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The Bleacher Lassie of Kelvinhaugh

[ Roud 3325 / Song Subject MAS499 ; G/D 5:1041 ; Ballad Index Ord077 ; DT BLEACHR , BLEACHE2 ; Mudcat 12843 , 118426 ; trad.]

Elizabeth Stewart: Up Yon Wide and Lonely Glen

Jean Mathew sang The Bleacher Lassie to Séamus Ennis in Aberdeen on 18 July 1952. This recording was included in 2012 on the Topic anthology of ballads sung by British and Irish traditional singers, Good People, Take Warning (The Voice of the People Volume 23).

Ewan MacColl sang The Bleacher Lassie of Kelvinhaugh in ca. 1958 on his and Isla Cameron’s Riverside album English & Scottish Love Songs and in 1960 on their Topic album Still I Love Him. The Broomielaw and Kelvinhaugh are a street and a neighbourhood in Glasgow. A.L. Lloyd noted:

This song of the constant-hearted washer-girl probably began life as a Glasgow street song, but versions are now found in many parts of Scotland. The situation of the returned sailor, unrecognised, who tests his sweetheart and finds her faithful is one that country singers never tire of. Text and tune of this version come from the singing of one of the greatest living bothy-ballad singers, Jimmy McBeath, of Elgin in North-east Scotland. Additional verses are from Willie Mathieson, of Castleton, near Banff.

Isabel Sutherland sang The Bleacher Lassie o’ Kelvinhaugh in a recording made by Peter Kennedy at Cecil Sharp House, London, on the 1960 HMV album A Pinch of Salt. She also sang it in 1976 on her eponymous EFDSS album, Isabel Sutherland.

Alex Campbell sang Lass of Kelvinhaugh in 1965 on his eponymous Transatlantic album Alex Campbell.

Daisy Chapman sang The Bleacher Lassie of Kelvinhaugh at home in George Street, Aberdeen, to Peter Hall in 1965 (PH:1965.A09.19). This recording was included in 2000 on her Musical Traditions anthology Ythanside. Rod Stradling noted:

The song dates from a time when the River Clyde was Glasgow and Scotland’s thoroughfare to the Americas and sailing ships in their hundreds would dock at the Broomielaw in the centre of Glasgow. It is still a popular and widely sung traditional song throughout Scotland, and only in Scotland—there are 22 examples in Roud. Given its popularity within the revival, it’s surprising that there are only two other sound recordings; Willie Matthieson and Jean Matthew—both from Aberdeen. Daisy’s will be, we think, the only available recording.

Nigel Denver sang The Bleacher Lassie o’ Kelvinhaugh in 1965 on his Decca album Moving On.

Dave Burland sang The Bleacher Lassie o’ Kelvinhaugh in 1971 on his first Trailer album, A Dalesman’s Litany. This track was also included in 2005 on the anthology Never the Same: Leave-Taking From the British Folk Revival 1970-1977. He noted:

The Bleacher Lassie of Kelvinhaugh possesses a very beautiful melody which may have become slightly altered in the singing of it.

June Tabor sang The Bleacher Lassie of Kelvinhaugh on 26 March 1972 at the Stagfolk Folk Club at Shackleford Social Centre, near Godalming. This concert was released later in the year on the album Stagfolk Live Folk and is the oldest recording I know of her; four years before her first solo album appeared. In 2011, June Tabor returned to this song on her most recent Topic album, Ashore. She commented in her album notes:

For any girl who fell in love with a sailor, long periods of separation were inevitable. This street ballad, collected in both Glasgow and Dundee, shows faithfulness on either side rewarded. Wishful thinking, perhaps, on the part of one or both?

Gordeanna McCulloch sang The Bleacher Lassie of Kelvinhaugh in 1973 on the Topic album The Streets of Glasgow. This track was also included in 1997 on the Fellside CD reissue of her 1978 Topic album Sheath and Knife.

Louis Killen sang The Bleacher Lass of Kelvin Hall at the Seattle Chantey Festival during the American Sail Training Association’s 1978 Tall Ships Pacific. This recording was included a year later on the Folkways album Sea Songs Seattle.

