The Bonnie Lass o' Fyvie (Roud # 545) is a Scottish folk song about a thwarted romance between a soldier and a woman. Like many folk songs, the authorship is unattributed, there is no strict version of the lyrics, and it is often referred to by its opening line "There once was a troop o' Irish dragoons". The song is also known by a variety of other names, the most common of them being "Peggy-O", "Fennario", and "The Maid of Fife".

The song depicts Irish dragoons marching through the village of Fyvie, and their unnamed captain falling in love with a "lass" (girl or young woman) named Peggy who has yellow hair. The unrequited love of the Irish captain is rejected, because Peggy has no intention to marry a foreigner or a soldier. The captain soon dies due to either a broken heart or battle wounds, possibly both. The historical context is unclear, though the song may allude to the 1644 capture of the Fyvie Castle by James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose during the Scottish campaigns of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. Part of Montrose's Royalist (Cavalier) forces was composed of Irish soldiers, though they did not include dragoons.

Lyrics

Of the many versions, one of the most intricate is:

There once was a troop o' Irish dragoons Cam marching doon through Fyvie-o And the captain's fa'en in love wi' a very bonnie lass And her name it was ca'd pretty Peggy-o There's many a bonnie lass in the Howe o Auchterless There's many a bonnie lass in the Garioch There's many a bonnie Jean in the streets of Aiberdeen But the floower o' them aw lies in Fyvie-o O come doon the stairs, Pretty Peggy, my dear Come doon the stairs, Pretty Peggy-o Come doon the stairs, comb back your yellow hair Bid a last farewell to your mammy-o It's braw, aye it's braw, a captain's lady for to be And it's braw to be a captain's lady-o It's braw to ride around and to follow the camp And to ride when your captain he is ready-o O I'll give you ribbons, love, and I'll give you rings I'll give you a necklace of amber-o I'll give you a silken petticoat with flounces to the knee If you'll convey me doon to your chamber-o What would your mother think if she heard the guineas clink And saw the haut-boys marching all before you o O little would she think gin she heard the guineas clink If I followed a soldier laddie-o I never did intend a soldier's lady for to be A soldier shall never enjoy me-o I never did intend to gae tae a foreign land And I never will marry a soldier-o I'll drink nae more o your claret wine I'll drink nae more o your glasses-o Tomorrow is the day when we maun ride away So farewell tae your Fyvie lasses-o The colonel he cried, mount, boys, mount, boys, mount The captain, he cried, tarry-o O tarry yet a while, just another day or twa Til I see if the bonnie lass will marry-o Twas in the early morning, when we marched awa And O but the captain he was sorry-o The drums they did beat o'er the bonnie braes o' Gight And the band played the bonnie lass of Fyvie-o Long ere we came to Oldmeldrum toon We had our captain to carry-o And long ere we won into the streets of Aberdeen We had our captain to bury-o Green grow the birks on bonnie Ythanside And low lie the lowlands of Fyvie-o The captain's name was Ned and he died for a maid He died for the bonnie lass of Fyvie-o

Meaning

The song is about the unrequited love of a captain of Irish dragoons for a beautiful Scottish girl in Fyvie. The narration is in the third person, through the voice of one of the captain's soldiers. The captain promises the girl material comfort and happiness, but the girl refuses the captain's advances saying she would not marry a foreigner or a soldier. The captain subsequently leaves Fyvie. In two different variations of the song, he threatens to burn the town(s) if his offer is rejected, or alternately save the town if his offer is accepted. He later dies of a broken heart, or battle wounds, or possibly both.

Several variations on this theme exist. The soldier also proposes marriage in some versions. Some versions have the girl declare her love for the soldier, but only to be stopped short by a reluctant mother.

You're the one that I adore, Sweet Willy-o, You're the one that I adore, Sweet Willy-o, But your fortune is too low, And I fear my mother would be angry-o.

Geographical and historical allusions

The song is set in Fyvie, a small town with a historic castle in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Some sources claim that the original song suggests the region of Fife (as the "Fair Maid of Fife"), but the references to the River Ythan, Aberdeen and other locations near Fyvie like Gight, confirm that the original song was set in Fyvie, Scotland.

It is probably better not to read strong historical associations into the song, although it is just possible that the song refers to the capture of the Fyvie Castle by Montrose's Royalist army in 1644. (A large part of this army was Irish, but they were not dragoons.)

Variants across time and space

The oldest known version of the Scottish ballad is called "The Bonnie Lass O' Fyvie". Another early transcribed version is given under the title "Bonnie Barbara-O". An early English version "Handsome Polly-O" is also present, though in slightly different settings. Another English version is called "Pretty Peggy of Derby". The song probably travelled with Scottish immigrants to America. It is recorded in the classic English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians by Cecil Sharp. Variants of the song refer to the War of 1812 and the American Civil War. A Dixie version of the song makes the final resting place of the captain to be Louisiana.

The last two stanzas from the Bob Dylan version is typical of such Americanized forms, and goes as follows:

The lieutenant he has gone The lieutenant he has gone The lieutenant he has gone, Pretty Peggy-O The lieutenant he has gone Long gone He's a-riding down in Texas with the rodeo. Well, our captain he is dead Our captain he is dead Our captain he is dead, Pretty Peggy-O Well, our captain he is dead Died for a maid He's buried somewheres in Louisiana-O.

