The Bonnie Lass o' Fyvie

Common card · No. 424551

The Bonnie Lass o' Fyvie (Roud # 545) is a Scottish folk song about a thwarted romance between a soldier and a woman. Like many folk songs, the authorship is unattributed, there is no strict version of the lyrics, and it is often referred to by its opening line "There once was a troop o' Irish dragoons". The song is also known by a variety of other names, the most common of them being "Peggy-O", "Fennario", and "The Maid of Fife". The song depicts Irish dragoons marching through the village of Fyvie, and their captain Ned falling in love with a "lass" (girl or young woman) named Peggy who has yellow hair. The unrequited love of the Irish captain is rejected, because Peggy has no intention to marry a foreigner or a soldier. The captain soon dies due to either a broken heart or battle wounds, possibly both. The historical context is unclear, though the song may allude to the 1644 capture of the Fyvie Castle by James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose during the Scottish campaigns of the Wars...

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