Annotation:Bess the Gawkie

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BESS THE GAWKIE. Scottish, Air (whole time). F Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. A gawkie in Scots dialect is a thoughtless or foolish person. The first stanza goes:

Blythe young Bess to Jean did say,
"Will ye gang to yon sunny brae,
Whare flocks do feed, and herds do stray,
And sport a while wi' Jamie?"
"Ah, na, lass ! I'll no gang there,
Nor about Jamie tak' a care,
Nor about Jamie tak' a care,
For he's ta'en up wi' Maggie.

Source for notated version:

Printed sources: Manson (Hamilton's Universal Tune Book, vol. 1), 1853; p. 157.

Recorded sources:

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