Annotation:Maids of Kintail

Back to Maids of Kintail

MAIDS OF KINTAIL. AKA and see "Annie MacNab," "Boc Liath Nan Gobhar," "Drive the Cows Home," "Gille Dubh Sugach (An)," "Grey Buck (The)," "Gray Buck (1) (The)," "Lass of Kintail (The)," "Merry Black Lad (The)." Scottish, Pipe March (6/8 time). A Mixolydian. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB'. The melody has a variety of titles as botha a march and a jig, including (as well as the titles above) "Amorous Black-haired Lad (The)" and "Dean cadal 's fan samhach, a chuilean a run" (Go sleep and rest easy, my darling my dear). It was apparently based on a Gaelic song, possibly the latter title, although the song appears to have been lost or detached from the tune.

There is a range of mountains in the Kintail region (Northwest Highlands) of Scotland called the Five Sisters of Kintail and it is possible the 'Maids' alludes to them.

Source for notated version:

Printed sources: Ross (Ross's Collection of Pipe Music), 1869; No. 30, p. 126.

Recorded sources: Parlophone Par E-3701 (78 RPM), Pipe-Major William Ross (1930). Parlophone Par F-3401 (78 RPM), City of Glasgow Police Pipe Band (1945).