Mairi's Wedding
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Mary McNiven's friend Johnny Bannerman wrote Mairi's Wedding (aka "Marie's Wedding" and the "Lewis Bridal Song") using a traditional Scots tune, and it was first played for her at the Old Highlanders Institute in Glasgow's Elmbank Street. Sir Hugh S. Robertson translated the Scottish Gaelic language into English a year later in 1935. It was specifically written for the wedding of Miss McNiven to Skye-born sea captain John Campbell, although the ceremony didn't take place for another 6 years! The bride lived into her nineties and is reported as being amazed by the song's popularity.
This tune is also referred to as "Mairi Bhan."
[edit] Discography
Mairi's Wedding has been recorded by a wide variety of musicians.
- The Alans, "The Houston Sessions"
- Alexander Brothers "Best of"
- Moira Anderson on "The Best of Scotland: Twenty Tracks of Traditional Scottish Music"
- Moira Anderson, "A Land for All Seasons"
- Bantry Bay, "Set the Sails"
- Neil Barron and His Scottish Dance Band, "The Reel Party" [1]
- Bushwhackers Band, "Dance Album"
- The Clancy Brothers
- The Chieftains with Van Morrison, Irish Heartbeat
- Paul Dooley "Rip the Calico"
- The Foggy Few "Pint of No Return" [2] - a Norwegian folk-rock band
- Clive Gregson used the same tune for a song called "Mairi's Divorce" on his album "People and Places"
- Haste to the Wedding, "Take It to the Floor"
- Noel Hill, "The Irish Concertina Two"
- Christy Hodder "Celtic Energy" [3] - Mairi's Wedding as exercise music!
- Seamus Kennedy, "A Smile and a Tear" [4]
- The King's Singers, "Annie Laurie: Folk Songs of the British Isles"
- The King's Singers, "Mairi's Wedding"
- David Kinnaird, "Mairi's Wedding"
- Father Sidney MacEwen, "Silver Threads Among the Gold"
- Kenneth McKellar
- Maddie Prior and June Tabor, "Silly Sisters"
- The Rankin Family taking it to number one in Canada.
- Rapalje, "Rakish Paddies"
- Anne Roos, on "Haste to the Wedding" [5], an album of Celtic harp wedding music
- Songs from Scotland, "Will Ye No Come Back Again?"
- Andy Stewart "Donald, Where's Your Troosers?"
- Trasna Ceilidh Band, "Trasna Ceilidh Band"
- Waking Maggie, "Hit the Bricks"
- Wild Conserves, "The Flavours of Scotland"
- Wild Mountain Thyme
- Robert Wilson, "The Voice of Scotland"
