MacPherson's Lament

Date recorded: July 17, 1951
Contributor(s): Performer: MacBeath, Jimmy; Recordist: Lomax, Alan

Subject(s):

Genre: ballad

Culture: Lowland Scotland, Scottish

Instruments: voice

Setting: The Commercial Hotel

Location: Turriff, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, United Kingdom

Physical form: Reel to Reel

Tape number: T3418

Track Number: 5

Archive ID: T3418R05

Note: Ewan McVicar: "Jimmy intermingles stanzas from the traditional story [of James MacPherson] and from Robert Burns' poetical rewrite, reversing the usual order of the two-strain tune, and using for the chorus what is usually sung for the verses." From "Jimmy MacBeath: Tramps and Hawkers," Rounder CD 1834, 2002.

Transcript:
Belongs to: Turriff II 7/51

About the session: Bothy ballads and local Aberdeenshire songs sung by Jimmy MacBeath, John Strachan, and friends. The ballads in this session sung by William Matheson, consist of first verses only, with the exceptions of "Died For Love" (T3421R14) and "The Death of Harry Bradford" (T3421R21).

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