Formed i… Read Full Bio ↴Malinky is a Scottish folk band specialising in Scots song.
Formed in autumn 1998, the original members were Karine Polwart from Banknock, Stirlingshire (vocals, guitar, bouzouki), Steve Byrne from Arbroath (vocals, guitar, bouzouki, mandolin), Mark Dunlop from Garryduff, Co. Antrim (bodhrán, whistles, vocals) and English fiddler Kit Patterson.
First meeting to rehearse in early October that year, the band was largely formed to help Polwart fulfil a support slot at Edinburgh Folk Club some ten days later, supporting harpist and storyteller Robin Williamson, formerly of the Incredible String Band. The members had previously encountered each other around the lively pub session scene in Edinburgh in venues such as Sandy Bell's and the Royal Oak bars. Polwart was a social worker, Byrne a student of Scottish Studies, Dunlop a town planner with the city council, and Patterson a computer programmer from Plymouth.
The band's first album 'Last Leaves' was recorded in 1999 and released at Celtic Connections 2000, with the late Davy Steele as producer. In early 2001, Edinburgh-born Jon Bews, formerly of Burach, replaced Patterson on fiddle, and later that year Tyrone button box and whistle player Leo McCann was asked to join to expand the band's largely string-driven sound.
In September 2004 the band announced a major change of personnel. Polwart left to pursue a solo career and McCann's imminent fatherhood prompted him to return to his previous career in social work. Polwart and McCann worked their notice until February 2005, coincidentally the same month as Polwart swept the boards at the Radio 2 Folk Awards, catapulting her re-released 2003 solo album 'Faultlines' to greater heights.
Byrne, Dunlop and Bews continued the band with new members Fiona Hunter from Glasgow (vocals, cello) and Liverpool-born Ewan MacPherson (guitar, mandolin, mandola, tenor banjo, jew's harp, vocals), and a series of crossover concerts in January and February 2005 took place, featuring both old and new lineups, including a sellout show at Celtic Connections in Glasgow.
In June 2005 the band recorded their third album 'The Unseen Hours' at Watercolour Studios in Ardgour, Lochaber in the Scottish Highlands, and the album was released in November 2005, surprising many critics with its continuity from the band's previous work, and earning rave reviews with its strong commitment to traditional Scots ballads.
The Unseen Hours lineup toured Germany and the Netherlands in 2006 to great acclaim and in 2007 performed with Swedish ballad band Ranarim at the Celtic Connections festival as well as making their first sojourn to the USA and Canada.
In December 2007 MacPherson left the band to pursue other projects to be replaced by guitar and bouzouki player David Wood from Grindleford in Derbyshire, formerly of CrossCurrent.
Fiddler Mike Vass joined the band in 2008, previously best known for performing in a duo with his sister Ali Vass.
The Broomfield Hill
Malinky Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Five hundred merks and ten
That ye winna go tae the bonnie broom fields
And return back a maiden again"
Chorus (after each verse):
Leatherum thee thou and aw
Madam, I'm wi' you
Fair maiden, I'm for you
"I'll wager, I'll wager wi' you, kind sir
Five hundred merks and ten
That I will go tae the bonnie broom fields
And return back a maiden again"
When she cam tae the bonnie broom hills
Her lover lay fast asleep
Wi' his silvery bells and the gay old oak
And the broomstick under his heid
Nine times 'roond the croon o' his heid
And nine times 'roond his feet
Nine times she kissed his rosy lips
And his breath wis wondrous sweet
She's taen the ring frae her finger
Placed it on his breist bane
And a' for a token that she'd been there
That she'd been there and gane
Greetin', oh greetin' gaed she oot
An' a-singin' cam she in
'Twas a' for the safety o' her body
And the wager she had won
"Whaur wis ye, ma bonnie gray hound
That I coft ye sae dear?
