The Bonnie Lass o' Fyvie (

Roud The Roud Folk Song Index is a database of around 250,000 references to nearly 25,000 songs collected from oral tradition in the English language from all over the world. It is compiled by Steve Roud. Roud's Index is a combination of the Broadsid ...

# 545) is a Scottish

folk song Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...

about a thwarted romance between a soldier and a woman. Like many folk songs, the authorship is unattributed, there is no strict version of the lyrics, and it is often referred to by its opening line "There once was a troop o' Irish dragoons". The song is also known by a variety of other names, the most common of them being "Peggy-O", "Fennario", and "The Maid of Fife".

Lyrics

Of the many versions, one of the most intricate is:

Meaning

The song is about the unrequited love of a captain of Irish dragoons for a beautiful Scottish girl in Fyvie. The narration is in the third person, through the voice of one of the captain's soldiers. The captain promises the girl material comfort and happiness, but the girl refuses the captain's advances saying she would not marry a foreigner or a soldier. The captain subsequently leaves Fyvie. In two different variations of the song, he threatens to burn the town(s) if his offer is rejected, or alternately save the town if his offer is accepted. He later dies of a broken heart, or battle wounds, or possibly both. Several variations on this theme exist. The soldier also proposes marriage in some versions. Some versions have the girl declare her love for the soldier, but only to be stopped short by a reluctant mother.

Geographical and historical allusions

The song is set in

Fyvie Fyvie is a village in the Formartine area of Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Geography Fyvie lies alongside the River Ythan and is on the A947 road. Architecture What in 1990, at least, was a Clydesdale Bank was built in 1866 by James Matthews (arch ...

, a small town with a historic

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire (; ) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Aberdeenshire (historic), Aberdeenshire, which had substantial ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. Some sources claim that the original song suggests the region of

Fife Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...

(as the "Fair Maid of Fife"), but the references to the

River Ythan The Ythan is a river in the north-east of Scotland rising at Wells of Ythan near the village of Ythanwells and flowing south-eastwards through the towns of Fyvie, Methlick and Ellon, Aberdeenshire, Ellon before flowing into the North Sea near N ...

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

and other locations near Fyvie like

Gight Gight is an estate in the parish of Fyvie in the Formartine area of Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is best known as the location of the 16th-century Gight (or Formartine) Castle, ancestral home of Lord Byron. Gight Castle Gight Castle is about ...

, confirm that the original song was set in

. It is probably better not to read strong historical associations into the song, although it is just possible that the song refers to the capture of the

Fyvie Castle Fyvie Castle is a castle in the village of Fyvie, near Turriff in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. History The earliest parts of Fyvie Castle date from the 13th century – some sources claim it was built in 1211 by William the Lion. Fyvie was the si ...

by Montrose's Royalist army in 1644. (A large part of this army was Irish, but they were not dragoons.)

Variants across time and space

The oldest known version of the Scottish

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

is called "The Bonnie Lass O' Fyvie". Another early transcribed version is given under the title "Bonnie Barbara-O". An early English version "Handsome Polly-O" is also present, though in slightly different settings. Another English version is called "Pretty Peggy of Derby". The song probably travelled with Scottish immigrants to America. It is recorded in the classic ''English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians'' by

Cecil Sharp Cecil James Sharp (22 November 1859 – 23 June 1924) was an English collector of folk songs, folk dances and instrumental music, as well as a lecturer, teacher, composer and musician. He was a key figure in the folk-song revival in England dur ...

. Variants of the song refer to the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

and the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. A

Dixie Dixie, also known as Dixieland or Dixie's Land, is a nickname for all or part of the Southern United States. While there is no official definition of this region (and the included areas have shifted over the years), or the extent of the area i ...

version of the song makes the final resting place of the captain to be

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

. The last two stanzas from the Bob Dylan version is typical of such Americanized forms, and goes as follows: Over time, the name of

also got corrupted, and phonetically similar permutations like "Fennario", "Fernario", "Finario", "Fidio", "Ivory" or "Ireo" were placed in its stead to fit the

metre The metre (or meter in US spelling; symbol: m) is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). Since 2019, the metre has been defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of of ...

and

rhyme A rhyme is a repetition of similar sounds (usually the exact same phonemes) in the final Stress (linguistics), stressed syllables and any following syllables of two or more words. Most often, this kind of rhyming (''perfect rhyming'') is consciou ...

. As a result, the song is commonly referred to as "Fennario". The 1960s folk music movement saw "Peggy-O" become a common song in many concerts owing to its clear melody and lilting rhyme.

