-12-26T07:50:19","modified_gmt":"2025-12-26T07:50:19","slug":"she-was-the-belle-o-the-ball","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/folksongandmusichall.com\/index.php\/she-was-the-belle-o-the-ball\/","title":{"rendered":"She was the Belle O’ The Ball"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
AKA<\/strong><\/td>Bonnie Wee Jeannie McColl<\/td><\/tr>
First Published<\/td>1929<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Writer\/composer<\/td>Will Fyffe<\/td>Roud<\/strong><\/td>RN43184<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Music Hall Performers<\/strong><\/td>Will Fyffe<\/td><\/tr>
Folk performances<\/strong><\/td>Collected from the singing of:<\/strong>
Adise, John; Scotland : East Lothian; 1984
Modern performances<\/strong>
The Alex Sutherland Singers; Stuart Anderson, Terry Scott and many, many more.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Transcribed by Jim Dixon from the album \"I Belong to Glasgow: Greatest Hits of Will Fyffe\" (2011)<\/strong>\n\nI feel a different chap today; the reason is because\nA bonnie wee lassie's in love with me an I didnae think she was;\nBut I went an popped the question and I nearly passed away\nWhen she threw her airms aroond ma neck and named the happy day.\n\nOh, a nice wee lass, a fine wee lass is bonnie wee Jeannie MacColl.\nI gave her my mother's engagement ring and a bonnie wee tartan shawl.\nI met her at a weddin in the Co-operative Hall.\nAh was the best man an she was the Belle o the Ball.<\/em>\n\nOh, tirra madee madoo maday!\n\nThe nicht I popped the question, I was awfy, awfy shy.\nThe rain was pourin doon but she was happy; so was I.\nThe pair of us were drookit through as we landed at the stair.\nThe rain was runnin oot o my breeks but och! I didnae care.\n\n[Patter] \nYou know, I\u2019ll never forget the nicht o the Cooperative Ball. What a nicht that was! That\u2019s the nicht that I won her, mind ye. Of course, mind ye, I didn\u2019t get oot o fightin for her. Oh, no fear! I had a rival: wee Jimmy Cunningham, palooka. An durin the dance he tried to be very funny. He purposely bumped into the two of us while we were dancin La Va.* No, wait a minute; it was no la-va; it was Tartanella.** So I asked him to apologize. He says: \u201cApologize to you, ye wee yella yite?\u201d I said: \u201cWhat did ye say?\u201d \u201cOh,\u201d he says, \u201cI could tell ye what you are.\u201d I said: \u201cCould ya? You come outside for a minute an tell me.\u201d So we went oot together. Oh, and I got on champion. I had him nearly half murdered when all of a sudden Jeannie cam rushin oot an she got between the twa o ye and she says: \u201cCome on, noo, laddies; make freens.\u201d Well, of course, I did what any other fella would do under the circumstances: I went straight up to the fella an I hit him another good wallop in the jaw. Actually, I didnae do it, ah, but I knew she was worth fightin for, boys, because\u2014\n\n<\/pre>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
A big hit in the Halls and elsewhere in the 1930s, this song was written and performed by Will Fyffe <\/a>(1885- 1947), the man who wrote I belong to Glasgow<\/a>.<\/em> It was first issued on 78 rpm record in 1929. There are minor smilarities to  different Music Hall song called A canny come oot the noo<\/em><\/a>, which features Bonnie Wee Jeannie McKay<\/strong><\/em> instead of McColl. <\/em><\/strong>This has sometimes led to confusion …<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An extremely popular song in the repertoire of many commercial Scottish performers, it has been collected once from the singing of John Adise in 1984, you can find a recording on the excellent Tobar an Dualchais \/ Kist o Riches website<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Will Fyffe sings it:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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