Iain MacGillivray sang The Bleacher Lassie of Kelvinhaugh in 1986 on his Fellside album Rolling Home. This track was also included in 2006 on Fellside’s 30^th years anthology Landmarks. He noted on his album:

A Scottish Broken Token Ballad which I’ve known for twenty years yet only recently learned from Willie ‘Barra’ MacDonald that the air is Gaelic, Mo rūn geal dileas.

Rod Paterson sang The Bleacher Lassie o’ Kelvinhaugh in 1987 on his Greentrax album Two Hats.

Jack Beck sang The Bleacher Lassie o’ Kelvinhaugh in 1989 on his Greentrax album O Lassie, Lassie which got its title from a phrase in the song. He noted:

Substantially as sung by Jimmy McBeath (though without the ‘actions’). One of the great ‘broken token’ ballads.

Joe Aitken sang The Bleacher Lassie o’ Kelvinhaugh on his 1990 Springthyme album If Ye’ve Never Been tae Kirrie.

Ian Bruce sang The Bleacher Lassie o’ Kelvinhaugh in 1998 on his Greentrax album Hodden Grey and on his 2011 “first 30 years” anthology Hits & Pieces.

Alan Reid sang The Bleacher Lassie in 1998 on the anthology Scottish Love Songs.

Gordon Easton sang The Bleacher Lassie o Kelvinhaugh at the Fife Traditional Singing Festival, Collessie, Fife in between May 2004 and May 2007. This recording was included in 2007 on his Autumn Harvest CD The Last of the Clydesdales.

Peter Shepheard sang The Bleacher Lassie of Kelvinhaugh in 2005 on Shepheard, Spiers & Watson’s Springthyme album They Smiled As We Cam In. He noted:

A sailor returns to the Clyde after seven years at sea and meets his old sweetheart walking beside the banks of the Kelvin river where she is employed as a bleacher lassie. He makes a playful attempt to proposition her and she initially fails to recognise him. The song proceeds to a happy ending, they get married and keep an alehouse to which they welcome in the sailor laddies to go drinking “wi the bleacher lassie o Kelvinhaugh”.

The song which probably dates from around 1800 has remained popular throughout Scotland. This version with its rather unusual and fine tune is from John MacDonald of Motherwell who sang for me what he referred to as “the old way of the song” in his trailer on Marshall’s field, Alyth during the berrypicking season of August 1965.

Dick Gaughan sang Bleacher Lassie of Kelvinhaugh in 2006 on his CD Lucky for Some.

As an aspiring young singer, round about ’65, I came across one of those ancient objects, a vinyl EP, called Glasgow Street Songs. They were sung by the late Robin Hall who was gifted with one of the finest voices to have graced the world and that is where I learned this. I regard it as the most beautiful by far of all the ‘broken token’ type songs and with few peers as a romantic narrative song.

The city of Glasgow tends to present a one-dimensional face to the world but, while Rab C Nesbitt does represent a true picture of the in-your-face cut-through-the-crap earthiness and honesty that is so much a part of Glasgow, it is not the whole story by a long way. Like Liverpool and Belfast—with both of which Glasgow has a great deal in common—it is a city with a big soul filled with romance and this song is perhaps the perfect example of that.

It might come as a surprise to hear an East-coaster express affection for Glasgow but the truth is that, contrary to what most Glaswegians imagine, most Forth dwellers do actually have a lot of affection for our sister on the Clyde.

Emily Smith sang The Bleacher Lassie o’ Kelvinhaugh in 2008 on her CD Too Long Away.

Fiona Hunter sang The Bleacher Lass o’ Kelvinhaugh on her eponymous 2014 CD Fiona Hunter. She nod:

The Bleacher Lass is a cheering tale of lovers reunited after a long absence. The ‘Bleaching Fields’ were formerly a huge industry in Glasgow. Up until the late eighteenth century the process of bleaching cotton involved soaking in stale urine and days of exposure to sunlight. In 1799 the process had a radical overhaul when Charles Tennant of Glasgow was granted a patent for bleaching powder. Charles Tennant & Co Ltd still exist today and my father is a former employee.

I learned this song from the singing of Alison McMorland. Alison’s husband Geordie McIntyre collected this version in the nineteen sixties from Harry Blake of Cambuslang, Glasgow, and Geordie added some extra verses he found in a broadside.

