Annie Laurie
music by henry w. armstrong / lyrics by richard h. gerard
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ANNIE LAURIE
ANNIE LAURIE (SONG CAR-TUNES) 1926
ANNIE LAURIE (SONG CAR-TUNES) 1926
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Annie Laurie is a traditional Scottish folk song based on a poem from around 1682. The true love poem is believed to be written by William Douglas, and it was modified and put to music around 1835 by Scottish composer Alicia Scott. As the story goes, Annie Laurie's father did not approve of the young teenager's romance with Douglass, and the two ultimately went separate ways and they both found a spouse elsewhere. The song has been very popular in America since the Civil War, when it was a favorite among soldiers. In 1926 the song was featured as an installment of Max Fleischer's Song Car-Tunes series, featuring a sing-a-long lead by The Bouncing Ball.
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1900
HAYDN QUARTET |
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190?
EDISON QUARTET |
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1908
DAVID BISPHAM |
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1915
SAMUEL GARDNER |
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1927
JOHN McCORMICK |
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1931
DAME CLARA BUTT |
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1936
DEANNA DURBIN |
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1939
FATS WALLER |
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19??
HEDDLE NASH |
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1940
MONTE RAY |
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1940
THE FLAT FOOT FOUR |
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19??
ROBERT "BOB" ISELE |
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19??
ROBERT WILSON |
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1945
from the film A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN |
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19??
MAXINE SULLIVAN |
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19??
JIMMIE LUNCEFORD |
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19??
TED NASH |
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1963
JET BLACKS |
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1965
ARTHUR PRYOR |
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19??
JO STAFFORD |
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19??
SLIM WHITMAN |
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1968
NINI ROSSO |
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19??
THE COTTIES |
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1986
JEAN REDPATH |
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19??
ANDREAS SCHOLL |
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19??
FORMER SOVIET RED ARMY CHOIR |
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1993
THE CORRIES |
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19??
THE ALEXANDER BROTHERS |
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1998
MAIREID SULLIVAN |
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2002
THE RADIO DEPT. |
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2006
BILL TORRANCE |
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2007
GEORGE KREM |
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2011
SOUTHERN HARMONY |
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IMAGES FROM ANNIE LAURIE (1916) SILENT FILM
ANNIE LAURIE (1927) LILLIAN GISH
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ANNIE LAURIE
The earliest known version, one that may be closest to what Douglas wrote, follows:
Maxwelton braes are bonnie, where early fa's the dew
Where me and Annie Laurie made up the promise true
Made up the promise true, and ne'er forget will I
And for bonnie Annie Laurie I'd lay doun my head and die
She's backit like the peacock, she's breistit like the swan
She's jimp aboot the middle, her waist ye weel may span
Her waist ye weel may span, and she has a rolling eye
And for bonnie Annie Laurie I'd lay doun my head and die.
Understanding The Lyrics:
• braes (a brae is a sloping bank of a river or sea-shore; a hill-slope)
• bonnie means pretty
• fa's means falls
• She's backit means "She's endowed with a back(side)"
• She's breistit means "She's endowed with a breast"
• jimp means elegant or slender
• ye weel may span means that you could encompass her waist with the span of two hands
• a rolling eye is a 'come hither' look
The earliest known version, one that may be closest to what Douglas wrote, follows:
Maxwelton braes are bonnie, where early fa's the dew
Where me and Annie Laurie made up the promise true
Made up the promise true, and ne'er forget will I
And for bonnie Annie Laurie I'd lay doun my head and die
She's backit like the peacock, she's breistit like the swan
She's jimp aboot the middle, her waist ye weel may span
Her waist ye weel may span, and she has a rolling eye
And for bonnie Annie Laurie I'd lay doun my head and die.
Understanding The Lyrics:
• braes (a brae is a sloping bank of a river or sea-shore; a hill-slope)
• bonnie means pretty
• fa's means falls
• She's backit means "She's endowed with a back(side)"
• She's breistit means "She's endowed with a breast"
• jimp means elegant or slender
• ye weel may span means that you could encompass her waist with the span of two hands
• a rolling eye is a 'come hither' look
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