Waly Waly from Declaration by Kate Burke and Ruth Hazleton

This song is of Scottish origin, and this version is related to “Jamie Douglas”, a Child Ballad. The song was written, in some form, after the scandalous marriage breakup of James Douglas, the 2nd Marquis of Douglas, from his wife Barbara Erskine. A man named Lowrie of Blackwood (who may have courted Barbara unsuccessfully) began a rumour that she was adulterous, resulting in her rejection by her husband and her return to her family. In this version of the song, she doesn’t go quietly. We learned this from the singing of June Tabor.

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