Linguistics

The song was originally composed and sung in Scots. It then made its way into mainstream English, but retains its Scottish flavour. Words like ''birk'' (for birch), ''lass'' and ''bonnie'' are typically Scots as are words like ''brae'' (hill) and ''braw'' (splendid). As is typical of such cases, quite a few of the less familiar words degenerated into nonsense words as the song travelled over cultures, the most interesting ones probably being ''Ethanside'' for ''Ythanside'' (banks of the

), and ''brasselgeicht'' for ''braes o' Gight'' (hills of

Renditions

Traditional Recordings

Many traditional singers have recorded versions of the song, including Scotsman

John Strachan John Strachan (; 12 April 1778 – 1 November 1867) was a notable figure in Upper Canada, an "elite member" of the Family Compact, and the first Anglican Bishop of Toronto. He is best known as a political bishop who held many government posit ...

(from close to Fyvie) and the Irish singer

Thomas Moran Thomas Moran (February 12, 1837 – August 25, 1926) was an American painter and printmaker of the Hudson River School in New York whose work often featured the Rocky Mountains. Moran and his family, wife Mary Nimmo Moran and daughter Ruth, took ...

. Many Scottish recordings made by

James Madison Carpenter James Madison Carpenter, born in 1888 in Blacklands, Mississippi, near Booneville, in Prentiss County, was a Methodist minister and scholar of American and British folklore. He received his Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees from the ...

between 1929 and 1934, including one of the

singer Bell Duncan (1849-1934), can be heard on the

Vaughan Williams Memorial Library The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library (VWML) is the library and archive of the English Folk Dance and Song Society (EFDSS), located in the society's London headquarters, Cecil Sharp House. It is a multi-media library comprising books, periodi ...

website.

Popular Recordings

Bob Dylan

The Southern American version of the song was arranged for the harmonica by

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

on his eponymous debut album in 1962, under the title "Pretty Peggy-O". He starts off the song with the introduction "I've been around this whole country but I never yet found Fennario", as a playful remark on the fact that the song has been borrowed and cut off its original "setting". Dylan began playing the song live again in the 90s, using the lyrics and melody of the Grateful Dead version.

Joan Baez

Joan Baez Joan Chandos Baez (, ; born January 9, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist. Her contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest and social justice. Baez has performed publicly for over 60 years, releasing mo ...

recorded a lyrical version under the title "Fennario" on her 1963

Vanguard Records Vanguard Recording Society is an American record label set up in 1950 by brothers Maynard and Seymour Solomon in New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the so ...

album '' Joan Baez in Concert, Part 2''.

Simon and Garfunkel

Simon and Garfunkel Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo comprising the singer-songwriter Paul Simon and the singer Art Garfunkel. They were one of the best-selling music acts of the 1960s. Their most famous recordings include three US number-one sing ...

also recorded a heavily harmonized arrangement of the song titled "Peggy-O" as part of their ''

Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. ''Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.'' is the debut studio album by the American folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel. Following their early incarnation as rock 'n' roll duo Tom and Jerry, Columbia Records signed the pair in late 1963. The album was produced b ...

'' album of 1964 and

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

studio recordings of the 1960s (which was released on the box set '' The Columbia Studio Recordings (1964-1970)'' in 2001). Simon and Garfunkel sing the variant of the song where the captain threatens to burn the city down if his advances are refused.

The Grateful Dead

The

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in Palo Alto, California, in 1965. Known for their eclectic style that fused elements of rock, blues, jazz, Folk music, folk, country music, country, bluegrass music, bluegrass, roc ...

have variously arranged and sung this song on 265 known occasions between 1973 and 1995, using Fen-nar-io and Fi-dio as the name of the place depending on

constraints. The place Fennario is also mentioned in their song "

Dire Wolf The dire wolf (''Aenocyon dirus'' ) is an Extinction, extinct species of Caninae, canine which was native to the Americas during the Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene epochs (125,000–10,000 years ago). The species was named in 1858, four y ...

", on the album ''

Workingman's Dead ''Workingman's Dead'' is the fourth studio album (and fifth overall) by American rock band the Grateful Dead. It was recorded in February 1970 and originally released on June 14, 1970, by Warner Bros. Records. The album and its studio follow-up ...

''. The song was titled "Peggy-O", and was sung by

Jerry Garcia Jerome John Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995) was an American musician who was the lead guitarist and a vocalist with the rock band Grateful Dead, which he co-founded and which came to prominence during the counterculture of the 196 ...

using the following lyrics: The song appears as "Fennario" on the reissue of

's album '' Run for the Roses''. Following the Grateful Dead's disbandment in 1995 after Garcia's death, "Peggy-O" continued to be performed by offshoot bands including Bob Weir & RatDog,

Phil Lesh & Friends Phil Lesh and Friends was an American rock band formed and led by Phil Lesh, former bassist of the Grateful Dead. Phil & Friends is not a traditional group in that several different lineups of musicians have played under the name, including gro ...

