Lyr Req: Lady Keith's Lament

Subject: 'Lady Keith's Lament'
From: GUEST,Tamara
Date: 16 May 00 - 10:19 AM

This song (recorded by Connie Dover) is one of my favorites, but I'm stumped by a couple lines... "wha comes the beengin' byke to scatter", (beengin'?) and "cantin' tongue o' clishmaclaver" (clishmaclaver?). Help!!! Thanks, Tamara

Subject: RE: 'Lady Keith's Lament'
From: Hagbardr
Date: 16 May 00 - 11:52 AM

According to the liner notes:

Clishmaclaver: Idle Gossip

Beingin bike: Refers to the growth of the Whig (short for Whiggamore) party, which advocated English Commonwealth rule in Scotland.

Hagbard

Subject: RE: 'Lady Keith's Lament'
From: GUEST,Murray on Saltspring
Date: 16 May 00 - 03:47 PM

"Beingin' byke" [with a soft G] should mean "fawning swarm"-- a byke is a swarm of bees, hive, nest of ants, etc. Incidentally, one of the texts I have has "reigning" byke, not "beinging".

Subject: RE: 'Lady Keith's Lament'
From: GUEST,Murray on Saltspring
Date: 16 May 00 - 03:49 PM

"Beingin' byke" [with a soft G] should mean "fawning swarm"-- a byke is a swarm of bees, hive, nest of ants, etc. Incidentally, one of the texts I have has "reigning" byke, not "beinging".

Subject: RE: 'Lady Keith's Lament'
From: MMario
Date: 16 May 00 - 03:58 PM

Subject: RE: 'Lady Keith's Lament'
From: GUEST,Bruce O.
Date: 16 May 00 - 04:08 PM

It's called "When the King comes over the water" (the title of its tune) in J. Hoggg's 'Jacobite Relics', I, 45, 1819, and more than one commentator has judged the song to be by Hogg. There the lines in question read:

That comes the beingin bike to scatter;

and

And canting tongue o' clishmaclaver!

Hogg's notes don't interpret the song.

Subject: RE: 'Lady Keith's Lament'
From: GUEST,Tamara
Date: 16 May 00 - 10:56 PM

Thanks a million! Any more thoughts on the origin of the song are welcome. Blessings, Tamara

Subject: RE: 'Lady Keith's Lament'
From: GUEST,E. Keith
Date: 10 Dec 06 - 01:39 PM

By Lady Mary Drummond who was the granddaughter of the Earl Marischal and mother of James Francis Edward Keith.