Air—"I had a Horse."
Set to Music by Mr. John Ross of Aberdeen. March, 1806.
FAR lane amang the Hielan hills,
Midst Nature's wildest grandeur,
By rocky dens, an woody glens,
Wi weary steps I wander.
The langsome way, the darksome day,
The mountain mist sae rainy,
Are naught tae me whan gaun tae thee,
Sweet lass o Arranteenie.
Yon mossy rosebud doun the howe,
Just op'ning fresh and bonny,
Blinks sweetly neath the hazel bough,
An's scarcely seen by ony:
Sae, sweet amidst her native hills,
Obscurely blooms my Jeanie—
Mair fair an gay than rosy May,
The flower o Arranteenie.
Now, from the mountain's lofty brow,
I view the distant ocean,
There av'rice guides the bounding prow—
Ambition courts promotion ;
Let fortune pour her gouden store,
Her laurel'd favours many,
Gie me but this, my soul's first wish,
The lass o Arranteenie.
This song first appeared in 1806 in Maver's Gleaner, page 136,—“Air, I had a horse.” See Note to No. 5. Second in Leslie's Glasgow Nightingale, also in 1806, page 85. The first word in the first line is printed “Forlorn.” See first Note to No. 13.—Ed.
Note by M‘Laren.—“In the autumn of the same year that this song (‘The Harper of Mull’) was written, a friend of the Bard's set out with a party of pleasure on an excursion to the interior parts of the Highlands of Scotland. Returning home, chance directed him to lodge for the night at Arranteenie, a respectable inn on the side of Loch Long. He was here introduced to a young lady who resided with the family, whose manners and appearance formed a striking contrast to those of her sex he was accustomed to see in other parts of his journey. On his return home; he was visited by the Bard, who, with friendly curiosity, inquired whether he had seen anything entertaining on his journey. ‘O yes,’ he exclaimed, ‘I have seen the most divine object in all created nature!’ In fact, the lady had so engrossed his soul, that all the grandeur and novelty of Highland scenery were forgot. At the end of eight days, he returned to the inn; but the flame that had burned so fast was exhausted, and he found the angel of his hopes sunk into a frail and erring woman. The mania of his soul was removed; but the Bard had caught the infection of his disease, and, in his absence, wrote ‘The Lass o Arranteenie.’ This lady has been so beautifully decorated by the verses of the Poet, and the exquisite music of his friend, Mr. Smith, that she must long, remain a favourite with the public.”
Note by Ramsay.—“Written in honour of a young lady whom a friend of the Poet's, during an excursion to the Highlands, accidentally met at Arranteenie (properly Ardentinny), a romantic and sequestered spot on the banks of Loch Long.”
Hugh Macdonald, block printer at Colinslie, Paisley, author of “Rambles Round Glasgow,” “Days at the Coast,” and a posthumous volume of Poetical Works, visited Edinburgh in August, 1846; and having had a long and ardent desire to see the author of the “Isle of Palms,” etc.,—the far-famed “Christopher North,”—wrote a note to Professor Wilson on Friday evening, the 21st of that month, asking an interview. On Saturday, he received an answer from the Professor, fixing a meeting for that day or the following. They met on Sunday, and had a long conversation, when they came upon Tannahill's “Lass o Arranteenie” and Wordsworth's “Lucy.” Macdonald expressed himself favourably for the words of Tannahill. The Professor said he was not aware of the lines, and asked Macdonald to repeat them. Macdonald repeated Wordsworth's first:—
She dwelt amongst the untrodden ways,
Beside the Springs of Dove :
A maid whom there were few to praise,
And none at all to love.
A violet by a mossy stone,
Half hidden from the eye ;
Fair as a star, when only one
Is shining in the sky.”
The Professor thought the transition from the violet to the star was perhaps too violent or too far-fetched. Tannahill's lines are—
“Far lane amang the Hielan hills,
Midst Nature's's wildest grandeur;”
Or rather
“Yon mossy rosebud doun the howe,
Just opening fresh an bonny,
Blinks sweetly neath the hazel bough,
An's scarcely seen by ony :
Sae, sweet amidst her native hills,
Obscurely blooms my Jeanie—
Mair fair an gay than rosy May,
The lass o Arranteenie !
The Professor at once allowed it was very beautifully expressed, at least equal to Wordsworth's. it will be sung, whereas the other will not. —Ed.
Several credulous persons, who have visited Ardentinny or the surrounding district, have frequently enquired for the lass; and on being shown any staid matron who said she was Jeanie, they believed her assertion without further enquiry into the truth of the statement, and afterwards maintained they had seen the “Lass o Arranteenie.” In our investigations, we have met many such credulous persons; but they were soon upset with dates and ages.—Ed.
[Semple 90]