The Other Ones The Other Ones was an American rock band formed in 1998 by former Grateful Dead members Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, and Mickey Hart, along with part-time Grateful Dead collaborator Bruce Hornsby. In 2000, Bill Kreutzmann, another Grateful Dead alumnu ...

The Dead The Dead may refer to: * The dead, those who have experienced death Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * The Dead (Higson novel), ''The Dead'' (Higson novel), 2010 novel by Charlie Higson * The Dead (Kracht novel), ''The Dead'' (Kracht nov ...

, BK3, Furthur, Billy & The Kids,

Dead & Company Dead & Company is an American rock band that formed in 2015 with a lineup of former Grateful Dead members Bob Weir (guitar and vocals), Mickey Hart (drums), and Bill Kreutzmann (drums), along with John Mayer (guitar and vocals), Oteil Burbridge ...

, and Bob Weir & Wolf Bros.

Other artists

The Clancy Brothers The Clancy Brothers were an influential Irish folk music group that developed initially as a part of the American folk music revival. Most popular during the 1960s, they were famed for their Aran jumpers and are widely credited with popularisi ...

recorded the song as "The Maid of Fife-E-O" on the 1961 album, ''

The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

'', and later as "Maid of Fife" on their 1965 album, ''

Recorded Live in Ireland ''Recorded Live in Ireland'' is a 1965 album of Irish folk songs performed by The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem. It was the first live album to be recorded in stereo in Ireland. It was their sixth LP for Columbia Records and, unusually for th ...

'', with

Tommy Makem Thomas Makem (4 November 1932 – 1 August 2007) was an Irish folk music, folk musician, artist, poet and storyteller. He was best known as a member of the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem. He played the long-necked 5-string banjo, tin whistle, l ...

and on their 1973 album, ''

Greatest Hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

'', with

Louis Killen Louisa "Lou" Jo Killen (born Louis Killen; 10 January 1934 – 9 August 2013) was an English folk singer from Gateshead, Tyneside, who also played the English concertina. Killen formed one of Britain's first folk clubs in 1958 in Newcastle upo ...

. *The Journeymen ( John Phillips,

Scott McKenzie Scott McKenzie (born Philip Wallach Blondheim III; January 10, 1939 – August 18, 2012) was an American singer and songwriter who recorded the 1967 hit single and generational anthem " San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)". Ea ...

, Richard Weissman) recorded a version with an American Civil War context as "Fennario" on their 1961 debut album ''The Journeymen'' (Capitol Records ST 1629). *

Judy Collins Judith Marjorie Collins (born May 1, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter and musician with a career spanning nearly seven decades. An Academy Awards, Academy Award-nominated documentary director and a Grammy Awards, Grammy Award-winning rec ...

recorded a version as "Fannerio" on her 1962 album Golden Apples of the Sun. *

Hoyt Axton Hoyt Wayne Axton (March 25, 1938 – October 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor. He became prominent in the early 1960s, establishing himself on the West Coast as a folk singer with an earthy style and powerful voic ...

recorded a version of "Peggy O" for the album ''Greenback Dollar'' (1963). *The

Chad Mitchell Trio The Chad Mitchell Trio, later known as The Mitchell Trio, were an American vocal group whose peak years were during the 1960s. They performed traditional folk songs and some of John Denver's early compositions. They were particularly notable fo ...

recorded a variant (in which the colonel shoots the captain after the call to tarry) on their 1963 album ''Singin' Our Minds'' under the title, "Bonny Streets of Fyve-io". *

Les Compagnons De La Chanson Les Compagnons de la chanson were a French harmony vocal group, formed in 1946 from an earlier group founded in Lyon, France in 1941. Their best known song was " Les trois cloches" recorded with Edith Piaf in 1946. Consisting of eight or nine mem ...

released a cover version in French on a 7-inch EP, under the title "Peggy O" in 1963. *

The Corries The Corries were a Scottish folk group that emerged from the Scottish folk revival of the early 1960s. The group was a trio from their formation until 1966 when founder Bill Smith left the band but Roy Williamson and Ronnie Browne contin ...

recorded a version on their first album in 1964. *

Bob Lind Robert Neale Lind (born November 25, 1942) is an American playwright, novelist, and singer-songwriter who helped define the 1960s folk rock movement in the U.S. and UK. Lind is well known for his transatlantic hit record, " Elusive Butterfly", w ...

included a similar version of the song, but under the title "Fennario", on the Verve album ''The Elusive Bob Lind'', released in 1966. *

Martin Carthy Martin Dominic Forbes Carthy MBE (born 21 May 1941) is an English singer and guitarist who has remained one of the most influential figures in English folk music, inspiring contemporaries such as Bob Dylan and Paul Simon, as well as later ar ...

recorded a song sharing some lyrics, but with a quite different tune and narrative arc, called "Handsome Polly-O" on his album ''

Shearwater Shearwaters are medium-sized long-winged seabirds in the petrel family Procellariidae. They have a global marine distribution, but are most common in temperate and cold waters, and are pelagic outside the breeding season. Description These tube ...

