After learning to play the guitar, the fiddle, and the piano, as well as to sing, Rusby played at many local folk festivals as a child and adolescent. She came to wider attention through her duets with her friend and fellow Barnsley folk singer Kathryn Roberts on the 1995 album Kate Rusby & Kathryn Roberts.
At about this time she joined, and became the lead vocalist of, the all-female Celtic folk band The Poozies. This led to her becoming a founding member of the group Equation, which included Kathryn Roberts and Seth Lakeman. Rusby left Equation (being replaced by Cara Dillon) to follow a more traditional direction and, in 1997, released her debut solo album Hourglass produced by Scottish fiddler John McCusker (to whom Rusby was married for some time).
In 1999 Rusby recorded Sleepless which earned her a Mercury Music Prize nomination and the BBC Folk Award for Best Album and Best Folk Singer.
Rusby continues to release albums mixing traditional and self-penned songs on her own Pure Records, winning fans as diverse as Graham Coxon (who provided the illustration for her album The Girl Who Couldn't Fly) and collaborator Ronan Keating.
2008 saw the release of Sweet Bells, an album of traditional Christmas songs interpreted by Rusby.
In 2010, Rusby released the album Make the Light, a collection of self-penned songs, and in 2011 issued a second collection of Christmas songs titled While Mortals Sleep.
www.katerusby.com
Andrew Lammie
Kate Rusby Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It grows both broad and bonnie
A daisy in the midst of it
Its name is Andrew Lammie
O gin that flower were my breast
For the love I bear the laddie
So blithe and merry I would be
Love I must go to Edinburgh
Love I must go and leave thee
She sighed full sore and said no more
But o gin I were with thee
I'll buy my love a wedding gown
My love I'll buy it bonnie
But I'll be gone ere you come back
How I love thee Andrew Lammie
Love pines away, love dwines away
And love decayed my body
And love crept in at my bedfoot
And he took possesion of me
Her brother beat her wondrous sore
Til the strokes they were not canny
And he broke her back on yon hall door
For loving Andrewa Lammie
O mother go and make my bed
And lay my head to Fyvie
For its there I'll lie and there I'll die
For loving Andrew Lammie
Syne he's come back from Edinburgh
To the bonnie house of Fyvie
He's turned his face to the northeast
To look for Tifty's Annie
Oh East and West where'er I go
My love she's always with me
Oh East and West where'er I go
My love she dwells in Fyvie
Oh it's many is the time I've walked at night
And never was I weary
But now it's I must walk alone
For I will not see my deary
The song "Andrew Lammie," also known as "The Bonnie Lass o' Fyvie," is a traditional Scottish ballad that tells the tragic story of a young woman named Annie who falls in love with a man named Andrew Lammie. The song is set in the town of Fyvie, where a flower grows at the gate of Fyvie Castle, known as "Andrew Lammie." Annie wishes that the flower grew inside her own body, as a symbol of her love for Andrew Lammie. However, she is forced to leave him behind and go to Edinburgh, where she eventually falls ill and dies, longing to be with him again.
The lyrics are full of symbolism, such as the flower representing love, and the bed where Annie lays her head symbolizing her death. The song also shows the social norms of the time, as Annie's brother beats her for loving someone of a lower class. The ending of the song is bittersweet, as Andrew Lammie returns to Fyvie, still mourning the loss of his love, but taking comfort in the fact that she will always be with him in his heart.
Kate Rusby's version of the song is hauntingly beautiful, with her voice conveying the sadness and longing in the lyrics. The use of the accordion and fiddle add a traditional Scottish sound to the song, transporting the listener to the town of Fyvie.
Line by Line Meaning
At Fyvie's gate there grows a flower
There is a flower growing by the gate of Fyvie
It grows both broad and bonnie
The flower is very beautiful
A daisy in the midst of it
The flower is a daisy
Its name is Andrew Lammie
The flower is named Andrew Lammie
O gin that flower were my breast
I wish that the flower was on my chest
For the love I bear the laddie
Because I love the boy so much
So blithe and merry I would be
I would be very happy and joyful
And kiss my Andrew Lammie
I would kiss the flower
Love I must go to Edinburgh
I must go to Edinburgh because of love
Love I must go and leave thee
I must leave you because of love
She sighed full sore and said no more
She sighed deeply and did not say anything else
But o gin I were with thee
I wish I could be with you
I'll buy my love a wedding gown
I will buy my love a beautiful wedding dress
My love I'll buy it bonnie
I will buy a beautiful dress for my love
But I'll be gone ere you come back
But I will be gone before you return
How I love thee Andrew Lammie
I love you, Andrew Lammie
Love pines away, love dwines away
Love fades and withers away
And love decayed my body
Love caused my body to decay
And love crept in at my bedfoot
Love entered my bedroom quietly
And he took possesion of me
And he took possession of me
Her brother beat her wondrous sore
Her brother beat her severely
Til the strokes they were not canny
Until the blows were no longer gentle
And he broke her back on yon hall door
And he broke her back on the hall door over there
For loving Andrewa Lammie
Because she loved Andrew Lammie
O mother go and make my bed
Mother, please go make my bed
And lay my head to Fyvie
And lay my head in Fyvie
For its there I'll lie and there I'll die
Because that is where I will lie and die
For loving Andrew Lammie
Because of her love for Andrew Lammie
Syne he's come back from Edinburgh
Then he came back from Edinburgh
To the bonnie house of Fyvie
To the beautiful house in Fyvie
He's turned his face to the northeast
He turned his face towards the northeast
To look for Tifty's Annie
To look for Tifty's Annie
Oh East and West where'er I go
Wherever I go, east or west
My love she's always with me
My love is always with me
Oh East and West where'er I go
Wherever I go, east or west
My love she dwells in Fyvie
My love lives in Fyvie
Oh it's many is the time I've walked at night
Many times I have walked at night
And never was I weary
And I was never tired
But now it's I must walk alone
But now I must walk alone
For I will not see my deary
Because I will not see my love
Contributed by Camilla I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.