There is more than one artist with this name, including:
1) Emily Smith… Read Full Bio ↴There is more than one artist with this name, including:
1) Emily Smith (born 25 March 1981 in Thornhill, Dumfries and Galloway) is a Scottish folk singer;
2) Emily Smith is an American R&B/soul singer from Paso Robles, CA.

1) Emily Smith (born 25 March 1981 in Thornhill, Dumfries and Galloway) is a Scottish folk singer. She won the BBC Radio Scotland's Young Traditional Music of the Year Award in 2002. She is a member of Scotland’s ‘folk orchestra’, The Unusual Suspects, and was named ‘Citty Finlayson Scots Singer of the Year 2008'. She also records as Emily Smith & Jamie McClennan with New Zealand-born fiddle player and guitarist Jamie McClennan.
Smith has always held a passion for local history and a keen sense of belonging, which shines through in her music and the enthusiasm she displays when talking of her home region. “Dumfries and Galloway is often a forgotten part of Scotland and through my material, whether traditional or my own songs, I try to portray the beauty and diversity of where I come from. I love being able to sing a song and picture the exact setting of where the event took place, or to sing some of Robert Burns’ material and know that he travelled the same roads and admired the same landscapes as I do today.”
Since winning the 2002 ‘BBC Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the Year Award’ she has released several critically-acclaimed albums, toured extensively with her band on the international folk circuit and is recognised not only as one of Scotland’s finest interpreters of traditional song but also as a talented songwriter and multi-instrumentalist.
Smith spent six years living in Glasgow, during which time she gained an Honours degree in Scottish Music from The Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, graduating in 2003. Now, living back in her home area of Dumfries & Galloway in South West Scotland, Smith has found her niche drawing on the rich local history and ever changing landscape as the source and inspiration for her music. She has an affection (and growing reputation!) for collecting dusty old poetry and song books in search of new material. The results are re-worked ballads which seamlessly interweave with Smith’s own descriptive songs, often confusing the listener as to which material is old and which is new.
She became the first ever winner from Scotland in the USA Song-writing Competition in 2005 after winning the folk section with her song ‘Edward of Morton’. Another of her songs, ‘Always a Smile’, about the life of her Polish grandmother, was short-listed in the final ten. Both songs are found on her second album, "A Different Life".
Alongside her solo career Smith has written, recorded and toured with artists from the folk scene and beyond including Eddi Reader, Beth Nielsen Chapman, Karine Polwart, John McCusker, David Scott and Phil Cunningham. She has also been included in the acclaimed ‘Scottish Women’ group, featuring Scotland’s top female vocalists, is a member of Scotland’s ‘folk orchestra’, The Unusual Suspects, and was named ‘Citty Finlayson Scots Singer of the Year 2008'.
She has recorded live sessions for BBC Radio 2’s Bob Harris, Aled Jones and Mike Harding alongside receiving regular play on BBC Radio Scotland. Recent television work includes performing on BBC 1 Scotland’s Hogmanay show and she will be featured in a series of Transatlantic Sessions.
Her official website can be found at www.emilysmith.org.

2) Emily Smith is an American R&B/soul singer from Paso Robles, CA. She released her eponymous album in 2018.

My Darling Boy
Emily Smith Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Oh, father, dear father, you have done me wrong,
You have married me to a boy that's much too young
He is only 16 years, and I am 21

Oh, my darling boy is young
But he's growing
Oh, my darling boy is young
But he's growing

For, at the age of 16, he was a married man
At the age of 17, father of a son
At the age of 18 years, my love was dead and gone
The green grass put an end to his growing
That green grass put an end to his growing

So I will go to my love's grave and I'll sit by his side
I'll pick my love some flowers and sow my love some shroud
And every stitch I'll put in, his tears, they will fall down
Cruel fate has put an end to his growing
Cruel fate has put an end to his growing

For the trees he knew grew higher and the leaves did go green
The days have passed and gone, my love, that you and I have seen
It's a cold winter's night, my love, that I must pass alone
But I'll watch over his son
While he's growing
But I'll watch over his son
While he's growing

But I'll watch over his son
While he's growing

Overall Meaning

The song "My Darling Boy" by Emily Smith is a heart-wrenching ballad that tells the story of a young woman who was forced into marriage by her father at a young age. The lyrics lament the fact that she was married to a boy who was much too young, only 16 years old, while she was 21. The young couple had a son together when the boy was 17 years old. Unfortunately, the girl's husband dies at age 18, and she is left to mourn his passing.

The lyrics of the song are deeply emotional, with the girl expressing her love for her "darling boy" and her sorrow at his passing. She speaks of visiting his grave and sitting beside him, picking flowers for him and sewing his shroud. She also promises to watch over their son as he grows up, despite the fact that she will be alone on a cold winter's night.

The song is a poignant reminder of the hardships faced by women in the past, who were often forced into arranged marriages against their will. Despite the tragedy of the girl's story, the song leaves the listener with a sense of hope, as the girl promises to watch over her husband's son and ensure his safety as he grows up.

Line by Line Meaning

Oh, father, dear father, you have done me wrong,
I feel hurt and betrayed by you, father, as you have made a decision that you should not have.

You have married me to a boy that's much too young
You have made me marry a boy who is too young for me and our marriage is not working out as I expected.

He is only 16 years, and I am 21
My husband is still a teenager while I am already an adult.

Oh, my darling boy is young But he's growing
Even though my husband is young, he is still growing and learning in life.

For, at the age of 16, he was a married man At the age of 17, father of a son At the age of 18 years, my love was dead and gone The green grass put an end to his growing That green grass put an end to his growing
My husband's life was cut short, as he became a husband at a young age, became a father soon after, and passed away while still in his teenage years. The green grass is symbolic of the end of his life.

So I will go to my love's grave and I'll sit by his side I'll pick my love some flowers and sow my love some shroud And every stitch I'll put in, his tears, they will fall down Cruel fate has put an end to his growing Cruel fate has put an end to his growing
I will visit my husband's grave and mourn his loss. I will do everything in my power to show my love for him, even though he is no longer alive. Fate has been cruel to him and ended his life too soon.

For the trees he knew grew higher and the leaves did go green The days have passed and gone, my love, that you and I have seen It's a cold winter's night, my love, that I must pass alone But I'll watch over his son While he's growing But I'll watch over his son While he's growing But I'll watch over his son While he's growing
Time has passed since my husband's death, and nature has continued to grow and change. I am alone on this cold winter's night, but I will still watch over our son and make sure he grows up well.

Contributed by Zachary N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

TRACKS