Auld Robin Gray

Auld Robin Gray from The Book of British Ballads (1842)

Auld Robin Gray is the title of a Scots ballad written by the Scottish poet Lady Anne Lindsay in 1772.[1] According to the Biographical Dictionary of Scottish Women, Lindsay's song began as a song sung by Sophia Johnston of Hilton .[2]

Robin Gray is a good old man who marries a young woman already in love with a man named Jamie. Jamie goes away to sea in order to earn money so that the couple can marry. The woman, who narrates the ballad, tells the story of being compelled by her parents' misfortune to marry Robin Gray while her lover is away. Robin promises to maintain her and her parents in return for her hand. Jamie returns a few weeks after the marriage, looking like a ghost. They have a sad reunion, kiss and tear themselves away from each other. The woman resolves to do her best to be a good wife to Robin, though she is extremely sad at the loss of her true love.

The original tune was composed by the Rev. William Leeves. George Thomson commissioned Joseph Haydn to arrange the ballad for piano and soprano, as well as for piano, violin, cello, and soprano. Twentieth century American composer Marjorie Rusche, among others, has also arranged “Auld Robin Gray.”[3]

  1. ^ Thomas Edward Brown (1998). Fo'c's'le Yarns: An Uncensored Edition of Four Manx Narratives in Verse. University Press of America. p. 260. ISBN 978-0-7618-1215-9.
  2. ^ Elizabeth Ewan; Sue Innes; Siân Reynolds; Rose Pipes (2006). "Barnard, Lady Anne, n. Lindsay". The biographical dictionary of Scottish women. Edinburgh University Press. p. 29. ISBN 978-0-7486-1713-5.
  3. ^ Boenke, H. Alais (19 October 1988). Flute Music by Women Composers: An Annotated Catalog. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. p. 105. ISBN 978-0-313-36831-8.