Ye didna wauken me frae ma sleep
Whan ye kent ma love was here"
"I scraped ye wi' ma fit, maister
And ma collar bell, it rang
And still the mair that I did scrape
Awauken wid ye nane"
"Haste and haste, ma gude white steed
Tae come the maiden till
Or a' the birds o' the gude green wood
O' your flesh shall hae their fill"
"Ye needna burst yer gude white steed
Wi' racing ower the howm
Nae bird flies faster through the wood
Than she fled through the broom"
The Broomfield Hill by Malinky tells a story of a young maiden who is challenged by a man to go to the bonnie broom fields and return a maiden. The woman takes up the wager and heads to the broom fields where she finds her lover fast asleep with his silvery bells and the gay old oak and the broomstick under his head. She dances around him nine times and kisses his rosy lips nine times. She places a ring on his breastbone as proof that she was there and leaves. She cries on her way out, but on her way back, she sings. She asks her gray hound why it didn't wake her up when her lover came. However, she learns that he had scraped his feet and collar bell to avoid waking him up. She then asks her white steed to come quickly, or the birds of the green wood will have their fill of her flesh. The white steed tells her she need not hurry as she fled through the broom faster than any bird that could fly in the wood.
The song carries a lot of significance as it captures the moment a woman exhibits her courage by taking up the challenge that was meant for men in those times. It shows a woman being bold, taking up a wager, and winning against a man. It is also a love story, where the woman shows her love by going to the bonnie broom fields to kiss her lover and leave a ring as proof. The song also demonstrates how loyalty among pets was significant in those times, portrayed by the greyhound that didn't wake up the lover.
Line by Line Meaning
I'll wager, I'll wager wi' you, fair maid
The man offers a bet to the woman
Five hundred merks and ten
The amount of the bet
That ye winna go tae the bonnie broom fields
The woman must travel to the broom fields
And return back a maiden again
The woman must come back still a virgin
Leatherum thee thou and aw
Phrase sung in chorus between verses
Madam, I'm wi' you
Phrase sung in chorus between verses
And the seal o' me be abrachee
Phrase sung in chorus between verses
Fair maiden, I'm for you
Phrase sung in chorus between verses
When she cam tae the bonnie broom hills
The woman arrived at the broom fields
Her lover lay fast asleep
The woman's lover was asleep
Wi' his silvery bells and the gay old oak
The man had bells and an oak tree with him
And the broomstick under his heid
The man had a broomstick under his head
Nine times 'roond the croon o' his heid
The woman circled the man's head nine times
And nine times 'roond his feet
The woman circled the man's feet nine times
Nine times she kissed his rosy lips
The woman kissed the man's lips nine times
And his breath wis wondrous sweet
The man's breath smelled nice
She's taen the ring frae her finger
The woman removed a ring from her finger
Placed it on his breist bane
The woman put the ring on the man's chest bone
And a' for a token that she'd been there
The ring served as proof of her visit
That she'd been there and gane
The woman had come and gone
Greetin', oh greetin' gaed she oot
The woman left crying
An' a-singin' cam she in
The woman returned singing
'Twas a' for the safety o' her body
The woman was protecting herself
And the wager she had won
The woman won the bet
Whaur wis ye, ma bonnie gray hound
The woman addressed her greyhound
That I coft ye sae dear?
The woman asks why she spent so much on the dog?
Ye didna wauken me frae ma sleep
The dog didn't wake her up
Whan ye kent ma love was here
The dog knew the woman's lover was there
I scraped ye wi' ma fit, maister
The dog accidentally woke the man up
And ma collar bell, it rang
The dog's collar bell made noise
And still the mair that I did scrape
The dog kept trying to wake him up
Awauken wid ye nane
The man didn't wake up
Haste and haste, ma gude white steed
The woman told her horse to hurry
Tae come the maiden till
The horse had to come for the woman
Or a' the birds o' the gude green wood
The birds would eat the woman
O' your flesh shall hae their fill
If the horse didn't come, the birds would eat her
Ye needna burst yer gude white steed
The woman told the horse not to worry
Wi' racing ower the howm
She didn't want the horse to race
Nae bird flies faster through the wood
The woman was very fast
Than she fled through the broom
The woman ran through the broom fields quickly
Contributed by David L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.