The Yule feast, with songs of the lass of Aberdeen, and The Forlorn shepherd

The Forlorn shepherd

Aberdeen: Andrew Wilson

1862

12 pages

Chapbook #8 in a bound collection of 17 chapbooks

ballads & songs

This is an interesting chapbook in that it contains songs within a larger ballad narrative describing the events, food, and music played at a Christmas celebration. The chapbook begins with a short little rhyme on the theme of Christmas, introducing the songs enclosed and encouraging the reader to enjoy them in the holiday spirit. “The Yule Feast” is written in Scots and describes a man’s visit to his Aunt and Uncle’s house for a Yuletide celebration. The song includes very detailed descriptions of the different kinds of food eaten at the feast, including beef, mutton, oat cakes, and much more, and different kinds of drink including ale, whiskey, and gin. The feast is followed by music, dancing, and games, and seems to be a very happy celebration. When the guests are tired of dancing, the aunt entreats Mains to give the fiddler a break and sing a song for them. Mains sings the song, which is included in full-text as the “Lass of Aberdeen” which is noted that it should be sung to the tune of Auld Lang Syne. Following the song, the aunt congratulates him for a well-sung song, and the uncle hands around a round of snuff and makes a toast to the nation. This is followed by a final song, “The Forlorn Shepherd”, which is noted to be sung to the tune of “Broom of Cowden Knows,” and describes a young shepherd who falls in love and spends his days making plans of marriage, only to have her die before they can be wed. After the second song is finished, the guests of the feast pack up their things and drunkenly make their ways home. This chapbook is part of a collection of chapbooks produced in Aberdeen which have been bound together in this volume.

Aberdeen, Scotland

Courtship and Marriage

Chapbooks - Scotland - Aberdeen

Religion and Morals

Alcohol

Food

Archival & Special Collections, University of Guelph Library, Guelph, Ontario

National Library of Scotland http://www.nls.uk/

JPEGs and PDF derived from master file, which was scanned from the original book in 24-bit color at 600 dpi in TIFF format using an Epson Expression 10000XL scanner.

In the public domain; For high quality reproductions, contact Archival & Special Collections, University of Guelph libaspc@uoguelph.ca 519-824-4120 Ext 53413

Scots

Archival and Special Collections, University of Guelph Library, Guelph, Ontario, Canada