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Peri Periwinkle.mp3
(Tune - Ach, Du Lieber, Augustin)
Now a lassie was roaming by the banks of Loch Lomond,
She slipped on her dress and a wee chunk o'stane.
Noo a Parson was passin' and on her took passion,
He lifted her up and he carried her hame.
Chorus
Singin' Peri Periwinkle, I see your wee wrinkle,
Singin' Peri Periwinkle, but you canna see mine!
Noo he fed her and cled her and into bed led her,
And noo that wee lassie's asufferin with shame;
For he jumped in beside her and started to ride her,
And noo that wee lassie's the Whore of Dunbane.
Noo all the little angels are sent, are sent up,
Noo all the little angels are sent up on high.
Which end up? Ass end up.
Which end up? Ass end up.
All the little angles ass end up on high.
Notes:
Here is another example of the song from Forbidden Fruit [ca.1895], p. 69.
THE FLOWER O' DUMBLANE
The devil fell aff o' the heid o' Ben Lomond,
An' skinned a' his arse on a great muckle stane,
There was an auld wifie took pity upon him,
And carried him in till her hoose in the glen.
She fed him, she cled him, she in the bed laid him,
The wily auld devil wadna lie him lane,
She in owre aside him, and they fell a riding,
An' there they made "Jessie the Flower o' Dumblane".
Murray Shoolbraid has identified the "Peri-Periwinkle" song and the one above as parodies of a song by Robert Tannahill titled "Jessie, the Flower o' Dunblane" (see here for full text):
The sun has gane down o'er the lofty Ben Lomond
And left the red clouds to reside o'er the scene
While lanely I stray in the calm simmer gloamin'
To muse on sweet Jessie, the flow'r o' Dunblane.
How sweet is the brier wi' its saft faulding blossom
And sweet is the birk wi' its mantle o' green
But sweeter and fairer and dear to this bosom
Is charming young Jessie, the flow'r o' Dunblane.
Is charming young Jessie, is charming young Jessie
Is charming young Jessie, the flow'r o' Dunblane.
"The Flower o' Dunblane" was first published in the Scots Magazine, March 1808. Matthew Tannahill, the poet's brother, said it was composed to supplant the old (and suggestive) "Bob o' Dumblane".
For completeness here is the original Scotts ribaldry collected by Robert Burns which prompted the cleaned up version, the parody and the modern survival:
The BOB O' DUNBLANE
1. Lassie, lend me your braw hemp-heckle,
And I'll lend you my thripplin kame;
My heckle is broken, it canna be gotten,
And we'll gae dance the Bob o' Dumblane.
2. Twa gaed to the wood, to the wood, to the wood,
Twa gaed to the wood, three cam hame:
An't be na weel bobbit, weel bobbit, weel bobbit,
An't be na weel bobbit, we'll bob it again.- (2)
It's hard to keep a good song from going bad or to make a bad song good. Any comments or corrections are welcome.
Gargoyle according to the Mudcat archives, you have known the "Peri-Periwinkle" song since at least 1991. May I ask where and when you learned the song?
Thanks Murray for identifing the song and giving me the texts from your Musa Proterva.
Sincerely,
John Mehlberg
~
(1) The "...angels ascend up..." verse can be found in Laycock's The Best Bawdry
as the final chorus of "The Monk of Priory Hall" (pg 115). Laycock mentions that
this ditty is from Mess Hall Songs of the RAAF (ca 1945). This chorus of this
song also uses the "Ach, Du Lieber, Augustin" tune.
(2) According to Murray Shoolbraid's Musa Proterva MS, this text was collected by Robert Burns. The text is printed in Kinsley (p. 804, no. 513, with music), from the Watson MS. (1136: Burns' letter to Johnson, autumn of 1795).