This videos shown Emma Pollock singing The Bleacher Lassie of Kelvinhaugh at an exclusive session for the Daily Record in 2014:

Fiona Ross sang The Bleacher Lass o Kelvinhaugh in 2017 on her Tradition Bearers album with Tony McManus, Clyde’s Water. She noted:

Before chemical processes pioneered in Glasgow in the late 18^th century moved textile bleaching into factories, woven fabric was soaked in urine then laid outside in bleachfields to be whitened in the sun and rain. This weel-kent love song has always been close to my heart, set as it is in Glasgow’s Kelvinhaugh—just along the road from Partick where I was brought up. For me, the song reflects the life and spirit of the city and its people.

There are several different tunes—I learned this one from the singing of Gordeanna McCulloch.

Josie Duncan sang The Bleacher Lass o’ Kelvinhaugh in 2019 on The Tweed Project’s eponymous EP The Tweed Project (on the EP only, not on the download album!).

Lyrics

Ewan MacColl sings The Bleacher Lassie of Kelvinhaugh

As I was walkin’ one fine summer’s evening
A-walkin’ doon by the Broomielaw
It was there I met wi’ a fair young maiden
She’d cherry cheeks and a skin like snaw.

Says I, “My lassie, is it you that wanders
All alone by the Broomielaw?”
“Indeed it’s the truth I’ll tell ye,
I’m a bleacher lassie on Kelvinhaugh.”

“O lassie, lassie do you remember
The ships that sailed by the Broomielaw,
And the sailor laddies they all admired
The bleacher lassie on Kelvinhaugh?”

“O laddie, laddie I do remember
The ships that sailed by the Broomielaw
And the sailor laddies they all got tipsy
With the bleacher lassie on Kelvinhaugh.”

Says I, “My lassie will ye gang wi’ me?
I will dress you in fine satins braw.”
“Indeed, kind sir, I can plainly tell ye
I’ve a lad o’ my ain and he’s far awa.

“It’s sieven lang years that I loo’ed a sailor;
It’s sieven lang years that he gaed awa
And anither sieven I will wait upon him
And bleach my claes here on Kelvinhaugh.”

“O lassie, lassie, ye are hard-hairted
I wish your face I never saw;
For my heart’s aye bleedin’, baith nicht and mornin’
For the bleacher lassie on Kelvinhaugh.

“O lassie, lassie, ye hae been faithful
And thocht on me when far awa;
Twa hairts will surely be rewarded,
We’ll pairt nae mair here on Kelvinhaugh.”

It’s now this couple, it’s they’ve got marr-i-ed
And they keep an ale-house atween them twa
And the sailor laddies, they all come drinkin’
To see that lassie on sweet Kelvinhaugh.

Daisy Chapman sings The Bleacher Lassie of Kelvinhaugh

As I was walking one simmer’s mornin,
As I was walking by the Broomielaw;
’Twas there I met a pretty maiden,
Wi cheeks like roses and skin like snaw.

Says I, ”My lassie where are ye goin?
What do ye do by the Broomielaw?”
Says she, ”Kind sir, I’m a bleacher lassie,
In Cochrane’s bleach-fields in Kelvinhaugh.”

Says I, ”My lassie, will ye gang ’long wi me?
I’ll buy ye gowns and diamonds braw.”
”O no, kind sir, I may plainly tell you,
I’ve a lad o’ ma ain, but he’s far awa.”

”It’s seiv’n lang years since I loved a sailor,
It’s seiv’n lang years since he gaed awa;
But other seiven I’ll wait upon him,
I’ll bleach a while on sweet Kelvinhaugh.”

”O lassie, lassie, ye hae been faithful
And thocht o’ me when far awa;
True love will surely be rewarded,
We’ll pairt nae mair on sweet Kelvinhaugh.”

And now this couple they’ve got married,
They keep an ale hoose atween them twa,
And the sailor laddies they gang a-drinkin,
Tae the bleacher lass o’ sweet Kelvinhaugh.

June Tabor sings The Bleacher Lassie of Kelvinhaugh

As I was a-walking one fine summer’s morning
All along by the Broomielaw
O it’s there I met with a fair young maiden
She’d cherry cheeks and she’d skin like snow.