Over time, the name of Fyvie also got corrupted, and phonetically similar permutations like "Fennario", "Fernario", "Finario", "Fidio", "Ivory" or "Ireo" were placed in its stead to fit the metre and rhyme. As a result, the song is commonly referred to as "Fennario". The 1960s folk music movement saw "Peggy-O" become a common song in many concerts owing to its clear melody and lilting rhyme.

Linguistics

The song was originally composed and sung in Scots. It then made its way into mainstream English, but retains its Scottish flavour. Words like birk (for birch), lass and bonnie are typically Scots as are words like brae (hill) and braw (splendid). As is typical of such cases, quite a few of the less familiar words degenerated into nonsense words as the song travelled over cultures, the most interesting ones probably being Ethanside for Ythanside (banks of the River Ythan), and brasselgeicht for braes o' Gight (hills of Gight).

Renditions

Traditional Recordings

Many traditional singers have recorded versions of the song, including Scotsman John Strachan (from close to Fyvie) and the Irish singer Thomas Moran. Many Scottish recordings made by James Madison Carpenter between 1929 and 1934, including one of the Aberdeenshire singer Bell Duncan (1849-1934), can be heard on the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library website.

Popular Recordings

Bob Dylan

The Southern American version of the song was arranged for the harmonica by Bob Dylan on his eponymous debut album in 1962, under the title "Pretty Peggy-O". He starts off the song with the introduction "I've been around this whole country but I never yet found Fennario", as a playful remark on the fact that the song has been borrowed and cut off its original "setting". Dylan began playing the song live again in the 90s, using the lyrics and melody of the Grateful Dead version.

Joan Baez

Joan Baez recorded a lyrical version under the title "Fennario" on her 1963 Vanguard Records album Joan Baez in Concert, Part 2.

Simon and Garfunkel

Simon and Garfunkel also recorded a heavily harmonized arrangement of the song titled "Peggy-O" as part of their Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. album of 1964 and Columbia Records studio recordings of the 1960s (which was released on the box set The Columbia Studio Recordings (1964-1970) in 2001). Simon and Garfunkel sing the variant of the song where the captain threatens to burn the city down if his advances are refused.

The Grateful Dead

The Grateful Dead have variously arranged and sung this song on 265 known occasions between 1973 and 1995, using Fen-nar-io and Fi-dio as the name of the place depending on metre constraints. The place Fennario is also mentioned in their song "Dire Wolf", on the album Workingman's Dead. The song was titled "Peggy-O", and was sung by Jerry Garcia using the following lyrics:

As we rode out to Fennario As we rode out to Fennario Our captain fell in love with a lady like a dove And he called her by name pretty Peggy-O Will you marry me, pretty Peggy-O Will you marry me, pretty Peggy-O If you will marry me, I will set your cities free And free all the ladies in the area-O I would marry you, sweet William-O I would marry you, sweet William-O I would marry you, but your guineas are too few And I feel my mama would be angry-O What would your mama think, pretty Peggy-O What would your mama think, pretty Peggy-O What would your mama think if she heard my guineas clink And saw me marching at the head of my soldiers-O If ever I return, pretty Peggy-O If ever I return, pretty Peggy-O If ever I return, your cities I will burn Destroy all the ladies in the area-O Come stepping down the stairs, pretty Peggy-O Come stepping down the stairs, pretty Peggy-O Come stepping down the stairs, combing back your yellow hair And bid a last farewell to your William-O Sweet William he is dead, pretty Peggy-O Sweet William he is dead, pretty Peggy-O Sweet William he is dead, and he died for a maid And he's buried in the Louisiana country-O As we rode out to Fennario As we rode out to Fennario Our captain fell in love with a lady like a dove And he called her by name pretty Peggy-O

The song appears as "Fennario" on the reissue of Jerry Garcia's album Run for the Roses. Following the Grateful Dead's disbandment in 1995 after Garcia's death, "Peggy-O" continued to be performed by offshoot bands including Bob Weir & RatDog, Phil Lesh & Friends, the Other Ones, the Dead, BK3, Furthur, Billy & the Kids, Dead & Company, and Bob Weir & Wolf Bros.

Other artists

Notes

Books

  1. Ford, Robert (edited and annotated) (1904). "Vagabond Songs and Ballads of Scotland, pp. 122". London: Paisley. ISBN B0000CVV48. {{cite journal}}:|given1= has generic name (help); Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  2. Campbell, Olive Dame; Sharp, Cecil J. (1917). English Folk Songs From the Southern Appalachians. New York: GP. ISBN 0-19-313113-7. {{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
  3. Scott, John Anthony (1983). . Carbondale and Edwardsville: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0-8093-1061-9.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)

NB: ISBN s may not point to the referenced editions

Periodicals and magazines

  1. Greig, Gavin (1907–1911). "Folk-Songs of the North-East". Buchan Observer, Scotland.
  2. Cheyne, Sandy (2002). . Leopard Magazine, Scotland (September 2002).{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)