'' in 1972. *The

Black Watch The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland (3 SCOTS) is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The regiment was created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881, when the 42nd (Royal Highland) Regiment ...

included "Lass of Fyve" on their 1975 album ''Scotch on the Rocks'', sung by a trio with the pipes and drums joining in at the end of the song. *

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

recorded a version of the song to serve as the entrance theme for

Rowdy Roddy Piper Roderick George Toombs (April 17, 1954 – July 31, 2015), better known as "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, was a Canadian professional wrestler and actor. In professional wrestling, Piper was best known to international audiences for his work with the Worl ...

, replacing

Scotland the Brave "Scotland the Brave" () is a Scottish patriotic song, one of three often considered an unofficial Scottish national anthem (the others being " Flower of Scotland", and " Scots Wha Hae"). History The tune probably originated in the late 19th c ...

. *The Aberdeen-based group,

Old Blind Dogs Old Blind Dogs is a Scottish musical group which plays traditional Scottish folk music and Celtic music, with influences from rock, reggae, jazz, blues, and Middle Eastern music rhythms. Background The three founding members of the band (Ian ...

covered the song on their ''New Tricks'' album in 1992. *

Malinky Malinky is a Scottish folk band specialising in Scots song, formed in autumn 1998. Career Early years The original members were Karine Polwart from Banknock, Stirlingshire (vocals, guitar, bouzouki), Steve Byrne from Arbroath (vocals, guitar ...

, with lead vocals by

Karine Polwart Karine Polwart ( ) (born 23 December 1970) is a Scottish singer-songwriter. She writes and performs music with a strong folk and roots feel, her songs dealing with a variety of issues from alcoholism to genocide. She has been most recognised fo ...

, included "The Bonnie Lass of Fyvie"' on their 2000 album ''Last Leaves''. *"Peggy-O" has been covered by the bluegrass band

Trampled By Turtles Trampled by Turtles is an American bluegrass music, bluegrass-influenced Folk music, folk band from Duluth, Minnesota, Duluth, Minnesota. They have released ten full albums, three of which reached No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard (magazine), Billboa ...

, such as at their 10,000 Lakes Festival performance in 2007. *

Jefferson Starship Jefferson Starship is an American rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1974 by a group of musicians including former members of Jefferson Airplane. Between 1974 and 1984, they released eight RIAA certification, gold or Music rec ...

recorded a version of "Frenario" for the 2008 album '' Jefferson's Tree of Liberty''. *

The Irish Rovers The Irish Rovers is a group of Irish musicians that formed in Toronto, Canada in 1963'Irish Rovers are Digging out those old Folk songs', By Ballymena Weekly Editor, Ballymena Weekly Telegraph, N. Ireland – 20 August 1964 and named after the ...

recorded the song on ''The Irish Rovers' Gems''. *

Antonio Breschi Antonio Breschi, also known as Antóni O'Breskey (born in Florence, Italy, with Argentine roots) is a composer, pianist and trumpet player, singer, writer, poet and music educator. Oliver Sweeney, in the Irish music magazine Hot Press, wrote of ...

arranged the song as "Fennario" on his album ''Songs of the North'' in 1996. * The National recorded the song for the Grateful Dead tribute

Day of the Dead The Day of the Dead () is a holiday traditionally celebrated on November 1 and 2, though other days, such as October 31 or November 6, may be included depending on the locality. The multi-day holiday involves family and friends gathering to pa ...

in 2015. *

Iona Fyfe Iona Fyfe (born 16 January 1998) is a Scottish folk singer from Huntly, Aberdeenshire. In 2016, she was a semi-finalist of the BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award and, in 2017 and 2021, was a finalist of the BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Music ...

released a Scots version of the song with the title ''Bonnie Lass of Fyvie'' on January 29, 2020. *

Vampire Weekend Vampire Weekend are an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 2006 and currently signed to Columbia Records. The band was formed by lead vocalist and guitarist Ezra Koenig, multi-instrumentalist Rostam Batmanglij, drummer Chr ...

performed a version of the song on

Sirius XM Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting corporation headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. The company was formed by the 2008 merge ...

Notes

References

Books # # # NB: ISBN s may not point to the referenced editions Periodicals and magazines # # {{DEFAULTSORT:Bonnie Lass O' Fyvie, The Scottish folk songs Bob Dylan songs Grateful Dead songs Simon & Garfunkel songs Joan Baez songs Year of song unknown Songs with unknown songwriters Songs about soldiers Songs about the military