"Babylon", also called "The Bonnie Banks o' Fordie" or "The Banks o' Airdrie" (Child 14,[1]Roud 27) is an English-language folk song.
Mr. Motherwell gives a version under the title ofBabylon; or, the Bonny Banks o' Fordie;[2] and Mr. Kinloch gives another under the title ofThe Duke of Perth's Three Daughters. Previous editors have attempted to find a local habitation for this tradition, and have associated it with the family of Drummond, of Perth. As a legend exactly similar is current in Denmark, this appears a bootless quest.
— John S. Roberts (1887)[3]
An outlaw comes upon three sisters in the woods. He threatens each one in turn to make her marry him. The first two refuse and are killed. The third threatens him with her brother or brothers. He asks after them and discovers that he is the brother. He commits suicide.
Forms of this ballad are known throughout all of Scandinavia ("Töres döttrar i Wänge").[4]
Betsy Miller ofScotland sang a traditional version of the song, presumably learnt from her Scottish family or community, with her famous sonEwan MacColl on the 1960 albumA Garland Of Scots Folksong;[5][6] only three other Scottish recordings were made.[7][8][9]Helen Hartness Fladers recorded several traditional versions in theNew England region of theUnited States,[10][11][12][13] andKenneth Peacock recorded two Canadian versions (1951 and 1960).[14][15]
Following are some of the notable recordings of the ballad, including the artists, titles, albums, and years:
| Artist | Title | Album | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dick Gaughan | "The Bonnie Banks o Fordie" | No More Forever | 1972 |
| Malinky | "The Bonnie Banks o Fordie: Pennknivsmördaren" | The Unseen Hours | 2005 |
| Nic Jones | "The Bonnie Banks of Fordie" | Landmarks (compilation) | 2006 |
| John Jacob Niles | "Bonnie Farday" (aka "Babylon") | My Precarious Life in the Public Domain | 2006 |
| Old Blind Dogs | "The Bonnie Banks o' Fordie" | New Tricks | 1997 |
| Alastair Roberts | "Babylon" | What News | 2018 |
The artistCharles Hodge Mackie contributed the woodblock illustrationBy the Bonnie Banks o' Fordie toThe Evergreen: A Northern Seasonal, The Book of Winter, published byPatrick Geddes and Colleagues in 1896.[16] He had painted an oil on board sketch of this subject while inFrance in the summer of 1894. The woodblock composition was subsequently worked up as an oil painting which was exhibited at theRoyal Scottish Academy in 1897.[17]