Says I, “Fair lassie, why do you wander
along by the Broomielaw?”
“O indeed, kind sir, I will plainly tell you,
I’m a bleacher lassie on Kelvinhaugh.”

“O lassie, lassie if you’ll go with me
I’ll dress you up in fine satins braw.”
“O indeed, kind sir, it’s the truth I’ll tell you
I’ve a lad of my own but he’s far awa.”

“O lassie, lassie, you are hard-hearted
And I wish your fair face I never saw;
For my heart’s aye bleeding, both night and morning
For the bleacher lassie on Kelvinhaugh.

“It’s seven lang years that I’ve loved my sailor;
And seven long years since he went awa
Aye, and another seven I’ll wait upon him
And I’ll bleach my claes here on Kelvinhaugh.”

“O lassie, lassie, you have proved faithful
And you thought on me while I was awa;
Two hearts will surely be rewarded,
We’ll part no more here on Kelvinhaugh.”

And now this couple, they have gotten married
And they keep an ale-house atween them twa
And the sailor laddies, they all go drinking
At the bleacher lassie’s on Kelvinhaugh.

Jack Beck sings The Bleacher Lassie o’ Kelvinhaugh

As I went walkin‘ one fine simmer‘s evenin‘
A walkin‘ doon by the Broomielaw
It was there I met wi‘ a weel faured lassie
She‘d cherry cheeks and a skin like snaw

O lassie, lassie, why dae ye wander
A‘ yir lane by the Broomielaw
O indeed kind sir it‘s the truth I‘ll tell ye
I‘m a bleacher lassie frae Kelvinhaugh

O lassie, lassie, will ye gang wi‘ me
I‘ll dress ye up in fine satins braw
O indeed kind sir I maun plainly tell ye
I‘ve a lad o‘ my ain, and he‘s far away

It‘s seven lang years I ha‘e loo‘ed a sailor
It‘s seven lang years since he gied awa
And anither seven I‘ll wait upon him
And bleach ma claiths here by Kelvinhaugh

O lassie, lassie, ye are hard hairted
I wish yer fair face I never saw
For my hairt‘s aye bleedin‘, baith nicht and mornin‘
For the bleacher lassie frae Kelvinhaugh

O lassie, lassie, ye ha‘e been faithful
Ye ha‘e thocht on me when far awa‘
Twa hairts sae true shall aye be rewarded
We‘ll pairt nae mair here by Kelvinhaugh

It‘s noo this couple, it‘s they‘ve got mairrit
They keep an ale hoose atween them twa
and the sailor laddies they a‘ come drinkin‘
At the Bleacher Lassie‘s on Kelvinhaugh

Gordon Easton sings The Bleacher Lassie o’ Kelvinhaugh

Ae simmer’s evening I went a-walking,
Awa doun by the Broomielaw;
It was there I met wi a fair young maiden,
She had cheeks like the rose and her skin like snaw.

Says I, “Fair lassie why dae ye wander
Aa by yer leen by the Broomielaw?”
“Indeed, kind sir, I will quickly tell ye,
I’m a bleacher lassie frae Kelvinhaugh.”

“O lassie, lassie if ye’ll walk wi me,
I’ll dress ye up in fine satins braw.”
“Indeed, kind sir, it’s the truth I’ll tell ye,
I’ve a lad o ma ain and he’s far awa.”

“For seiven lang years I hae loed a sailor,
For seiven lang years he has been awa;
Anither seiven years I’ll wait upon him,
And I’ll bleach ma claes here on Kelvinhaugh.”

“O lassie, lassie ye are hard herted,
I wish yer fair face I never saw;
For its nicht an mornin ma herts been achin,
For the bleacher lassie o Kelvinhaugh.”

“But lassie, lassie ye dae remember,
On the ships that sailed by the Broomielaw;
And the sailor laddies wha did their courtin,
Wi the bleacher lassies o Kelvinhaugh.”

“And lassie, lassie ye hae been faithfull,
And thocht on me when I was far awa;
True herts maun surely be rewarded,
An we’ll pairt nae mair here on Kelvinhaugh.”

So noo that pair they hae gotten married,
And they keep an ale hoose atween them twa;
And the sailor laddies they aye come drinkin,
At the bleacher lassie o Kelvinhaugh.

