"Broom of the Cowdenknowes", also known as "Bonny May", is a traditionalScottish loveballad, (Child 217,Roud 92). It has been traced to the seventeenth century, but its exact origin is unknown.[1]
The title of the song references theScotch Broom (Cytisus scoparius) flower, a vibrant yellow flower found throughout Scotland, including Cowdenknowes, a Scottish barony east of theLeader Water (River Leader), 32 miles southeast ofEdinburgh inBerwickshire.[2]
The original and extended ballad was the story of a young shepherdess who falls in love with a stranger on horseback, who rides by her pasture every day. The song became popular across Scotland and England towards the end of the reign ofJames Vl & I, and the earliest publication date found is 1651.[3] The melody was also published as a dance tune, during the same year, in John Playford's first edition ofThe English Dancing Master.[4]
Throughout the many versions of the popularfolksong, there are many lyrical variations, but the plot remain consistent. The shepherdess and stranger fall in love and have an affair. When she becomes pregnant, she is banished from her country. She seeks out her lover, finding him to now be a wealthy lord. They marry, but she is never truly happy away from her own country, and she pines for "the bonnie bonnie broom".
Traditionally, the song is sung from the perspective of the shepherdess. The broom, a tall shrub which blooms with spikes of small golden flowers, once grew abundantly on hillsides of theScottish Borders.
"Broom O' the Cowdenknowes" was recorded by Scottish folk singerJean Redpath on her 1987 releaseA Fine Song for Singing.[5] Other artists who recorded the song under either this title or its variants includeSilly Wizard,Alexander James Adams,Baltimore Consort,John Allan Cameron,Cherish the Ladies,The City Waites,Liam Clancy,Meg Davis,Frankie Gavin,Ian Giles,Dave Gunning,The Highwaymen, Michal Hromek,Jimmy MacBeath,Ed Miller, North Sea Gas,Kim Robertson,Lucie Skeaping,The Watersons, andRobin Williamson.[6]
The ballad was recorded under its alternate title "Bonny May" by English folk singerJune Tabor on her first solo album,Airs and Graces, in 1976.[7] It was also released under this title by the group10,000 Maniacs on its 2015 albumTwice Told Tales[8] and by Offa Rex, a group featuring the American indie rock bandDecemberists and British folk singerOlivia Chaney, on its 2017 debutThe Queen of Hearts.[9]
