Bonnie Brier Bush, The

DESCRIPTION: "There grows a bonnie brier bush in oor kailyaird, And sweet are the blossoms on't in oor kaildyaird. Beneath the... bush a lad and lass were scared... busy courtin'." The singer tells of the joys of courting in the kailyaird, as was first done by Adam
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1904 (Ford)
KEYWORDS: love courting nonballad
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Ford-VagabondSongsAndBalladsOfScotland, pp. 157, "The Bonnie Brier Bush" (1 text)
Graham-Joe-Holmes-SongsMusicTraditionsOfAnUlsterman 31, "The Green Brier Bush" (1 fragment, 1 tune)
Ford-SongHistories, pp. 205-209, "The Bonnie Brier Bush" (1 text plus various relatives)
Roud #1506
BROADSIDES:
NLScotland, L.C.Fol.70(39b) "Bonnie Brier Bush," Poet's Box (Dundee), c. 1890
NOTES [41 words]: Kennedy lumps this with "The Cuckoo's Nest (II)" and this equation is accepted by Roud. But that song is definitely erotic, and this is merely a courting song. I can't see lumping them, though I'm sure other sources have been guilty of doing so. - RBW
Last updated in version 3.5
File: FVS157

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