Peter Shepheard sings The Bleacher Lassie of Kelvinhaugh

As I roved out one fine summer’s morning,
Doun by the banks o sweet Kelvinhaugh;
It was there I spied a wee bleacher lassie,
She had cheeks like the roses, her skin like snaw.

Says I, “Ma lassie, where are ye going,
And what ye do I would like to know?”
“Kind sir,” she answered, “I am but a bleacher,
Fae Cochrane’s bleach fields near Kelvinhaugh.”

“O lassie, lassie, I’ve gold and silver,
And I would buy you silks sae braw.”
“O no kind sir, it’s the truth I tell you,
For I have a sweetheart and he’s far awa.”

“For it’s seven lang years since he’s gaed and left me,
And seven more I would wait on him;
O no kind sir, I would raither tarry,
And bleach ma claes here on sweet Kelvinhaugh.”

“O lassie, lassie ye are hard hearted,
But such a fair face I never saw;
For ma heart’s aye breakin, baith night and mornin,
For the bleacher lassie fae Kelvinhaugh.”

“Dae ye see thon ships sailing doun the ocean?
Dae ye see them sailing doun the Broomielaw?
O lassie, lassie dae ye no remember,
The day we pairted on sweet Kelvinhaugh?”

“O laddie, laddie I weel remember,
The day we pairted on sweet Kelvinhaugh;
Aa the sailor laddies, they aa got tipsy,
Wi the bleacher lassie fae Kelvinhaugh.”

It’s noo this couple they hae got mairried,
They keep an alehoose atween them twa;
And aa the sailor laddies, they aa go drinkin,
Wi the bleacher lassie fae Kelvinhaugh.

Emily Smith sings The Bleacher Lassie o’ Kelvinhaugh

As I was walking one summer’s evening
A-walking doon by the Broomielaw,
It’s wha did I spy but a bonnie young lassie,
She’d cherry cheeks aye, and a skin like snaw.

Says I, “Ma lassie will ye gan wi me?
I’ll dress ye up in fine satins braw.”
“Oh no, kind sir, I would raither tarry,
A wee bleacher lass, here on Kelvinhaugh.”

“Oh lassie, lassie, ye are hard hairted,
I wish your fair face I never saw.
For I will go an’ find another young lassie
Doon by the bleach fields o’ Kelvinhaugh.”

“Tis seeven years since I had a sweetheart,
And seeven mair since I did him see.
And seeven mair I will wait upon him,
If he’s alive he’ll return to me.”

“Oh lassie, lassie, ye hae been faithful,
Oh lassie, lassie, ye hae been true.
For I’m your young lad and single sailor
Wha’s come afar for tae wed wi’ you.”

“If you’re my young lad and single sailor
Your face and features seem strange to me.
But seeven years makes great alteration,
Ah the ragin’ seas between you and me.”

It’s noo this couple they hae got mairried
And run an ale hoose atween them twa.
And the sailor lads they aye come drinkin
Tae the bleacher lass o’ Kelvinhaugh.

Fiona Ross sings The Bleacher Lassie of Kelvinhaugh

As I was walkin one simmer’s evenin
Doon by Cochrane’s Bleachflields on the Kelvinhaugh
It’s wha did I spy but a bonnie young lassie
She had cherry cheeks and a skin like snaw

Says I, my lassie will ye gang wi me?
I’ll dress ye in fine satins braw
Oh no kind sir, I would raither tarry
A wee bleacher lass, here on Kelvinhaugh

Oh lassie, lassie, ye are hard herted
And I wish yer fair face I never saw
But I will go an find anither lassie
Doon by the bleachfields here on Kelvinhaugh

It’s seven year since I loved a sailor
And seven year since I did him see
And seven mair I will wait upon him
And if he’s alive he’ll return to me

Oh lassie, lassie, ye hae been faithful
Oh lassie, lassie, ye hae been true
For I’m yer young lad and single sailor
That’s traivelt far tae wed wi you

If ye’re my young lad and single sailor
Your face and features they seem strange to me
Aye but seven year maks great alteration
The ragin seas between you and me

It’s noo this couple they hae got mairriet
They run an ale hoose between them twa
And the sailor lads, they aye gang drinkin
Tae the bleacher lassies here on Kelvinhaugh