It fell on a
day a bonnie summer day
When the corn
was ripe and yellow
That there
fell oot a great dispute
Atween Argyle
and Airlie
Lady Margaret
looked ower yon high castle wa’
And oh but she
sighed sairly
She saw Argyle
and a’ his men
Come to
plunder the Bonnie Hoose o’ Airlie
“Come doon
come doon Lady Margaret” he says
“Come doon and
kiss me fairly
Or gin the
mornng’s clear daylight
I winna leave
a stanin’ stane in Airlie”
“I’ll no come
doon ye fause Argyle
Nor will I
kiss thee fairly
I widna kiss
the fause Argyle
Tho’ ye winna
leave a stanin’ stane in Airlie”
“For if my
guid Lord had been at hame
As he’s awa
wi’ Chairlie
There widna
come a Campbell frae Argyle
Dare trod upon
the bonnie green o’ Airlie”
“For I hae
born seven bonnie sons
The eighth yin
has never seen his daddy
And if I had
as mony ower again
They wid a’ be
men for Chairlie”
But poor Lady
Margaret was forced tae come doon
And oh but she
sighed sairly
For there in
front o’ a’ his men
She was
ravished on the bowling green o’ Airlie
Argyle in a
rage he kindled sic a lowe
It rose tae
the lift sae red and clearly
And poor Lady
Margaret and a’ her bairns
Were smothered
in the dark reek o’ Airlie
“Draw yer
dirks draw yer dirks” cried the brave Lochiel
“Unsheathe yer
sword” cried Chairlie
“We’ll kindle
sic a lowe roon the fause Argyle
And licht it
wi’ a spark oot o’ Airlie
Flagnote:
The outstanding traveller, traditional singer and songwriter Belle Stewart
was born in a bow tent pitched on the bank of the River Tay at Caputh, near
Dunkeld, on 18 July 1906. On the day of her birth, her father Donald (Dan)
MacGregor was pearl fishing in the Tay and found a beautiful, large pearl,
just before word came of Belle’s birth. He declared that he had two pearls
in the one day. A passing American couple bought the Tay pearl for £5, a
large sum at the time, but Dan still had the finest of the two pearls,
Unfortunately Dan died when Belle was only nine month old, and her mother
settled in Blairgowrie. From her Perthshire base Belle travelled extensively
in both Scotland and Ireland. In 1925 she married piper Alex Stewart. After
they were ‘discovered’ as carriers of traditional song and music, The
Stewarts of Blair, became well-known performers on the folk scene and
performed all over Europe and the United States. In recognition of her
contribution to folk music, Belle Stewart was awarded the British Empire
Medal. Aged 91 she died in the cottage hospital in Blairgowrie on 4
September 1997. In an obituary the folklorist Dr Hamish Henderson wrote in
The School of Scottish Studies publication, ‘Tocher’ in 1998 –