The Laird o' Cockpen

woman in dark dress
Carolina Oliphant, Lady Nairne, 1766-1845. Songwriter. Portrait by John Watson Gordon, c. 1818.

The Laird o' Cockpen is a song written by Carolina Oliphant, Lady Nairne (1766–1845), which she contributed anonymously to The Scottish Minstrel, a six-volume collection of traditional Scottish songs published from 1821 to 1824.[1] Much of the Scottish poetry in Carolina's time was concerned with writing genteel verses for somewhat bawdier earlier songs, and The Laird o' Cockpen is no exception, being set to the music of "O when she cam' ben she bobbit".

Nairne's family and upbringing was staunchly Jacobite. In that vein, "The Laird o' Cockpen", expresses something of the Jacobite distaste for the Whiggish displays and manners of the nouveau riche in post-Union Scotland.

The song has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 2859.[2]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference McGuirk was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference VWML was invoked but never defined (see the help page).