Wee Bridelie, The

DESCRIPTION: "There was a little wee bridelie, In Pitcarles toun... There was few folk bidden to it, And as few fowk did come." The smallness of the feast is described: No meat but a sheep without a tongue, etc. When the bride goes to bed, the groom refuses to follow
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1827 (Kinloch)
KEYWORDS: wedding humorous betrayal
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Kinloch-TheBalladBook XXVIII, pp. 84-85, (no title) (1 text)
Lyle-Andrew-CrawfurdsCollectionVolume2 149, "The Wee Weddin" (1 text)
ADDITIONAL: Peter Buchan, Ancient Ballads and Songs of the North of Scotland (Edinburgh, 1828 ("Digitized by Microsoft")), Vol I, pp. 262-263, "The Wee Bridalee" (1 text)
Roud #8157
NOTES [115 words]: This strikes me as a sort of answer to songs such as "The Blythesome Bridal" and "The Ball of Kerrimuir." It's not clear whether that makes it traditional. - RBW
The three texts -- Kinloch, Buchan, and Lyle-Andrew-CrawfurdsCollectionVolume2 -- reported about the same time, are different in form and words though they are recognizably the same song. Buchan's text is a four line verse; Lyle-Andrew-CrawfurdsCollectionVolume2 repeats the fourth line; Kinloch repeats the second and fourth. The wedding is in Auchendown, Pitcarles town or yonder town. The groom won't come to bed because the sheet is too small, or because "I wish this nicht hadna cum," or the bride "kent this day wad come." - BS
Last updated in version 2.6
File: KinBB28

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