Fairest of the Fair (O Nanny Wilt Thou Gang Wi' Me)

DESCRIPTION: "O, Nanny, wilt thou gang wi' me, Nor sigh to leave the flaunting town? Can silent glens have charms for thee... Say, canst thou quit each courtly scene, Where thou wert fairest of the fair?" The singer lists all the things she might regret in later years
AUTHOR: Words: Thomas Percy / Music: Thomas Carter (1735-1804) (source: tunearch.org)
EARLIEST DATE: 1787 (Scots Musical Museum)
KEYWORDS: love travel beauty age
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Driven-From-Home-Songster, p. 31, "Fairest of the Fair" (1 text)
Roud #24772
BROADSIDES:
Library of Congress, 2023830565, "O Nanny, Wilt Thou Gang With Me," White, Smith & Co. (Boston), 1878
NLScotland, Crawford.EB.2739, "O Nanny, wilt thou gang with me," George Walker Jr. (Durham), n.d.
NOTES [84 words]: The White, Smith & Co. sheet music of this in the Library of Congress is dedicated "to Miss Nettie Hale" and is attributed to J. L. Gilbert. This is of course not correct, but Gilbert might well be responsible for the piano arrangement.
And, yes, Thomas Percy is the Thomas Percy of the Reliques. He is not, however, responsible for the slight traces of Scots dialect. I find some mild amusement in the thought of some inept versifier doing unto Percy as Percy did unto so many traditional ballads. - RBW
Last updated in version 7.1
File: DFHS031

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