Appalachia II : The British Ballad

I enjoyed this weeks music, the British Ballads that made it to the Appalachia mountain were different from the music that originated in the Appalachia mountains. After reading the Article on Cecil Shards Collection of British Appalachia Ballads I realize that like him, I too am quite fascinated by these ballads connection to the "old world". Many of these songs were written many years before and passed down through tradition. They serve as a connection between American traditional Music and culture and The British traditional Music and culture. Like the Appalachia music from last week the three songs listed for this week are beautiful melodic tunes. The most interesting one was "Comin' Thro' the Rye".

This song was interesting to me for two main reasons.

Firstly, the use of Scottish colloquial language in the song adds a sense of authenticity, connecting it to it European history. I found myself looking up words in order to understand the song best. Also the fact that the song is based off of a poem by Robert Burns is also interesting to me. It reminds me of a song I learnt when I was younger, "If" based on a famous poem by Rudyard Kipling. Funny enough I searched for the version of "If", that I learned, to link it to this post and came across so many versions of the song. I think this is an interesting comparison that can be made between "Coming' Thro' the Rye" and the music that we have looked at before. As "Comin' Thro' the Rye" is based off of a poem the melody may vary but the words remain more or less the same. This is different to the music passed down only through singing, in those cases the melody stays the same and the words change. This was an interesting observation for myself.

Secondly, like the Appalachian music we did last week this song has a soft tone yet its meaning goes a lot deeper and perhaps darker than one may initially think. When read with the interpretations for the Scottish terms the song is filled with sexual imagery. though it is often sung as a children nursery rhyme.

O, Jenny's a' weet,[A] poor body,
Jenny's seldom dry:
She draigl't[B] a' her petticoatie,
Comin thro' the rye!

Chorus:
Comin thro' the rye, poor body,
Comin thro' the rye,
She draigl't a' her petticoatie,
Comin thro' the rye!

Gin[C] a body meet a body
Comin thro' the rye,
Gin a body kiss a body,
Need a body cry?[D]

(chorus)

Gin a body meet a body
Comin thro' the glen
Gin a body kiss a body,
Need the warl'[E] ken?[F]

(chorus)

Gin a body meet a body
Comin thro' the grain;
Gin a body kiss a body,
The thing's a body's ain.[G]

(chorus)

Ilka lassie has her laddie,
Nane, they say, ha’e I
Yet all the lads they smile on me,
When comin' thro' the rye.


A weet – wet
B draigl't – draggled
C gin – if, should
D cry – call out [for help]
E warl – world
F ken – know

G ain – own

For this reason I have chose to create a piece that alludes to these dual tones and meanings in the song.