The Bonnie Lass O' Fyvie - Variants Across Time and Space

Variants Across Time and Space

The oldest known version of the Scottish ballad is called "The Bonnie Lass O' Fyvie". Another early transcribed version is given under the title Bonnie Barbara-O. An early English version Handsome Polly-O is also present, though in slightly different settings. Another English version is called Pretty Peggy of Derby. The song probably travelled with Scottish immigrants to America. It is recorded in the classic English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians by Cecil Sharp. Variants of the song refer to the War of 1812 and the American Civil War. A Dixie version of the song makes the final resting place of the captain to be Louisiana.

The last two stanzas from the Bob Dylan version is typical of such Americanized forms, and goes as follows:

Over time, the name of Fyvie also got corrupted, and often nonsense words like "Fennario", "Fernario", "Finario", "Fidio", "Ivory" or "Ireo" were placed in its stead to fit the metre and rhyme. As a result, the song is commonly referred to as Fennario. The 1960s folk music movement saw Peggy-O become a common song in many concerts owing to its clear melody and lilting rhyme.