Eppie Morrie - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

"Eppie Morrie" is one of the Child Ballads

Child Ballads

The Child Ballads are a collection of 305 ballads from England and Scotland, and their American variants, collected by Francis James Child in the late nineteenth century...

(No. 223), and is of Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

origin. The author and date are unknown. It was printed in James Maidment

James Maidment

James Maidment was a British antiquary and collector.He passed through Edinburgh University to the Scottish bar, and was chief authority on genealogical cases.Maidment's hobby was the collection of literary rarities...

's anthology A North Country Garland in 1824. That version is reprinted in James Kinsley's The Oxford Book of Ballads, 1969. Although the lyrics were transcribed by Francis James Child

Francis James Child

Francis James Child was an American scholar, educator, and folklorist, best known today for his collection of folk songs known as the Child Ballads. Child was Boylston professor of rhetoric and oratory at Harvard University, where he produced influential editions of English poetry...

, it is uncertain if the original melody has been retained. The earliest recordings are from the performances of Jimmy MacBeath

Jimmy MacBeath

Jimmy MacBeath was an itinerant worker and singer of Bothy Ballads from the north east of Scotland. He was a source of traditional songs for singers of the mid 20th century Folk Revival in Great Britain.-Life:...

in 1951 and later Ewan MacColl

Ewan MacColl

Ewan MacColl was an English folk singer, songwriter, socialist, actor, poet, playwright, and record producer. He was married to theatre director Joan Littlewood, and later to American folksinger Peggy Seeger. He collaborated with Littlewood in the theatre and with Seeger in folk music...

.

The ballad describes a young woman being forcefully taken from her home by a man named Willie and his companions. Willie's goal is to force Eppie to marry him. She refuses: in some versions because she already has a suitor, and in others because she considers Willie to be unworthy of her. First, Willie takes her to a priest

Priest

A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...

whom he tries to force at gunpoint to perform the marriage ceremony. When the priest refuses, Eppie is locked in a room with Willie, where he tries to rape

Rape

Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...

her. After a prolonged struggle, Willie finally gives up. Eppie, having retained her virginity

Virginity

Virginity refers to the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. There are cultural and religious traditions which place special value and significance on this state, especially in the case of unmarried females, associated with notions of personal purity, honor and worth...

and avoided the forced marriage, haughtily asks Willie to provide her with a horse to return home on. Placenames mentioned suggest that the events happened in Aberdeenshire.

Lyrics of the ballad

The following is the version of the lyrics of "Eppie Morrie", as related by Francis James Child

Francis James Child

(Version A):

Four-and-twenty Highland men

Came a' from Carrie side

To steal awa Eppie Morrie,

Cause she would not be a bride.

Out it's came her mother,

It was a moonlight night,

She could not see her daughter,

Their swords they shin'd so bright.

Haud far awa frae me, mother,

Haud far awa frae me;

There's not a man in a' Strathdon

Shall wedded be with me.'

They have taken Eppie Morrie,

And horse back bound her on,

And then awa to the Minister,

As fast as horse could gang.

He's taken out a pistol,

And set it to the minister's breast:

Marry me, marry me, minister,

Or else I'll be your priest.'

Haud far awa frae me, good sir,

Haud far awa frae me;

For there's not a man in all Strathdon

That shall married be with me.'

Haud far awa frae me, Willie,

Haud far awa frae me;

For I darna avow to marry you,

Except she's as willing as ye.'

They have taken Eppie Morrie,

Since better could nae be,

And they're awa to Carrie side,

As fast as horse could flee.

When mass was sung, and bells were rung,

And all were bound for bed,

Then Willie an Eppie Morrie

In one bed they were laid.

Haud far awa frae me, Willie,

Haud far awa frae me;

Before I'll lose my maidenhead,

I'll try my strength with thee.'

She took the cap from off her head

And threw it to the way;

Said, Ere I lose my maidenhead,

I'll fight with you till day.

Then early in the morning,

Before her clothes were on,

In came the maiden of Scalletter,

Gown and shirt alone.

Get up, get up, young woman,

And drink the wine wi me;'

You might have called me maiden,

I'm sure as leal as thee.'

Wally fa you, Willie,

That ye could nae prove a man

And taen the lassie's maidenhead!

She would have hired your han.'

Haud far awa frae me, lady,

Haud far awa frae me;

There's not a man in a' Strathdon

The day shall wed wi me.'

Soon in there came Belbordlane,

With a pistol on every side:

Come awa hame, Eppie Morrie,

And there you'll be my bride.'

Go get to me a horse, Willie,

And get it like a man,

And send me back to my mother

A maiden as I cam.

The sun shines oer the westlin hills;

By the light lamp of the moon,

Just saddle your horse, young John Forsyth,

And whistle, and I'll come soon.'

Recordings and sources

A list of recordings (up to the recent release (2008) of the 1970 recording by Fotheringay
Fotheringay
Fotheringay was a short-lived British folk rock group, formed in 1970 by singer Sandy Denny on her departure from Fairport Convention. The band drew its name from her 1968 composition "Fotheringay" about Fotheringhay Castle, in which Mary, Queen of Scots had been imprisoned...

) is to be found here: Child Ballads#220-229
Child, F. J., comp.; Sargent, H. C. & Kittredge, G. L., eds. (1904) The English and Scottish Popular Ballads. Boston, Mass: Houghton Mifflin

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