Johnnie O Braidiesley - Child 114

Johnnie O Braidiesley - Child 114

Aboot

Lang syn in Scotland, poachin wis a really serious crime. It didna maitter if ye wir starvin, ye jist couldna dae it. The lairds owned athing on their grun an ye could be flung in jile, or even hinged for poachin. Some o them fa did poach wir thocht o as heros by the ordinary fowk, as ye hid tae be affa brave or affa hungry tae dae it. Johnnie o Braidiesley wis affa brave and enjoyed takin a deer noo an again, but he chanced his luck eence ower offin an peyed the price - but he gaed doon fechtin.

Note

The earliest printed version o this ballad wis in Ritson's Scottish Songs, 1794. There's versions fae a ower Scotland, but it was affa popular in Aiberdeenshire. In this version, the action taks place near Monymusk.

Ballad: Johnnie O Braidiesley (Child 114)
Singer: Cameron Nixon

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