CLYDESIDE LASSIES. Scottish, Reel. F Major. Standard. AB. A variant of this tune is "Maguinnis' Delight." The name Clyde comes from the Brittonic Cluth. The River Clyde marked the frontier of the old Celtic British kingdom in the north with the Picts. Cole (1001 Fiddle Tunes), 1940; pg. 44. Honeyman (Strathspey, Reel and Hornpipe Tutor), 1898; pg. 24.
FLOWERS OF THE FOREST [1]. Scottish, Lament (4/4 time). G Mixolydian. Standard. AB. This melody, the "old air" (also called "The Liltin"), appears earliest under this title in the Skene Collection, a lute manuscript of c. 1615-20. The lament makes reference to the Battle of Flodden Field, fought in Northumberland on the 9th of September, 1513, when the Scots army of James IV was soundly defeated by the English under Thomas Howard, Earl of Surray. During the fray a majority of the Scots nobility, as well as the supporting army, were slain. "'Flowers of the Forest' refers to the Scots who came from Ettrick Forest, the name given to the ancient district of Selkirkshire and Peebleshire and possibly part of Clydeside. The town of Selkirk, the 'favoured Forest Queen', dominated the area which was used by royalty for hunting and the 'Forest' boasted the finest archers in Scotland" (Neil, 1991). The melody is a more ancient version of the tune than that of version #2, which is better known. Words were set to this tune by Jane Elliot ("The Floo'ers o' the Forest") and others.
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I've heard them liltin at the ewe milkin',
Lassies a liltin' before dawn o' day,
Now there's a moanin' on ilka green loanin,
The Flowers o' the Forest are a' wede away. (Jane Elliot)
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Neil (The Scots Fiddle), 1991; No. 51, pg. 70. Flying Fish FF358, Robin Williamson - "Legacy of the Scottish Harpers, Vol. 1."
MAGUINNIS' DELIGHT. Irish, New England; Reel. F Major. Standard. AB (Miller & Perron): AABB (Cole). The melody is a variant of "Clydeside Lassies." Cole (1001 Fiddle Tunes), 1940; pg. 42. Miller & Perron (New England Fiddler's Repertoire), 1983; No. 72.
T:Maguinnis' Delight
L:1/8
M:C|
K:F
[|FA cF dF cF|AF cF B2 (3dcB|AF cF dF cF|BG GA B2 (3dcB|
AF cF dF cF|AF cF B2 (3dcB|Ac fa gf cA|BA GA Bc de|]
[|f2 fe fc Ac|f2 fe (3fga ge|f2 fe fc Ac|BG GA Bc de|f2 fe fc Ac|
f2 eg fg ag|2 fe fc Ac|BG GA B4|]