A song about Anne McKelvey was the subject of discussion on a Scottish folk-singing site. You will need to be conversant with Scots or Scots-Irish dialect or pronunciation to cope! There are three versions here - and perhaps they may give someone a party-piece!
The first contributor said the words were as follows:
Dumbarton’s the toun where I met Anne McKelvey
She wis walkin her dug by the shore
And we strayed there for oors as the evenin wis passin
Then I followed her back tae her door
Chorus: Dae ye fancy a night at the dancin wi me?
The band in the toun ha's the finest ye'll see
And if there's no anither place ye'd raither be
Will ye come tae the dance wi me Annie?
She said "I'd like tae come doun for a night at the dancing
But ma mither she may not consent"
So I left her that night wi a kiss on the doorstep
And away back tae [x-x --- I've heard various bits of the Glasgow conurbation inserted here] I went
Chorus
She finally agreed tae a night at the dancin
I went doun tae Clydebank by train
And for three lonely oors did I wait on the platform
But I never say Annie again
Chorus
O it's often I've walked by the banks o the Leven
And watched as it flows tae the Clyde
And I'ev thought o the oors spent wi Annie McKelvey
The lassie wha wounded my pride
Chorus
A later contributor said the words were by Iain Ingram and that the spelling of Anne’s surname was different .
Ingram’s version is:
Dumbarton's the place where I met Anne McKelvie
Oot walkin alang the Clyde shore
Oh we blethered a while till as evenin was fallin
We walked the road back tae her door
(chorus)
Dae ye fancy a night at the dancin wi me?
The band in the Toon Hall's the finest ye'll see
And if there's no another place you'd raither be,
Then come tae the dance wi me, Annie
She said, "I'd like a few days tae think ower yir proposal
Ma mither wid hiv tae consent"
So we parted that night wae a kiss on her doorstep
Then back hame through Bowling ah went
Oh she finally agreed tae come oot wae me dancing
And travel tae Clydebank by train
On that cauld station platform for hours ah waited
But never seen Annie again
Noo it's oftimes ah've walked by the banks o the Leven
And followed her flow tae the Clyde
And hiv thought o ma day spent wae Annie McKelvie
The lassie that wounded ma pride
(Spelling and punctuation as in Ewan McVicar's compilation of Glasgow songs, "One Singer One Song")
Then came the definitive version as written up by a colleague of Iain Ingram with attendant record of subsequent recordings.
Dumbarton's the place
Whaur Ah met Anne McKelvie
Oot walking alang the Clyde shore
Oh we blethered a while
Till, as evening was falling,
We walked the road back tae her door
chorus
Dae ye fancy a night at the dancing wi me
The band in the toon ha is the finest you'll see
And if there's no anither place you' rather be
Then come tae the dance wi me Annie
She said "Ah'd like a few days
Tae think ower yer proposal
Ma mither wid have tae consent"
So we pairted that night
Wi a kiss on the doorstep
And back hame through Bowling Ah went
chorus
Oh she finally agreed
Tae come oot wi me dancing
And travel tae Clydebank by train
On that cauld station platform for hours Ah waited
But never seen Annie again
chorus
Now it's aft times A've walked
By the banks o the Leven
And followed her flow tae the Clyde
And hae thocht o ma day spent wi Annie McKelvie
The lassie wha wounded ma pride
chorus
This record was posted by Gallus Moll who states:
Iain Ingram wrote 'Annie McKelvie' in the early '80s, while living in Dunoon, Argyll and singing regularly at Dunoon Folk Club.
We formed the group 'Kilts 'n' Co-op Sandals' (Iain Ingram, Iain Williams, Alison Duncan, Malcolm Currie)to perform a production by the same name at the Fringe in 1984, featuring Iain's songs; a cassette of some of these (Kilts 'n Co-op Sandals: A Clydeside Folk Review of Original Songs by Iain Ingram) was produced later that year.
The first public performance Annie McKelvie (outside of Cowal!) was at the Marymass Festival in Irvine, in the Harbour Arts Centre.
Iain has written a considerable number of songs, almost all his tunes are original, there are only one or two set to existing tunes (Miss McGill and Puddles.
The group performed during Archie Fisher's 'Parade' series in 1985 (?)- one of the programmes was about the Fair holidays when thousands of folks travelled 'doon the watter' for their Summer break.
Some of his songs can be heard on the extremely rare copies of the above mentioned Kilts 'n' Co-op Sandals cassette, (Days o' Doon the Water, Dandelions and Daisies, Puddles, Behind the Factory Wall, Victoria Blue, Summer Romances, Speakeasy, A Bankie Lad, Dear Green Place, Vaudecille Dancer, Cowal Games, Can You See the Clown, Lappin's Rolls)
Milngavie Pipe Band's 'The West Highland Way' cd (Annie McKelvie and Braes o' Appin)
Alex Beaton, formerly in The Cumberland Three and now a kilted performer in USA has used some of Iain's more humorous songs on some of his recordings.
A charity cd for the Clydebank Hospice of A Bankie Lad performed along with children from a local primary school
Iain Ingram: Words O' Fiction (Mulholland Records 2005) (Braes o' Appin, Closing o; the Day, The Whistling canary, Calton Rose, The Star, Wild Days, The Fishing Trip, Awa' Frae Hntershill, The Cowal Games, Miss McGill, Mountains o' the Sea, Keekin' Ower the Wa', The Boorns, Words o' Fiction, The First and Last, Lunderston Bay, Annie McKelvie)
To hear the rest of Iain's many songs you just have to try to get to a session or ceilidh he's at!!
NB - there are several interpretations of Annie McKelvie on youtube - none are as Iain performs it!
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