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Ballad posting: Child ballad 233
Jan. 24th, 2021 09:01 amI think it's the time of year for ballads—I've been listening to and thinking about them a lot over the last few weeks. I think I said a while ago that I wanted to do some more occasional in-depth posts about the ballads, so here is one, on Child ballad 233, 'Andrew Lammie' or 'Mill o' Tifty's Annie', which is one of my favourites.
The plot, basically: Annie, the miller's daughter at Mill o' Tifty near Fyvie in Aberdeenshire, falls in love with Andrew Lammie, a trumpeter in the employ of Lord Fyvie. Her family disapprove because Andrew is a servant and therefore not good enough for Annie; they escalate from taunting to physical abuse, culminating in her murder by her brother. This story is supposedly historical, although I think the authenticity is a bit doubtful (historical ballads often are!). Like many of the ballads it's a tragic story of doomed love, and I like it for the interesting imagery and the things it has to say about the society it's set in, besides the story and the nice tune.
The first recording I heard was the one by Kate Rusby, which I now think is a bit lacking as an interpretation, but I still like it. It's actually one of the more unique recordings, as can be seen on the chart below—Rusby includes several of the vaguer, more poetic verses from Child texts A and B which are often omitted from more straightforward narrative recordings. I especially like the imagery of her opening two verses, and the final two ('...but now that I must walk alone/For I will not see my dearie' is an understatedly lovely way to end). On the other hand she leaves out so many of the 'narrative' verses that a lot of the detail of the plot is lost, to the point that it becomes difficult to follow. The instrumentation is a bit over the top, but I like her take on the tune (all the recordings I've found use the same basic tune, a lovely classic ballad-y one, but there are lots of small differences and variations on it). Of the more traditional ballad-style recordings my favourite is Jean Redpath's—lovely voice, lovely storytelling in both the choice of verses and the performance.
( Some analysis of recordings of the ballad, and some opinions about it )
The plot, basically: Annie, the miller's daughter at Mill o' Tifty near Fyvie in Aberdeenshire, falls in love with Andrew Lammie, a trumpeter in the employ of Lord Fyvie. Her family disapprove because Andrew is a servant and therefore not good enough for Annie; they escalate from taunting to physical abuse, culminating in her murder by her brother. This story is supposedly historical, although I think the authenticity is a bit doubtful (historical ballads often are!). Like many of the ballads it's a tragic story of doomed love, and I like it for the interesting imagery and the things it has to say about the society it's set in, besides the story and the nice tune.
The first recording I heard was the one by Kate Rusby, which I now think is a bit lacking as an interpretation, but I still like it. It's actually one of the more unique recordings, as can be seen on the chart below—Rusby includes several of the vaguer, more poetic verses from Child texts A and B which are often omitted from more straightforward narrative recordings. I especially like the imagery of her opening two verses, and the final two ('...but now that I must walk alone/For I will not see my dearie' is an understatedly lovely way to end). On the other hand she leaves out so many of the 'narrative' verses that a lot of the detail of the plot is lost, to the point that it becomes difficult to follow. The instrumentation is a bit over the top, but I like her take on the tune (all the recordings I've found use the same basic tune, a lovely classic ballad-y one, but there are lots of small differences and variations on it). Of the more traditional ballad-style recordings my favourite is Jean Redpath's—lovely voice, lovely storytelling in both the choice of verses and the performance.
( Some analysis of recordings of the ballad, and some opinions about it )
