Make your mind up, Maggie McKenzie

Transcribed from UCSB Glen Ellison 1915 Edison recording by John Baxter (this is slightly different from the Hector  Gordon recording below):


A bonnie highland lassie is Maggie McKenzie
She fascinates me badly wi' her tartan dress and tammy
But when I spoke of marriage, wi' a twinkle in her eye
"I'm never going to marry" she'd reply.
But then I used to persevere 
And nightly whisper in her ear...

Make your mind up Maggie McKenzie
You're the best wee lassie I know
And though you say that you will never marry
Well I don't believe that's so
Now don't be foolish Maggie McKenzie
For you know I love you true
And if your father and your mother
Thought it good for one another
Surely that's good enough for you!

[Extended comic patter follows discussing the peculiarities of Maggie's family, followed by a repeat of the chorus]

A popular song in the pre-war period 1913-14, later collected from the singing of the prolific traditional Canadian singer LaRena Clark by Edith Fowke. It was most associated with the singing of Daisy Dormer, but later taken up by other singers (a brief biography of Daisy Dormer is in preparation). Allegedly a song that classical composer and folksong collector Ralph Vaughn Williams liked to play on the organ…

The words were by English songwriter AJ Mills with music by Bennett Scott and at least two contemporary recordings were made, one in 1914 by Hector Gordon seen in the YouTube video below, and one in 1915 on Edison cylinder by Glen Ellison:

Hector Gordon’s 1914 recording:

Sources:

• Entries in the Roud Indexes at the Vaughn Williams Memorial Library: https://archives.vwml.org/search/all:single[folksong-broadside-books]/0_50/all/score_desc/extended-roudNo_tr%3A43177
• Kilgarrif Sing Us
• Lyrics: transcribed from recording
• Sheet Music: not accessed but available in the British Library

Last Updated on December 22, 2023 by John Baxter | Published: August 14, 2022