Isla Cameron (c. 1930 - 1980) was a Scottish singer and actress. She was, f… Read Full Bio ↴Isla Cameron (c. 1930 - 1980) was a Scottish singer and actress. She was, for much of the 1950s, a singing partner of Ewan MacColl. In her time she was one of Britain's most popular woman folk singers, performing regularly in clubs throughout the British Isles. Her pioneering work in the 1950s paved the way for such figures as Sandy Denny and opened English folk music to a wider audience than it had been perceived as having.

Isla Cameron was born in Scotland but was brought up in Dorset and Somerset. While trying to become an actress she joined Joan Littlewood who had co-founded the Theatre Workshop in 1945. Joan’s husband at the time, Ewan MacColl was to become Isla’s singing partner for much of the 50s.

During 1953-4, Peter Kennedy produced a series of Sunday morning BBC radio programs called “As I Roved Out”. Two of these were later issued on the Folktrax label, with Isla singing three folk songs, Seamus Ennis playing uilliann pipes and tin whistle, Ewan MacColl singing some songs and Bob & Ron Copper also singing.

In 1956 Isla Cameron appeared in another radio program “Ballads and Blues: Sea Music”. In 1960 “The Singers Club” opened in “The Princess Louise” pub in Holborn, London. It was run by Ewan MacColl and his new wife Peggy Seeger. Isla Cameron became a resident at this folk club, but by this point her film career had taken off. She acted in a number of movies, with her biggest acting role being in the 1969 version of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie where she could use her Scottish accent to advantage.

She continued singing and recording during the 1960s. In 1962, Isla Cameron and Tony Britton recorded “Songs of Love, Lust and Loose Living”. In 1963, Peter Kennedy recorded Isla singing with accompaniment by Jack Armstrong on Northumbrian pipes. She sang songs by Bob Dylan and Bertolt Brecht but rarely sang after 1966, when acting took over her life.

She died in an accident in her home in 1980.

Bushes and Briars
Isla Cameron Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Through bushes and through briars
I've lately made my way
All for to hear the small birds sing
And the lambs to skip and play
All for to hear the small birds sing
And the lambs to skip and play
I overhead my own true love
Her voice it rang so clear

Long time have I been waiting for
The coming of my dear
Long time have I been waiting for
The coming of my dear
Sometimes I am uneasy
And troubled in my mind
Sometimes I think I'll go to my love
And tell to him my mind
But if I should go to my love my love
He would say "nay"
If I show to him my boldness
He'd ne'er love me again
If I show to him my boldness
He'd never love me again
Through bushes and through briars
I've lately made my way
All for to hear the small birds sing
And the lambs to skip and play

All for to hear the small birds sing
And the lambs to skip and to play

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of 'Bushes and Briars' by Isla Cameron express a yearning for love and the inner conflict that comes with it. The singer describes wandering through the bushes and briars to listen to the birds and watch the playful lambs, which suggests a desire for simplicity and peace in contrast to the complexities of love. The singer then hears the voice of her true love, which brings hope and excitement, but also uncertainty because she's unsure if her love would reciprocate. She struggles with the idea of revealing her boldness to her love because he might reject her. The singer concludes the song by returning to the bushes and briars, which may symbolize a return to the safety of solitude until the time is right to reveal her true feelings.

Line by Line Meaning

Through bushes and through briars
I have journeyed through dense vegetation and thorny obstacles

I've lately made my way
I have arrived at my destination relatively recently

All for to hear the small birds sing
The main reason for my trip was to listen to the sweet melodies of the little feathered creatures

And the lambs to skip and play
I also wanted to witness the playful movements of the young sheep

I overhead my own true love
I eavesdropped on the voice of my beloved

Her voice it rang so clear
Her singing was so beautiful and pure

Long time have I been waiting for
I have been eagerly anticipating the arrival of my dear one for a significant length of time

The coming of my dear
The arrival of my beloved

Sometimes I am uneasy
Occasionally, I feel anxious and unsettled

And troubled in my mind
My thoughts are often disturbed and restless

Sometimes I think I'll go to my love
On occasion, I consider visiting my lover