Annotation:Robbie Tamson's Smiddie (1)

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X:1 T: Robbie Tamson's Smiddie [1] B: "English County Songs", by Lucy Broadwood, Leadenhall Press, London, 1893 S: Mrs T. H. Farrer Z: J. A. Fuller-Maitland N: Lucy Broadwood notes are: N: The words and tune were collected from a Mrs. T. H. Farrer, who had learned the song in Canada from a Mr. Richard Turner. N: There are also Scottish versions M: 4/4 L: 1/8 K: E Dorian D|B,<EE>D B,2 B,>A, | D>DF>D F<A z B | G>EF>^D E>E B,E/G/ | B>AG>F F/ E z/ E<D | B,<EE>D B,>A,D>D | F>DF>D F<A z B | G>EF>^D E>E B,G/A/ | B>AG>F F/ E z/ E<D | B,<EE>F E>DB,>A, | D2 F>D D<A z B | G>EF>^D E<E B,G/A/ | B>AG<F F<E z2 |]

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ROBBIE TAMSON'S SMIDDIE [1]. AKA - "Robin Tamson's Smiddy." English, Air (4/4 time). E Dorian. Standard tuning (fiddle). One part. "Robbie Tamson's Smiddie" was composed by Alexander Rodger (1784-1846), and was one of his most popular songs. "The Radical Poet," as he was called, was born at East Calder, Midlotian, but was taken in by family friends in Glasgow when his father's business collapsed, forcing him to flee aborad. Rodger spent some ten years in the army, and afterwards immersed himself in radical politics, narrowly avoiding transportation for his work. The song begins:

Alexander Rodger

Me mither mend’t me auld breeks,
But ay! but they were diddy;
She sent me to get shod the mare
At Robbie Tamson’s smiddie.
Now t’ smiddie lies ayent the burn
That wamples thro’ the claughin’
And ne’er a time I pass that way
But aye I fall a-laughin’.

CHORUS:
Singing fol lol de lol de rol,
Ri fol lol de laddy,
Sing fol de du-y, du-y day,
Sing fol de du-y daddy.

The song was recorded by the Tannahill Weavers, who used a different melody in 6/8 time (a variant of "Piper o' Dundee (The)").

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