Kelvin Grove

DESCRIPTION: "Let us haste to Kelvin grove, bonnie lassie, O, Through its mazes let us rove, bonnie lassie, O...." "Let us wander by the mill, bonnie lassie O." "O Kelvin banks are fair." He must go fight in a foreign land; if he dies, remember him
AUTHOR: probably Thomas Lyle, but see NOTES
EARLIEST DATE: c. 1820 (The Harp of Renfewshire)
KEYWORDS: love river soldier separation death
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Driven-From-Home-Songster, p. 42, "Let Us Haste to Kelvin Grove" (1 text)
Roud #8736
NOTES [88 words]: The tune of this is traditional, "The Shearin's Nae for You," also known as "Bonnie Lassie-O," but this was too explicit for nineteenth century audiences. So someone decided to rewrite it. Said someone was probably Thomas Lyle; his text appeared in his "Collected Poems and Songs" in 1837. However, the text had appeared fifteen or more years earlier, in "The Harp of Renfrewshire," attributed to John Sim. So you might see either attribution. No matter who wrote it, it is much feebler than the song from which it is derived. - RBW
Last updated in version 7.1
File: DFHS042

Go to the Ballad Search form
Go to the Ballad Index Song List

Go to the Ballad Index Instructions
Go to the Ballad Index Bibliography or Discography