Annotation:English Bring to Gratney Green the Lasses that Hae Siller (The): Difference between revisions
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The title is partially explained when one considers that the village of Gretna Green, a stone's throw in Scotland from the English border, has historically been "one of the world's most popular wedding destinations" (according to Wikipedia [ | The title is partially explained when one considers that the village of Gretna Green, a stone's throw in Scotland from the English border, has historically been "one of the world's most popular wedding destinations" (according to Wikipedia [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gretna_Green#cite_note-2], "hosting over 5,000 weddings each year, and one of every six Scottish weddings." It's popularity derives from Lord Hardwick's Marriage Act of 1754, which decreed that if a parent of a minor (under age 21) objected to the impending marriage of their child, they could prevent the legal union of the young couple. Although the act was lawful in England and Wales, it was not applied in Scotland, whose laws dictated that marriage was potentially lawful for boys to marry at age 14 and girls at age 12 without parental consent. Gretna Green's prospects as a destination for eloping lovers greatly increased with the construction in the 1770's of a toll road through the English village of Graitney, to the nearby Scottish Gretna Green. | ||
The Old Blacksmith <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blacksmith>'s Shop, built | The Old Blacksmith <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blacksmith>'s Shop, built |
Revision as of 01:35, 2 April 2014
Back to English Bring to Gratney Green the Lasses that Hae Siller (The)
ENGLISH BRING TO GRATNEY GREEN THE LASSES THAT HAE SILLER, THE. Scottish, Air and Reel (cut time). G Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABBCCDD. The tune, apparently once a song air (now lost), appears in Robert Riddell's Collection of Scotch Galwegian & Border Tunes (1794) in which the author notes: "A Border Song, commemorating the Gretna Green weddings-which are the greatest violation of the marriage ceremony now permitted in any civilised country". Siller is Scots dialect for 'silver' or money.
The title is partially explained when one considers that the village of Gretna Green, a stone's throw in Scotland from the English border, has historically been "one of the world's most popular wedding destinations" (according to Wikipedia [1], "hosting over 5,000 weddings each year, and one of every six Scottish weddings." It's popularity derives from Lord Hardwick's Marriage Act of 1754, which decreed that if a parent of a minor (under age 21) objected to the impending marriage of their child, they could prevent the legal union of the young couple. Although the act was lawful in England and Wales, it was not applied in Scotland, whose laws dictated that marriage was potentially lawful for boys to marry at age 14 and girls at age 12 without parental consent. Gretna Green's prospects as a destination for eloping lovers greatly increased with the construction in the 1770's of a toll road through the English village of Graitney, to the nearby Scottish Gretna Green.
The Old Blacksmith <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blacksmith>'s Shop, built
around 1712, and Gretna Hall Blacksmith's Shop (1710) became, in popular
folklore at least, the focal tourist points for the marriage trade. The Old
Blacksmith's opened to the public as a visitor
attraction<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visitor_attraction> as
early as 1887.
The local blacksmith <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blacksmith> and his
anvil<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anvil> have
become the lasting symbols of Gretna Green weddings. Scottish law allowed
for "irregular marriages", meaning that if a declaration was made before
two witnesses, almost anybody had the authority to conduct the marriage
ceremony. The blacksmiths in Gretna became known as "anvil priests",
culminating with Richard
Rennison<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Rennison>,
who performed 5,147 ceremonies.
It has usually been assumed that Gretna's famous "runaway marriages" began
in 1754 when *Lord Hardwicke's Marriage Act
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marriage_Act_1753>* came into force in
England. Under the Act, if a parent of a minor (i.e., a person under the
age of 21) objected, they could prevent the marriage going ahead. The Act
tightened up the requirements for marrying in England and Wales but did not
apply in Scotland <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotland>, where it was
possible for boys to marry at 14 and girls at 12 with or without parental
consent (see Marriage in
Scotland<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marriage_in_Scotland>).
It was, however, only in the 1770s, with the construction of a toll road
passing through the hitherto obscure village of
Graitney<http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Graitney&action=edit&redlink=1>,
that Gretna Green became the first easily reachable village over the
Scottish border.[3] <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gretna_Green#cite_note-3>
"The implication seems to be that moneyed parents of the runaway girl who had refused consent to the marriage would, once she was married, have to relent and stump up with the dowry. So it seems to be the motivation of the male eloper that was satirised in the song!It might be worth noting that "a trip to Gretna Green" is a euphemism for
elopment."
Source for notated version:
Printed sources: The Northumbrian Piper's Pocket - Green Book (1993). Riddell (Collection of Scotch Galwegian Border Tunes), 1794; p. 17.
Recorded sources: Veteran VT157CD, Rob Say - "O'er Lang at the Fair."
See also listing at:
Hear the tune played on Scottish smallpipes by Matt Seattle and Bill Telfer on youtube.com [2]