"Annie Laurie"

No personal notes.

From the Session;

Annie Laurie - Traditional Scottish Song, wich was originally written by her sweetheart, William Douglas, and amended by Lady John Scott (1810-1900) who altered the second verse and composed the third. This song was a favourite with Scottish soldiers during the Crimean War.

Annie Laurie

Maxwellton braes are bonnie, 
Where early fa’s the dew, 
And ‘twas there that Annie Laurie 
Gave me her promise true. 
Gave me her promise true, 
Which ne’er forgot will be, 
And for bonnie Annie Laurie, 
I lay me doon and dee. 

Her brow is like the snowdrift, 
Her throat is like a swan, 
Her face it is the fairest 
That e’er the sun shone on. 
That e’er the sun shone on, 
And dark blue is her ee, 
And for bonnie Annie Laurie 
I lay me doon and dee. 

Like dew on th’ gowan lying, 
Is the fa’ o’ her fairy feet, 
And like winds in summer sighing 
Her voice is low and sweet. 
Her voice is low and sweet, 
And she’s a’ the world to me, 
And for bonnie Annie Laurie, 
I lay me doon and dee. 

This is a very slow air, and the rythm is quite free. It sounds nice stopping at the end of each phrase, exaggerating the silences.

From TFC;
ANNIE LAURIE. Scottish, Air (4/4 time) or Strathspey. D Major. Standard tuning. One part (Bain): AAB (Neil): AABB (Kerr).

  Neil (1991) writes that the air and a portion words were written by Lady Jane Scott (1810‑1890), after an old ballad composed by Douglas of Fingland in honor of Annie, the youngest daughter of Sir Robert Laurie, 1st Baronet of the Maxwelton family, whose seat of Maxwelton was located on the banks of the valley of Bairn in Dumfriesshire, Scotland. Sir Robert and Annie were lovers, though secret ones, who had met at a ball in Edingburgh; they trysted often in the woods around Maxwelton, but Robert, committed to the Jacobite cause, was eventually forced to flee the country. J. Murray Neil (1991) informs us: "It is said the Annie was very slim and graceful. She was a classic beauty with a longish face, large blue eyes and brown hair, which she left un-powdered, contrary to the custom of the day.  Her hands and feet were small so that the reference in the ballad ("Like dew on the gowan lying, Is the fa' o;' her fairy feet") would seem to be based in fact."
  Lady Scott's song enjoyed great popularity, particularly in the Crimean War, which only waned after World War II. She was the eldest daughter of her generation of the Spottiswoode family and married John Scott, the third son of the Duke of Buccleugh. He died in 1860, but ten years later Lady Jane inherited the estates of her family of origin, near Lauder in Berwickshire, and, in accordance with her father's will, returned to her maiden name, Alicia of Spottiswoode, when she assumed the property. As a parlor song it was popular in the English speaking world in the late Victorian era [Neil]. The great Scots composer William Marshall wrote a strathspey in her honor (see “Lady John Scott�). There have been other adaptations of the melody as well; as a schottische and waltz, in America, for example. Guthrie Meade (Country Music Sources, 2002) lists three early commercial recordings of the melody: Billy Bishop (1927), Billy Boyd & His Cowboy Ramblers (1938), and Cliff Bruner’s Texas Wanderers (1939). Bain (50 Fiddle Solos),1989; pg. 41. Kerr (Merry Melodies), vol. 4; No. 42, pg. 7.  Neil (The Scots Fiddle), 1991; No. 35, pg. 45. Rounder 0089, "Oscar & Eugene Wright: Old Time Fiddle and Guitar Music from West Virginia."


From wikipedia;
"Annie Laurie" is an old Scottish song based on a poem said to have been written by William Douglas (1672?–1748) of Dumfries and Galloway, about his romance with Annie Laurie (1682—1764). The words were modified and the tune was added by Alicia Scott in 1834/5. The song is also known as "Maxwelton Braes".

  William Douglas and Annie Laurie
William Douglas became a soldier in the Royal Scots and fought in Germany and Spain and rose to the rank of captain. He also fought at least two duels. He returned to his estate at Fingland in 1694.

  Annie Laurie was born Anna, on 16 December 1682, about 6 o'clock in the morning at Barjarg Tower, in Keir, near Auldgirth, Scotland, the youngest daughter of Robert Laurie, who became first baronet of Maxwellton in 1685.
  

