Clean Fireside, The

DESCRIPTION: "He's a bonnie, bonnie lad But he's owre far fae me"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1914 (Greig/Duncan8)
KEYWORDS: separation
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Greig/Duncan8 1797, "The Clean Fireside" (1 fragment)
Roud #12997
NOTES [107 words]: The current description is all of the Greig/Duncan8 fragment.
The notes for the Greig/Duncan8 entry give no explanation for "A Clean Fireside" as the title. [Perhaps the girl is keeping a clean spot by the fireside where he can sit on his return? - RBW] There is a poem by Robert Tennant with that title that is a cheery poem having nothing to do with separation. W.J. Mickle has a widely anthologized poem, "The Sailor's Wife," which includes the lines "Rise, lass, and mak a clean fireside" and "wha can tell how Colin fared When he was far awa'?," but that is too much of a stretch even for me to connect with the Greig/Duncan8 fragment. - BS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: GrD81797

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