Broom o the Cowdenknowes (II

Broom o the Cowdenknowes (II - lyric), The

DESCRIPTION: "How blythe each more was I to see My lass come ower the hill, She tripped the burn and ran to me, I met her wi' good will." The singer is exiled for loving the girl (who is above his station?). "To wander by her side again Is a' I crave or care."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1725 (_A Collection of Old Ballads Vol III_, #69)
KEYWORDS: love separation exile
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES (6 citations):
Bronson 217, "The Broom of Cowdenknows" (21 versions+1 in addenda; the #4 version belongs here, implying that at least some of #1-#6 also go with this piece)
Barry/Eckstorm/Smyth-BritishBalladsFromMaine pp. 293-295, "The Broom of Cowden-Knowes" (1 excerpt plus a text and tune from the Child ballad)
Chappell-PopularMusicOfTheOldenTime, pp. 458-461, "The Broom, The Bonny Broom" (1 excerpt, 1 tune, which could be either the lyric or the ballad, but it's more likely the lyric because it's the tune and chorus typical of the lyric and unusual for the ballad) {Bronson's #1}
DT, COWDENKN*
ADDITIONAL: [Ambrose Phillips?,] A Collection of Old Ballads Vol III, (London, 1725), #44, pp. 236-237, "The Broom of Cowdenknow" [.".. Cowdenknows" in Table of Contents]
James Johnson, Editor, _The Scots Musical Museum_ [1853 edition], volume I, #69, p. 70, "The Broom of Cowdenknows" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST DTcowden (Partial)
Roud #8209
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Broom of Cowdenknows" [Child 217] (tune & meter)
NOTES [321 words]: Although this song is very popular in folk revival circles (probably because it has the excellent "Cowdenknowes" tune but is short), it is much less popular in tradition than its ballad cousin.
It's interesting to note that the Scots Musical Museum version, which is by far the earliest known to me, is longer than any I've ever heard sung: Eight stanzas plus the chorus. I rather suspect rewriting, because some of the verses are pretty poor. The tune is not quite the same as what we usually hear today.
That the song is even older than that seems nearly certain from the existence of a broadside, NLScotland, Ry .III.a.10(007), "The New Way of the Broom of Cowden Knows," unknown, n.d. Said broadside clearly is based on this song -- the lyric begins "Hard Fate that I should banishet be, And Revell called with Scorn. For serving of a Lovely Prince, As e'er yet was Born. O the Broom, the Bonny Broom, The Broom of Cowding (sic.) knows, I wish his Frinds had Stayed at home, Milking there Dadys Ewes."
There can be no question that this is originally a Jacobite song. The notes at the NLScotland site suspect it of coming from the 1715 rebellion, probably because it mentions Huntly and his treachery, plus Seaforth. I'd be more inclined to date it to 1746, because 1. It refers to a *prince* (James III was King, in the Jacobite view, in 1715 as well as 1745), and it wishes his friends had stayed at home -- a much more likely sentiment after 1746, when the Highlanders were ruined, than in 1715, when nothing much happened.
Either way, though, the broadside is strong evidence for the existence of the lyric version of "Broom" long before the 1797 publication. - RBW
re A Collection of Old Ballads Vol III: Ambrose Philips, whose name does not appear in the Google Books copy is, according to Google Books, the editor. The New York Public Library catalog says "Compilation usually attributed to Ambrose Philips" - BS
Last updated in version 6.2
File: DTcowden

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