Number 30, July 1, 2022

Ireland and the Dens of Yarrow (Scottish Ballad)

As my husband Steve Rankin and I prepare for our trip to Ireland in late July, I’m steeping myself in the sounds of the British Isles, whether English, Irish or Scottish.  A few years ago, I found a song on the Judy Collins release “Paradise” that revealed itself distinctly as deriving from an older ballad, one she called simply “Dens of Yarrow.”  In her recording, she utilized a synthesizer to create an eerie, moody and romantic sonic base for this tale.  Having performed and recorded many an old ballad via my scholarship of Jean Ritchie, I was of course, instantly drawn to “Dens of Yarrow.”

When I went to record the song on our album “Not That Kind of Girl,” I used Judy’s arrangement and lyrics, and used the instrumentation of lone fiddle and accordion to create an old-world feel and texture.  In doing my research on the tune, I found it was included in the Child ballads (The English and Scottish Popular Ballads, Volume IV, by Francis James Child), listing number 214, as “The Braes O Yarrow,” and is also known as “The Dowie Dens o Yarrow” among many other versions.

In doing research on more modern sources, I found a few wonderful variations I’ve included below.  Ewan MacColl’s recording is wonderfully Scottish, and his work provides a perfect “origin” story to the language and thus authenticity in performance.

Below are the full lyrics as recorded by July Collins (and this song is firmly in the public domain).  Lyric note:  the meaning behind her hair being “three-quarters long” refers to her hair being as long as three-quarters of her body.

Below these lyrics are videos for MacColl, Joni Mitchell, Judy Collins, and my own recording from 2015 (with Mark Indictor on fiddle).

Dens of Yarrow

There were seven sons and two of them twins
There were seven sons in Yarrow
And they all did fight for their own true love
In the dewy, dewy dens of Yarrow

O mother dear I dreamed a dream
A dream of grief and sorrow
I dreamed I saw my own true love
In the dewy, dewy dens of Yarrow

O daughter dear I saw your dream
Your dream of grief and sorrow
Your love today is lying slain
In the dewy, dewy dens of Yarrow

She sought him up she sought him down
She sought him all through Yarrow
And there she found him lying slain
In the dewy, dewy dens of Yarrow

Her hair it was three quarters long
And the color of it was yellow
She wrapped it around his middle so small
And carried him home from Yarrow

O mother dear go make my bed
Go make it soft and narrow
For my true love has died tonight
In the dewy, dewy dens of Yarrow

She dressed herself in clean white clothes
And away to the waters of Yarrow
And there she lay her sweet self down
And died on the banks of Yarrow

There were seven sons and two of them twins
There were seven sons in Yarrow
And they all did fight for their own true love
In the dewy, dewy dens of Yarrow

Joni Mitchell sings “The Dowie Dens of Yarrow” (Live at The Half Beat, Yorkville, Toronto, Canada, 10/21/1964)

Ewan MacColl sings “The Dowie Dens o’ Yarrow”

Judy Collins with her “Dens of Yarrow” from the album “Paradise”

 

Susie sings “Dens of Yarrow” from the album “Not That Kind of Girl.”  Susie on “Dens of Yarrow” on Soundcloud

Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you next time for all things Folk Diva!

Love and Blessings,

Susie

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Award-winning recording artist, Broadway singer, journalist, educator and critically-acclaimed powerhouse vocalist, Susie Glaze has been called “one of the most beautiful voices in bluegrass and folk music today” by Roz Larman of KPFK’s Folk Scene.  LA Weekly voted her ensemble Best New Folk in their Best of LA Weekly for 2019, calling Susie “an incomparable vocalist.”  “A flat out superb vocalist… Glaze delivers warm, amber-toned vocals that explore the psychic depth of a lyric with deft acuity and technical perfection.”  As an educator, Susie has lectured at USC Thornton School of Music and Cal State Northridge on “Balladry to Bluegrass,” illuminating the historical path of ancient folk forms in the United Kingdom to the United States via immigration into the mountains of Appalachia.  Susie has taught workshops since 2018 at California music camps RiverTunes and Vocáli Voice Camp.  She is a current specialist in performance and historian on the work of American folk music icon, Jean Ritchie.  Susie now offers private voice coaching online via the Zoom platform.   www.susieglaze.com