Annotation:Bridge of Spey (1) (The)

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BRIDGE OF SPEY, THE. AKA - "The Boat of Bog." Scottish, Strathspey ("Slow when not danced"). D Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AAB. Composed by William Marshall (1748-1833). The stone four-arched bridge across the river Spey at Fochabers was completed in 1804 and took three years to erect. Its cornerstone was laid by the Marquis of Huntly, the son of Marshall's employer the 4th Duke of Gordon, with great public ceremony. The alternate title "Boat of Bog" refers to a ferry boat on the Spey, near Gordon Castle, made obsolete by the bridge. The Castle was also known as Bog-of-Gight, the ancient seat of the Gordons, from the Gaelic bog-na-gaoith (the windy bog).

Source for notated version:

Printed sources: Marshall, Fiddlecase Edition, 1978; 1822 Collection, p. 33. McGlashan (A Collection of Reels), c. 1786; p. 13 (appears as "The Boat of Bog").

Recorded sources:




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