Air,—"The fair-haired child."
1806.
Tannahill's second stanza:—
YE mind whan the snaw lay sae deep on the hill,
Whan cauld icy cranreuch hung white on the tree,
Whan bushes war leafless, an mournfully still
War the wee birds o sweet Woodhouselee :
Whan snaw show'rs were fa'ing,
An wintry win's blawing,
Loud whistling o'er mountain an meadow sae chill,
We mark'd it wi sorrowin ee ;
But now since the flowers
Again busk the bowers,
0 come, my dear lassie, wi smilin goodwill,
An wander around Woodhouselee.
[1]
Hamilton's first stanza :—
Now winter is gane, and the clouds flee away,
Yon bonnie blue sky how delightful to see,
Now linties and blackbirds sing on ilka spray
That flourishes round Woodhouselee.
The hawthorn is blooming,
The soft breeze perfuming,
0 come, my dear lassie, the season is gay,
And naething mair lovely can be ;
The primrose and lily
We'll pu' in the valley,
And lean, when we like, on some gowany brae
That rises beside Woodhouselee.
The whole of this song, including Hamilton's and Tannahill's verses, appeared in the Glasgow Nightingale of 1806, page 215, among others contributed by Tannahill. See first Note to No. 13.—Ed.
Note by Motherwell in " Harp of Renfrewshire," page 311—“We extract this song from a selection made by Mr. R. A. Smith, teacher of music, Paisley, for the use of his pupils, where also occurs concerning its authors the following—
"Note by R. A. Smith.—' It may be interesting to many to learn that this little song is the joint production of the late Mr. John Hamilton of Edinburgh (author of the popular Scottish song, ‘Up in the Morning Early,’ etc.) and Tannahill. Mr. Hamilton wrote the first stanza for an ancient Irish melody, The fair-haired child ; but after some unavailing attempts to proceed further, he applied to Tannahill, through the medium of a friend, for a second verse. In a short time, the request was complied with, and the Bard sent it to his friend with the following note:— “Mr. Hamilton's stanza is admirably suited to the air ; in my opinion, his lines possess, in an eminent degree, that beautiful natural simplicity which characterises our best Scottish songs. I have attempted to add a verse to it ; but I fear you will think it a frigid production,—the original one is so complete in itself that he who tries another to it labours under the disadvantage of not knowing what to say further on the subject. However, I give you all I could make of it.'"
Like all the letters given by Smith, he neither gives date nor name. It was probably written in 1806. Ramsay gave the above Notes of Motherwell and Smith as his own ; but at the word “friend” be inserted the name (Clark) in parenthesis. John Hamilton died at Edinburgh in September, 1814, aged 53. —Ed.
[1] Woodhouselee. This place is in the Parish of Glencross, Edinburghshire, the seat of the Tytler family ; and Ramsay, in his “Gentle Shepherd,” says the parish is a place “Where a the sweets o Spring and Simmer grow.”—Ed.
[Semple 71]