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.
Traiveller's Joy
Emily Smith Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Nor hame that she will own to
She traivels lighter than the swan
That builds its nest on Lochan Dhu
[Chorus:]
It's will ye bundle and will ye go
And are ye awa tae leave me
Or up the Shian wi me
Let Inverara folk look doon
She's sunshine tae the Shira
And gans mair braw in her apron
Than they in aa their gear
Her hands sae rough wi weary work
The mair her face entrances
As whiter blooms the April thorn
Upon it's blackened branches
The flooer that twines in yon broon hedge
Grows sweet for the wayfarer
But I wouldna gie my traiveller's joy
For the rose o Inverara
Wi doon cast eyes she'll pass us by
Withoot a word for ony
Just like the little mountain road
As bleek and dour and bonny
I ken a lass she has nae hairt
Ayeways awa tae leave us
She's gane aa through the mountain range
Nae mair she says she'll see us
In Emily Smith's song "Traveller's Joy," the singer introduces us to a woman who is a wanderer and doesn't reveal her name or where she's from. She travels lightly, much like the swan that builds its nest on Lochan Dhu, and she is compared to the sunshine in the Shira by the singer. The woman's simple apron is also described as being more beautiful than the clothing worn by the wealthy people of Inverara. This woman's rough hands, like white blooms on a blackened branch, entrance the singer, and her flooer (flower) growing in the brown hedge is sweeter than anything in Inverara.
The chorus asks the woman if she will leave with the singer or not. She passes by people without saying a word, much like the little mountain road that is both bleak and beautiful. In the last verse, the woman is described as someone who always leaves and doesn't have a heart to stay. She has gone through the mountain range and will not be seen again.
Line by Line Meaning
I ken a lass she has nae name*
I know a woman who refuses to reveal her name nor her home
Nor hame that she will own to
She has no fixed abode
She traivels lighter than the swan
She moves very lightly and gracefully
That builds its nest on Lochan Dhu
Like the swan that builds its nest on Lochan Dhu
It's will ye bundle and will ye go
Will you pack your belongings and leave
And are ye awa tae leave me
Are you really leaving me behind?
It's will ye bundle and will ye go
Will you leave with me?
Or up the Shian wi me
Shall we go up to the Shian together?
Let Inverara folk look doon
She is a source of sunshine for everyone around Shira
She's sunshine tae the Shira
The people in Shira love her company
And gans mair braw in her apron
She looks even prettier when she's wearing her apron
Than they in aa their gear
More attractive than anyone else in their fanciest clothes
Her hands sae rough wi weary work
Her hands are rough from overuse and fatigue
The mair her face entrances
Her face is even more captivating despite her rough hands
As whiter blooms the April thorn
Her beauty is like the white flowers on the black thorns that bloom in April
Upon it's blackened branches
Sparse and unlikely beauty that stands out against darker backgrounds
The flooer that twines in yon broon hedge
The flower that grows on the brown hedge
Grows sweet for the wayfarer
It smells sweet to the passerby traveler
But I wouldna gie my traiveller's joy
But I wouldn't trade the joy of traveling with her
For the rose o Inverara
For the famous rose in Inverara
Wi doon cast eyes she'll pass us by
With a downward glance, she quickly walks by us
Withoot a word for ony
Without a word for anyone
Just like the little mountain road
Like the small road up in the mountains
As bleek and dour and bonny
As bleak, stern, and beautiful as the mountain landscape
I ken a lass she has nae hairt
I know a woman who has no heart for a single place
Ayeways awa tae leave us
Always away, never staying with us
She's gane aa through the mountain range
She has gone across the whole mountain range
Nae mair she says she'll see us
She says she won't be seeing us anymore
Contributed by Kaitlyn C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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