  Traditionally it is said that Douglas had a romance with Annie Laurie, but that her father opposed a marriage. This may have been because Anna was very young; she was only in her mid-teens when her father died. It may also have been because of Douglas's aggressive temperament or more likely because of his Jacobite allegiances. It is known for certain that they knew of each because in a later letter by Anna she says in reply to news about Douglas, "I trust that he has forsaken his treasonable opinions, and that he is content."
  

  Douglas recovered from this romance and eloped with a Lanarkshire heiress, Elizabeth Clerk of Glenboig. They married in Edinburgh in 1706. Douglas's political beliefs forced him into exile. He became a mercenary soldier and sold his estate at Fingland in the 1720s, though eventually he received a pardon.

  Anna Laurie's later life
In Edinburgh on 29 August 1709 Anna married Alexander Fergusson, 14th Laird of Craigdarroch. (Early editions of Brewer's are in error claiming her husband was James Ferguson, who was in fact her son.) She lived at Craigdarroch for 33 years. Under her directions the present mansion of Craigdarroch was built, and a relic of her taste is still preserved in the formal Georgian gardens at the rear of the house. She died on 5 April 1764, at Friars' Carse, Dumfriesshire, Scotland, and some sources say she was buried at Craigdarroch. Portraits of her exist at Maxwelton and at Mansfield, the seat of the Stuart-Monteiths. The portraits show that she had blue eyes.

Doubts about authorship
There has been some doubt that Douglas composed the poem. The words of the second verse of the song may be based on an old version of John Anderson My Jo, to the tune of which song Annie Laurie was sometimes sung. The words were first recorded in 1823 in Sharpe's "Ballad Book", quite a long time after 1700. The song therefore may have been written by Allan Cunningham, who invented contributions to Sharpe's book. However Douglas is known to have written other verses and he also knew an Anna Laurie of Maxwelton. This seems to indicate he was the originator of some of the first verse at least.

Lady John Scott's additions
In February 1890 Lady John Scott (1810–1900) (née Alicia Ann Spottiswoode) wrote to the editor of the Dumfries Standard, claiming that she had composed the tune and had written most of the modern words. She said that around 1834-5 she encountered the words in collection of the Songs of Scotland (1825) by Allan Cunningham in a library. She adapted the music she had composed for another old Scottish poem, Kempye Kaye. She also amended the first verse slightly, the second verse greatly, which she thought was unsuitable, and wrote a new third verse. In the 1850s Lady John published the song with some other songs of hers for the benefit of the widows and orphans of the soldiers killed in the Crimean War. The song became popular and was closely associated with Jenny Lind.

Lady John Scott version
The earliest known version by Lady John was published by James Lindsay of Glasgow and is:

Maxwelton's braes are bonnie,
Where early fa's the dew,
Twas there that Annie Laurie
Gi'ed me her promise true.
Gi'ed me her promise true -
Which ne'er forgot will be,
And for bonnie Annie Laurie
I'd lay me down and dee.

Her brow is like the snaw-drift,
Her neck is like the swan,
Her face it is the fairest,
That 'er the sun shone on.
That 'er the sun shone on -
And dark blue is her e'e,
And for bonnie Annie Laurie
I'd lay me down and dee.

Like dew on gowans lying,
Is the fa' o' her fairy feet,
And like winds, in simmer sighing,
Her voice is low and sweet.
Her voice is low and sweet -
And she's a' the world to me;
And for bonnie Annie Laurie
I'd lay me down and dee.


  
Notes
braes (a brae is a sloping bank of a river or sea-shore; a hill-slope)
bonnie means pretty
fa's means falls
gi'ed means gave
dee means die
snaw means snow
e'e means eye
gowans are daisies
o is of
simmer means summer
a is all

  
Original
The earliest known version, one that may be closest to what Douglas wrote, follows:


  
Maxwelton braes are bonnie, where early fa's the dew
Where me and Annie Laurie made up the promise true
Made up the promise true, and ne'er forget will I
And for bonnie Annie Laurie I'd lay doun my head and die
She's backit like the peacock, she's breistit like the swan
She's jimp aboot the middle, her waist ye weel may span
Her waist ye weel may span, and she has a rolling eye
And for bonnie Annie Laurie I'd lay doun my head and die.



Notes
She's backit means "She's endowed with a back(side)"
She's breistit means "She's endowed with a breast"
jimp means elegant or slender
ye weel may span means that you could encompass her waist with the span of two hands
a rolling eye is a 'come hither' look