Thursday, June 17, 2010
Mairi's Wedding: A Great Song and Dance
The Houston District of the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society will host a summer social on Saturday evening featuring dances honoring the ladies. Emma and I are really excited that "Mairi's Wedding" is on the list. The music is traditional, but the lyrics were written in Gaelic in the 1930s by Johnny Bannerman for Mary McNiven. It was translated into English in 1936. In 1959, James B. Cosh created a Scottish country dance for the song utilizing a four-couple set. (See the Rankin family perform the song here. Unfortunately embedding of this video is restricted.)
I love the tune, but I am especially enamored of Mairi's wedding toast. I can't sing "plenty bonny bairns as weel" without smiling:
Plenty herring plenty meal
Plenty peat tae fill her creel
Plenty bonny bairns as weel
That's the toast for Mairi
Here's the list of dances honoring the ladies:
LADY CATHERINE BRUCE'S REEL
MARION’S MEDLEY
THE LAIRD OF MILTON'S DAUGHTER
MRS MACLEOD
LADY GLASGOW
MRS STEWART'S JIG
LADY HOME'S JIG
LADY AUCKLAND'S REEL
JESSIE'S HORNPIPE
THE AUSTRALIAN LADIES
MISS GIBSON'S STRATHSPEY
MAIRI'S WEDDING
MISS JOHNSTONE OF ARDROSSAN
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2 comments:
:D I love that song, and the dance is one of my favorites. But Especially the music. it sounds wonderful on the bag pipes! The dance is plenty of fun; (If)when I get Married: at the reception (where there will be SCDing) that's gonna be one of them that's danced.
I look forward to dancing at your wedding, dear Thomas!
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